Sunday 23 February 2014

Mini Ham

Mini Ham by Carole's Chatter

Recently I glazed a Mini Ham.  I call it a mini because it was a quarter of a leg of ham.  For 2 of us this turned out to be the perfect size – we were able to eat it all before getting sick of it – a first!

I saw recently on a Food TV programme – sorry can't remember which – that you should warm the ham up in the oven before taking the skin off – because then it is easier to take it off.  I am happy to report that this did work.  I put the ham in a low oven for 20 minutes.  The ham was just warm but still comfortable to handle.

I took the skin off with the help of a little sharp paring knife – I tried to leave all the fat on the ham that I could.

I then scored the ham with a sharp knife – trying not to cut right through the fat – and mostly succeeding.  If you score it in parallel lines one way and then turn the ham 90 degrees and do it again you should have a diamond pattern.

Mini-ham-before-glazing-Caroles-Chatter


I then poked a clove into the middle of each diamond.  This isn't as easy as it sounds because it was actually quite hard to see the diamonds – I just didn't worry about it too much. In fact in the past when I've done ham I've put the cloves not in the middle of the diamond but where the scoring crosses.  I don't think it matters other than for looks.  If you wanted to be sure to put the clove in the middle of the diamond you could pop the ham back into the oven on a moderate heat for 15 minutes or so and the diamonds should then show up clearly, I think.

I prepared a glaze for the ham – it was my own concoction but worked out a treat.  I put the following things into a small pot:

Juice and zest of 2 tangelos (you could use oranges)
Brown sugar – about a quarter cup
Mustard – I would have used powder but didn't have any so used a mix of Dijon and Hot English
Brandy
1 dried red chilli, broken into half and the seeds shaken out and discarded
Half a cinnamon quill – left as a piece

Simmer this lot for 5 minutes or so while stirring to allow the glaze to come together.

Brush the glaze over the ham and then put it in the cook – I had the oven on low/medium and brushed more glaze over every 15 to 20 minutes – a bit of a chore but it builds a delightful depth of flavour.

Because the ham was not raw you don't need to worry too much about the length of cooking – it's done when your glaze looks fab!  Mine took 2-3 hours.  If you were glazing a larger ham I would cook it on medium rather than low and for about the same time – just to make sure the ham is nicely warm all the way through.

Mini-Ham-Tangelo-glaze-Caroles-Chatter


I served this with 3 salads – avocado & tomato, broccoli and cauliflower and my new obsession My Berlin Kitchen potato salad.

PS  That's a tangelo in the first pic.  It's a cross between an orange and a tangerine and has lovely sweet juice.


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11 comments:

  1. Your glaze sounds yummy. Love the idea of doing a mini ham. :)

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  2. What a cute little ham, I hate that I usually end up throwing out what we can't eat.

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  3. I love. Now I'm hungry

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  4. This looks amazing! A friend served ham cooked very similar to this at her Christmas dinner party and it was delicious; it never occurred to me that it could be done with a smaller piece for just us.

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  5. I usually only cook a ham when we have a crowd for dinner (usually a holiday)... a small ham would be perfect for just us. Your glaze sounds delicious!

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  6. I adore glazed ham and your glaze sounds very tasty. If I don't glaze it, I make sure to have some sort of chutney on hand. Love sweet fruit with salty ham.

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  7. Perfect sized for us too. Since our son moved out I cut down on portions so we don 't have the same meal for a week! Nice looking ham and no fussy ingredients.

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  8. That looks lovely! And I'm with you on getting sick with ham after a while... I used to dread the week following Christmas!

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  9. A delightful little dinner! This looks so adorable. But I think I would miss having leftovers.

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  10. The small ham is a great idea! I wonder if they're in the store and I've just never noticed because I only look for ham when we're having company!

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  11. This looks so yummy and what a great idea to do a mini ham. I almost never make it because there are only two of us.

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