We’ve made no bones about it over the years – we’re children of the South and truly enjoy many traditional Southern foods, including a nice ham around the holidays. Like some of you, we grew up enjoying a very popular, commercially-prepared, overly-sweet, glazed ham made famous by a certain un-named franchise, but over the years we found their preparation too damned cloying.
Though we have a family favorite mustard-glazed, hardwood-smoked version we’re partial to, Libby convinced us to try her Honey Thyme Holiday Ham recipe recently, and I have to admit, it’s probably the best ham we’ve ever cooked at home.
Libby adapted the recipe from one posted in the now-defunct Gourmet magazine years ago, and true to her Southern roots added a big dollop (her words) of creole mustard to the glaze. And yes, this ham has a glaze sweetened with honey; the flavor added, particularly working in concert with the thyme, is well worth the sprinkle of additional carbs in our book, and isn’t cloying (like the above mentioned commercially-prepped hams…).
There’s something magic about the combination of fresh thyme and honey with ham in particular. Give this one a try if you’re thinking about a ham this year; it’s one you’ll come back to again.
12-14 pound fully cooked ham
1/3 cup cider vinegar
1/2 cup mild honey
1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
2 tbsp + 1 tsp fresh thyme, chopped
1-2 tbsp creole (or dijon) mustard
1 and 1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
Optional: fresh ground pepper
Let your ham rest at room temp an hour before starting to cook.
When ready to go, fire your the oven to 350, trim any rind (skin) from the ham, then score the surface ham fat in a crosshatch pattern (just the fat, not the meat).
Set the ham on a roasting rack in a hefty roasting pan, cover with a piece of parchment paper, then cover the entire roasting pan with foil. Roast the ham for an hour and 45 minutes.
While the ham is roasting, bring the vinegar to a boil in a small saucepan, and reduce to approximately 1 tbsp. Remove the pan from the heat, whisk in the butter until melted, then the honey, thyme, mustard, and Worcestershire. Set the glaze aside until the hour and 45 minutes are up.
When the first roasting period is done, remove the foil cover and parchment paper, brush the ham with half the glaze, pour a cup of water or good apple cider into the roasting pan, and roast for 30 minutes.
Reglaze the ham with the rest of the glaze and roast another 30 minutes (or until done).
Enjoy.
