A glazed ham is a Christmas tradition, but carving it can be daunting. Follow our easy step-by-step guide to ham perfection:
Double Orange Glaze
Stir 300 g of orange (or blood orange) marmalade, ¼ cup dark brown sugar and ¼ cup freshly squeezed orange (or blood orange) juice in a small bowl, until combined. Season to taste.
Photos: John Paul Urizar/BauerSyndication.com.au
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Using a small sharp knife, cut through the rind 10 cm from the shank end of the leg. Lift rind off in one piece by running your thumb around the edge of rind under the skin: Pull from the widest angle of the ham up to the shank.
Using a large sharp knife, score across the fat at about 3 cm intervals, following the curve of the ham and cutting just through the surface of the top fat. Do not cut too deeply or the fat will spread apart during cooking.
Brush ham well with the glaze (see the Double Orange Glaze recipe above). Place ham on a rack in a large roasting pan, add water to pan. Cover shank end with foil. Bake for 1 hour 20 mins or until browned all over, brushing occasionally with the glaze.
Place the ham on a chopping board and steady it with a carving fork. Using a large sharp knife, make a vertical cut towards the bone at the shank end, then cut and remove a small wedge of ham, to give you a greater surface area for carving slices.
Carve towards the bone, taking long sweeps with the knife to get long slices. The pieces of ham will increase in size as you carve. It is best to carve only as much ham as you need at a time or the meat will dry out.
Turn the ham over and carve parallel to the bone. The leftover hambone may be frozen for up to three months and used for stock or soup. Keep in mind it will contribute quite a bit of salt to a recipe so additional salt is unlikely to be required.