Recipe: Coca Cola Basted Ham

COCA COLA BASTED HAM

10 pounds Ham *
1 tablespoon Dry Mustard
6 cups Coca-Cola
2 tablespoons Sharp Prepared Mustard
1 cup Brown Sugar, Dark, Packed
2 cups Bread Crumbs, Fine, Dry

* Ham should be one of the precooked hams. Not one of the specialty cured or canned hams. Just the standard bone in ham in the meat counter.

Preheat oven to 325F. Place ham, fat side down, in a shallow baking pan. Pour coke into pan until it is 1/2-inch deep. Bake 2 to 3 hours, or until ham can be easily pierced with a fork, basting with the Coca-Cola every 15 to 20 minutes. (Center of ham will read 140oF on a meat thermometer when properly cooked.) Remove ham from the pan and cool. Cut away rind and fat with a sharp knife. Combine sugar, mustards, bread crumbs, and enough Coke to form a thick paste. Place ham on roasting rack in pan and pat all over with the paste. Add remaining coke to the bottom of the pan. Increase the temperature to 375oF and bake the ham 45 minutes longer, basting every 20 to 15 minutes until sugar-mustard paste has melted to a dark glaze. Let stand at room temperature 30 minutes before slicing. Yield: 12 servings