CHRISTMAS HAM GLAZE (with our 'Jam for Ham')

Tis the season of celebration. It’s also the peak season for cherries, so grab a jar of our famous ‘Jam for Ham’, a tub of honey and a punnet of local fresh cherries to prepare a glazed leg of ham for your standout centre piece at the festive table this year. The idea is to brush the glaze at regular intervals building up layers and as the ham heats up, the glaze will caramelise and turn deep mahogany red.

makes about 1½ cups

300g jar Torello Farm ‘Jam for Ham’

250g fresh cherries, pitted

125ml (½ cup) whisky (or use fresh orange juice)

125ml (½ cup) honey

2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

For the glaze, place the Jam for Ham and cherries and in a food processor and quickly blitz to finely chop. Place cherry mixture, whisky and honey in a medium saucepan over a medium-high heat. Stir to combine and bring to a high simmer. Cook until mixture thickens slightly and becomes syrupy, about 20 minutes. Stir in the vinegar and Dijon mustard to combine. Set aside.

The glaze can be made a couple of days ahead and stored in an air-tight container in the fridge. Warm in a small saucepan before glazing.

To glaze the ham (say a 5kg-7kg leg of ham with the bone in), pre-heat the oven to 200°C (180°C fan-forced). Adjust the shelving to make sure the roasting tray and ham will fit.

To prepare the ham, starting from the widest end of the leg (opposite end to the hock) peel back the skin from the layer of fat, being careful not to tear the fat and leaving it in place. Cut around the hock shank to release the skin and remove, reserving it for later (use the skin to cover left over ham to prevent it from drying out).

Use a sharp knife to score the fat in a criss-cross pattern or in narrow parallel lines, about 5mm deep, making sure the depth is the same all over and not entering the ham flesh.

Place ham on a wire rack sitting in a large deep roasting tray and brush all over with the glaze. Add 1 cup of water to the roasting pan base, then transfer to the oven. Roast, basting with the glaze every 15 minutes until dark golden, caramelised and glossy (about 1 ½ hours). If the glaze is starting to burn reduce the temperature to 180°C (160°C fan-forced). All ovens are variable in temperatures. Remove from oven and rest for 30 minutes before carving. Serve any remaining glaze as an accompaniment.

Recipe by Fiona Hammond, December 2024