Recipe: Marmalade-Glazed Ham with Orange Sauce and Pineapple Relish

MARMALADE-GLAZED HAM

"For this recipe, use a fully cooked bone-in ham that has the natural shape of the leg, and has some fat and rind still attached. Don't substitute a "re-formed" oval canned ham or a deli ham."



FOR THE HAM:
1 (16- to 19-pound) smoked fully cooked bone-in ham
36 (about) whole cloves
FOR THE ORANGE GLAZE:
1 cup orange marmalade
1/4 cup Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons plus 1 1/2 cups water, divided use
FOR THE ORANGE SAUCE:
2 cups water
4 orange-spice herb tea bags or black tea bags
2 cups canned low-salt chicken broth
1 cup orange juice
3 tablespoons orange marmalade
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon cornstarch dissolved in 1 tablespoon water
Pineapple Relish (recipe follows)

TO PREPARE THE HAM:
Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 325 degrees F.

Trim any rind and excess fat from upper side of ham, leaving 1/4-inch-thick layer of fat. Using long sharp knife, score fat in 1-inch-wide diamond pattern. Insert 1 clove into center of each scored diamond. Place ham in heavy large roasting pan.

Bake until thermometer inserted into center of ham registers 120 degrees F, about 3 hours 45 minutes.

TO MAKE THE ORANGE GLAZE:
Melt 1 cup marmalade in heavy small saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in 1/4 cup mustard and 2 tablespoons water. Boil until mixture thickens enough to coat spoon without dripping, about 6 minutes. Set mixture aside.

Transfer ham to cutting board. Increase oven temperature to 425 degrees F.

Place same roasting pan atop burner set on medium heat. Whisk remaining 1 1/2 cups water into pan, scraping up browned bits from bottom. Transfer pan juices to 4-cup glass measuring cup. Freeze pan juices 15 minutes. Spoon fat off top of pan juices. Reserve pan juices in measuring cup.

Line same pan with foil. Return ham to pan. Generously spoon marmalade mixture over ham.

Bake ham until glaze is set and begins to caramelize, about 20 minutes. Let ham stand 30 minutes at room temperature.

MEANWHILE, TO PREPARE THE ORANGE SAUCE:
Bring 2 cups water to boil in heavy medium saucepan. Add tea bags. Remove from heat; cover and let steep 10 minutes. Discard tea bags.

Add chicken broth, orange juice and marmalade to tea. Boil mixture until reduced to 3 cups, about 12 minutes.

Whisk in Dijon mustard and reserved pan juices. Return to boil. Whisk in cornstarch mixture. Boil until sauce thickens slightly, about 4 minutes. Season sauce to taste with pepper.

TO SERVE:
Carve ham; serve with sauce and relish.

Makes 4 servings

PINEAPPLE RELISH
Makes 4 cups

"This refreshing condiment can be made a day ahead of time. It's great with the ham, or try it with fish or chicken."

1/2 large pineapple, peeled, cored, cut into 1/4-inch pieces (about 3 cups)
1/2 cup finely chopped green bell pepper
1/2 cup finely chopped red onion
1/4 cup chopped fresh mint
2 teaspoons grated lemon peel

Stir all ingredients in large bowl to blend. Season to taste with salt and pepper. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover; chill.)

Source: Bon Appetit The Christmas Season, 2000