Marmalade Glazed Ham and Christmas Feast

Merry Christmas and I hope everyone has a great time with their family and friends.

My challenge for this Christmas is to cook up a traditional feast to overcome my fear of cooking big chuck of meat.  I made this glazed ham and roast a whole stuffed turkey on Christmas Day.  I made the dessert of cream burlee and chocolate meringue terrine on Christmas Eve.  Then I started cooking at 6.30am on Christmas Day making the pumpkin pies, cooked the ham, roast vegetables, mashed potatoes, make the dips, make the fruit salad, heat up the bread rolls, cook the corns and finally roasting the turkey at 9.30am.  I get my kids to help me prepare the appetizer and the feast is all prepared by 12 noon.  My sisters also brought a lot of food along so we just sit and chat and eat the whole day!  And we have SO much left-over that could last for a couple of days or weeks!

So I've done it and I have less fear for cooking big chuck of meat.  My next challenge will be roasting rolled pork loin or leg of lamb.  Then I may claim myself as no fear in the kitchen!

Marmalade Glazed Ham


one leg of ham
whole cloves, to decorate
1 cup orange marmalade
1/4 cup orange juice
1/4 cup brown sugar
pineapple pieces

Method:

1. Cut the rind about 10cm from shank end of leg.  Run your thumb around edge of rind just under the skin to remove rind.  Carefully pulling rind from widest edge of ham and continually to pull away from the fat up to the cut.  (I did that a day ahead and reserved the rind to cover the cut surface to keep it moist during storage)
2. Score fat by making shallow cuts diagonally in both directions at 3cm intervals, carefully not cut through the fat.
3. For the glaze: stir in the orange juice with the marmalade in a saucepan then add the sugar and stir till sugar is dissolved.
4. Place the ham onto the baking dish, brush with half of the glaze.  Cover shank end with foil.  Place some pineapple at the bottom.  Roast, uncovered in a pre-heated 180c oven for 40 minutes.  Push a clove in centre of each diamond shape and roast a further 40 minutes or until brown all over, brush ham with remaining glaze during cooking.
5. Cover ham with foil and rest before serving.  Serve hot or cold.