Recipe: Baked Ham in Savory Pastry

Hi Pen,

No cider in this one, but maybe if someone doesn't come up with the recipe maybe you can make this one work for you. I haven't tried it.

Forum: rec.food.recipes
Date: 01/02/1999
Author: Fred Towner

Baked Ham in Savory Pastry

4 cups flour, sifted
1/2 lb Butter
1 tsp Salt
1 Egg
1/2 cup ice water
1 cup apricot jam
1/4 cup brown
1 tsp Soy sauce
2 Tbsp dry mustard
12 lb Virginia Ham, fully cooked
2 Eggs

Place flour, butter, and salt in a medium sized bowl.
Cut in the butter. Add the egg and combine.
Add the ice water, one tablespoon at a time, beating constantly.
When the pastry makes balls, remove to a lightly floured surface and shape into a ball.
Cover with waxed paper and refrigerate for 45 minutes before rolling out.

Preheat oven to 325 F.
Warm jam in a saucepan over low heat. Mix soy sauce with mustard and add to jam along with brown sugar, stirring constantly until the mixture is thoroughly blended and melted;
reserve.

Trim ham of dark outer skin, leaving about 4" around the bone area. Partially trim away the fat, leaving a 1/2" layer; score the fat. Place ham on a rack in a roasting pan; brush with apricot glaze and bake two hours. Remove and allow to cool one hour, while preheating oven to 400 F. Using a sharp boning knife, cut off the top of the ham in a "well" shape from shank to butt and back. The knife should be inserted at a 45 degree angle, 4" to 5" below the shank until you reach the bone. Use the bone as a guide and cut the ham to the bone, leaving a 2-1/2" to 3" perimeter around the side of the ham. The hip bone is in the butt end and you will want to cut above this section when completing the oval. The whole process should be completed in one cut. Bring the knife down snugly against the bone to release the oval. Remove the oval of ham and slice it thin. Replace the slices one by one, filling the well. Place the ham on a baking sheet.
In a small bowl, lightly beat the eggs with two tablespoons water; reserve.

On a floured surface, roll out the pastry to a 1/8" thickness. Drape the dough over the ham and tuck it in around the base. Leaving a 1" flap around the base, cut away any excess dough and reserve for decoration. Tuck the flaps underneath the ham. Brush the entire ham with egg wash.

Using excess dough, make a few "grape leaves" and roll small balls of dough to about the size of peas to look like grapes. Place a cluster of "grapes and leaves" on the center of the ham and brush the ham again with the egg wash.

Bake for 50 minutes or until pastry is a golden brown. Carefully run a spatula around the base and transfer the ham to a heated platter. Cut away the crust from the oval area *only*, and serve the slices of the ham with some of the crust.

Happy Holidays,

Betsy
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