BOURBON-BAKED HAM

Makes 10 servings

Ham comes from the hind leg of the hog. Ham can be fresh, cured, or cured and smoked. Fresh ham is pale pink and beige in color after cooking. Cured ham is usually deep pink in color as a result of the curing process. Dry-cured ham like country ham and prosciutto is deep pink to mahogany red in color.

Hams are available bone-in or boneless. Bone-in hams are more flavorful than boneless hams. Bone-in hams will have part of the leg bone or hipbone intact, plus some smaller bones depending on the cut. You can purchase a whole ham (pretty much the entire leg of the hog) that will feed an army, or you can buy a half ham. Half hams come in two varieties: the butt end and the shank end. The butt end comes from the upper thigh and has a rounded end, whereas the shank end comes from the lower portion of the leg and has a pointed or tapered end.

1 cup honey

½ cup molasses

½ cup bourbon

¼ cup freshly squeezed orange juice

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

1 (6 to 8-pound) cured ham half

• Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a medium roasting pan with nonstick spray.

• Heat the honey, molasses, bourbon, orange juice, and mustard in a medium pot over medium heat until melted and combined.

• Remove the skin and fat from ham. Using a sharp knife make ¾ inch-deep cuts in the ham in a diamond pattern.

• Place the ham in the prepared roasting pan. Pour the honey glaze over the ham. Transfer to the oven and bake for 2 to 2½ hours or until a meat thermometer inserted into the thickest portion registers 140°F, basting every 30 minutes or so with the glaze on the bottom of the pan. When done, remove the ham to a rack and transfer it to a cutting board. Cover the ham loosely with aluminum foil to keep warm.

• Remove and discard the excess fat from the collected drippings in the bottom of the roasting pan. Transfer the drippings to a small saucepan. Bring the drippings to a boil. Slice the ham and serve with the warm drippings.

DROPPIN’ KNOWLEDGE

When measuring out sticky ingredients such as honey, spray a little nonstick spray into the measuring utensil and it will help the sticky ingredient to slide right out.