Roasted Ham with Sherry-Apricot Glaze


The first step to easy and delicious ham is choosing the right one.  A bone-in, spiral-sliced, smoked ham is perfect, The bone lends tons of extra flavor and keeps the meat juicy, the spiral slicing makes serving a cinch, and smoking gives ham its signature flavor.  Before roasting, let the ham sit at room temperature for two hours to take the hard chill off so it roasts evenly.  This recipe calls for a sherry-apricot glaze.  The first coating of glaze helps seal in the juices, preventing the ham from drying out.  The second coating carmelizes so the ham devlops a deep mahogany exterior as it roasts.  And the final coating gives the ham an extra burst of sweet flavor.

Roastedham

Tools

  • Saucepan
  • Basting brush
  • Microplane grater
  • Roasting rack
  • Roasting pan
  • Instant-read thermometer
  • Cutting board
  • Chef knife
  • Foil

Ingredients

For the glaze, Simmer:

  • 1/2 cup each dry sherry, honey, and apricot preserves
  • 1/4 teaspoon each smoked paprika and ground allspice
  • minced zest and juice of 2 oranges

For the Ham, Combine:

  • 3 cups fresh orange juice
  • 1 tablespoon allspice berries
  • 1 bone-in, spiral-sliced, smoked ham (6-8 lbs)

Instructions

  1. Bring ham to room temperature, about 2 hours.
  2. For the glaze, simmer sherry, honey, preserves, paprika, ground allspice, zest, and juice of 2 oranges in a saucepan over medium heat reduced to 1-1 1/4 cups, about 25 minutes.
  3. Preheat oven to 300 degrees with rack in lowest position.
  4. For the ham, combine 3 cups orange juice and all spice berries in a roasting pan.  Place ham, cut side down,  on a roasting rack set inside roasting pan.
  5. Brush one third of the glaze on the ham; seal the pan tightly with foil.
  6. Roast ham until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part registers 100 degrees, about 15 minutes per pound (1.5-2 hours).  Remove ham from oven; increase temperature to 425 degrees.
  7. Brush ham with half the remaining glaze; return to oven, uncovered.  Continue roasting ham until an instant-read thermometer registers 110 degrees, about 20 minutes more.
  8. Transfer ham to a cutting board, brush with remaining glaze, loosely tent with foil, and let rest about 15 minutes before serving.