Recipe: Rum-Glazed Baked Ham and Buttermilk Mashed Potatoes

Rum-Glazed Baked Ham
rec.food.cooking/Richard Cody/1998
Serves 6 (about 6 ounces per serving), plus leftovers

You don't have to score the top, decorate with cloves, or baste for hours with this straightforward recipe. The rum, sugar and orange juice give flavor and aroma without cloying sweetness.

1 bone-in smoked ham butt (half ham), about 7 pounds
3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
Freshly ground pepper
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/4 cup dark rum or fresh orange juice
Grated zest of 1 large orange

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

Place the ham cut-side down on butcher paper or wax paper. Using a rubber spatula, smear the Dijon mustard in a thin film over all the other (fat) sides of the ham. Sprinkle well with pepper. Place the ham on a rack in a roasting pan and roast for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, mix together the brown sugar, rum and orange zest. After the meat has roasted for 30 minutes, remove it from the oven and spoon about half of the rum mixture over the top and down the sides, spreading it on evenly with the back of the spoon. Return to the oven and continue to roast, basting 2 more times with the remaining rum mixture, until a meat thermometer inserted in the thickest part of the meat (but not touching the bone) registers 140 degrees, about 2 hours.

Buttermilk Mashed Potatoes
Serves 6

These are lighter and airier than potatoes mashed with cream and they have a suitably down-home flavor to go with the roast ham. Offer sauteed bitter greens -- such as escarole, broccoli rabe or mustard greens -- along with the ham and potatoes.

4 large baking potatoes, peeled and cubed
2 tablespoons butter
3/4 to 1 cup buttermilk
Salt and pepper to taste

Drop the potatoes into a large pot of cold salted water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, until the potatoes are tender when pierced with a knife, about 25 minutes. Drain.

Put the butter and 3/4 cup buttermilk in the pot and add the drained potatoes. Place over very low heat and mash with a potato masher, adding more buttermilk as needed. Season well with salt and pepper.