NEGRONI GLAZED HAM

Glazing a Christmas ham is not just a task; it's a celebration! This festive delight is sure to be the star of your Christmas table, and with the right glaze, it's bound to steal the show. But I won’t lie, it’s not the easiest thing to do, but I do promise after a couple cracks at it you’ll get better at it.As long as you get a sticky glaze, everyone will be happy.

I have gone down the part of a wonderfully balanced negroni orange glaze. The negroni is equal part campari (bitter), gin (botanical/floral) and sweet vermouth (sweet), making it the perfect flavour combination for a stick glaze. The orange wedge is highlighted through the orange marmalade and the brown sugar, give it a deep flavour and tone to the finish.

Feel free to skip the spiking of the cloves into the corners, but I love the festive look to it, plus the aroma that permeates through the kitchen, does make it feel like christmas is around the corner.

NEGRONI GLAZED HAM

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NEGRONI GLAZED HAM 〰️

4-5kg smoked ham leg

45ml campari

45ml sweet vermouth

45ml gin

300gm orange marmalade

50gm honey

1/2 cup brown sugar

20-30 cloves

Preheat oven to 160 degrees Celsius.

  1. To make the negroni glaze add campari, sweet vermouth, gin, orange marmalade, honey and brown sugar to a pan and place on low heat. Allow everything to come together, you’re not looking to cook the glaze, just gently heat until the mix is homogenous, stirring as you go. Pop to the side once its come together.

  2. Start by removing the skin of the ham. Thinly slice and remove the outer layer, leaving the fat layer in tact. The skin layer you do not want to eat, so its really important to remove it.

  3. Next up begin scoring by using a sharp knife to cut 1/2 way through the fat layer, scoring it in diamonds. You can score however you like here, completely up to you, just try to not go too far in to the fat and hit the ham meat because it will fall apart when cooked.

  4. Place ham on large non stick baking tray and brush on half of the negroni glaze, making sure to brush it in completely. I like to then add spiked in cloves at where my scoring intersects to create a little pattern, but completely optional. Add 1 cup water to tray to prevent burning.

  5. Place in oven for 40 minutes. Remove from oven and brush on more negroni glaze. Pop it back into the oven for 20 minutes. Repeat this process 2 more times glazing as you go, making sure the ends of the fat end up a little burnt and charred. (40 + glaze + 20 + glaze + 20 + glaze + 20).

  6. Once cooked, remove from oven and spoon over all the juices at the bottom continually as it cools down, this will thicken as the time goes on and cools into the ham. Let rest for 30 minutes and carve it up, removing the cloves if you put them in.