Red Currant Ham Glaze Food

AROMATIC SPICED HAM

Steps:

• Place the gammon in a large saucepan. Add all the ingredients for the ham to the pan, adding more water if the ham isn't covered. Bring to the boil, before reducing the heat to a simmer and partially covering the pan. Cook for about 2 1/2 to 3 hours, approximately 1 hour a kilo simmering time, plus an extra 15 minutes.
• When you are ready to glaze the ham, preheat oven to 440 degrees F (230 degrees C).
• Remove the ham from the liquid and sit the ham on a board. Strip off the rind, and a little of the fat layer if it's very thick, and cut a diamond pattern into the remaining fat with a sharp knife in lines of about 3/4-inch apart. Stud each diamond with a clove. Put the jelly, cinnamon, paprika and red wine vinegar into a saucepan and whisk together over a high heat bringing it to the boil. Let the pan bubble away so that the glaze reduces to a syrup-like consistency.
• Place a layer of foil over a roasting tray big enough to hold the ham. Place the ham on top of the foil. Pour the glaze over the clove-studded ham and then transfer it to the oven. Cook for about 15 minutes, or until the glazed fat is burnished. Allow the meat to rest in a warm place for at least 15 minutes before carving it.

EASTER HAM WITH RED CURRANT GLAZE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 300 degrees.
• Put ham fat side up on a bed of aluminum foil in a pan just big enough to hold it. Place in oven for 2 1/2 hours.
• Remove from oven, and peel off the outer layer of fat. Score top with a sharp knife at 3/4-inch intervals in a checkerboard pattern, about half an inch deep. Return ham to oven.
• In a saucepan over medium heat, melt the jelly with the red wine and reduce until mixture is slightly syrupy, about 6 minutes. Baste ham lightly with the glaze every 10 minutes or so for 1 1/2 hours.
• Let cool for 30 minutes; then decorate with a thin line of parsley along every third scored line.

RED CURRANT GLAZE

Steps:

• Heat the jelly and water in a small saucepan over medium heat until melted and smooth.
• Remove from heat.
• Let cool until it is only slightly warm and then glaze the fruit or tart crust, using a pastry brush.

CURRANT MUSTARD-GLAZED HAM

Steps:

• If the ham comes with the skin still attached, remove most of it with a sharp knife, leaving a collar of skin around the shank bone and a layer of fat. Trim the fat, leaving a layer about 1/3 inch thick, score the layer remaining into diamonds, and stud the center of each diamond with a clove. Bake the ham on a rack in a roasting pan in a preheated 350°F. oven for 55 minutes.
• In a small saucepan heat the jelly over moderate heat, stirring, until it is melted and smooth, remove the pan from the heat, and stir in the mustard. Spoon the glaze over the ham, spreading it evenly, and bake the ham for 30 to 35 minutes more, or until the glaze is brown and bubbly. Transfer the ham to a platter and let it stand for 15 minutes before carving. If planning to make the ham, spinach, and pasta gratin (page 117), reserve 1 pound of the carved ham, covered and chilled.