I made this the other day as a trial run for our Easter ham. The recipe is one of Emeril Lagasse’s and it’s perfect.
I have made many of Emeril’s recipes over the years and they’re usually quite delicious. I’ve never actually watched his show or anything – we refuse to pay for TV so I don’t have the Food Network to watch 
which is probably the only thing I would watch if we were to pay for TV.
I love watching the Food Network – there is so much to learn, so many fun ideas. People are so creative.
I thought this recipe sounded like an interesting and likely delicious combination of sweet and savory flavors.
It was.
The flavors were not overwhelming as to drown out the flavor of the ham itself, which is difficult to do with a ham since they are usually so flavorful but with the super sugary glazes I always feel like it’s a bit too much. This does have sugar in the glaze but it isn’t overpowering.
I completely enjoyed the flavors.
Ham is such a wonderful thing, isn’t it?
Really pork in general. Yum-ee. We love pork so much, we are buying a pig to butcher this year. I’m thinking of making prosciutto… how awesome would that be to make your own prosciutto? We eat tons of it around here so I THINK it would be a good idea so long as I don’t mess it up.
Ok so your Easter ham recipe:
FOR THE GLAZE- 3 cups orange juice
- 1⅓ cups light brown sugar
- 1 orange, zested
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 2 teaspoons whole black peppercorns
- 8 whole cloves
- ¼ teaspoon ground allspice
- ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons dark rum
FOR THE HAM - 1 (8 to 10-pound) fresh ham, shank end, bone-in and skin-on
- 1½ tablespoons kosher salt
- 1½ tablespoons Essence, recipe follows
- 2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
FOR THE ESSENCE - (This made enough to coat 2 hams)
- 2½ tablespoons paprika
- 2 tablespoons salt
- 2 tablespoons garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon black pepper
- 1 tablespoon onion powder
- 1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
- 1 tablespoon dried oregano
- 1 tablespoon dried thyme
- Remove the ham from the fridge about 30 minutes before you actually want to cook it and score the skin in a diamond pattern. Allow the ham to come to room temperature. While it is warming up you can make the glaze or you can make while the ham is in the oven, either way works.
FOR THE GLAZE - Combine all the ingredients except the rum in a medium saucepan and simmer until reduced down to about a cup and thick. About 30 minutes.
- Add the rum and set aside
FOR THE HAM - Preheat the oven to 450˚
- Rub the salt, essence and pepper all over the ham.
- Place in a roasting pan and bake in the oven, uncovered for 45 minutes.
- Reduce the oven temperature to 325˚ and continue cooking until a thermometer inserted into the ham reads about 155˚ about 3 hours longer depending on the size of your ham.
- During the last hour of baking, baste the ham several times with the glaze and keep an eye on the skin, if it looks like it's going to burn you can put a bit of foil over the top to prevent it.
- Once it reaches the desired temperature, remove from the oven and allow it to rest for about 20 minutes before carving.
- Serve with the pan juices on the side.
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