Gingersnap Glazed Ham

Growing up in Canada New Years always meant my mother would be cooking a Ham.  We had turkey for Thanksgiving and Christmas and we had Ham for Easter and New Years.   I don't know if there is a religious reason for this, or if it is just a family tradition, but it is something I still do.  Ham for New Years.

 

My mother never did anything fancy with it.  It would be boiled and then roasted.  She usually had a bone in ham, but you never see those over here.   

 

It would be served cold with mustard.  We would have mashed potatoes and green beans with it and a special dessert.  If we were really lucky it would be a Lemon Meringue Pie.

 

I don't ever remember her glazing it.  Not ever.   I do remember seeing photographs of glazed hams in the magazines . . .  the fat glistening and cut into diamonds and crusted on the edges with a sweet sugary crust . . .  each diamond studded with a clove or a cherry.  

 

They looked so very pretty, and tantalizingly delicious.

 

This year I bought a boneless cooked ham.  Over here uncooked ham is called Gammon and you have to boil it before you can eat it.  

 

However once it is cooked and called a ham it is always edible right out of the pack.  I like to heat it through though and glaze it.  It just makes something quite simple that little bit more special.

 

This glaze was absolutely brilliant.  Nice and spiced with ginger, both from the gingerale and from the ginger jam, a tiny bit spicy from the Dijon mustard and tabasco, sweet also from the ginger jam and some brown sugar and a smidgen tart from the  addition of apple cider vinegar.

 

Those ingredients get heated together until the ginger jam melts and then all whisked together.  I cut diamonds in the ham so that some of the  mixture would go down into the ham. 

 

 I rolled it in it all over and then I baked it in a moderate oven, basting it every ten to fifteen minutes with the glaze.

 

 Now here is where it gets really special.  I crushed gingersnaps for even more ginger flavours and sprinkled them over the top of the ham and basted it again.   

 

Baked for a short time longer it forms a nice gingery crust.  I probably basted it two more times before it was done.

 

The end result was a lovely flavoured ham with a gingery crust and the juices in the roasting dish thickened up from some of the crumbs to make a sauce that was just gorgeous spooned over the warm ham.  

 

All in all this was a real winner!  We loved it.  Oh, I do love it when an experiment or an idea turns out to be every bit as delicious as I had envisioned it to be!  I hope you will give it a go!

 

 

*Gingersnap Glazed Ham*

Serves 4 to 6 with leftovers 

Printable Recipe  

 

 
 

This is delicious.  Simple to make. The oven does all the work.  The leftovers are delicious sliced and served cold with cheese and pickle. 

 

 

1 kg cooked ham (about 2 1/4 pounds)

120ml gingerale (1/2 cup)

60ml apple cider vinegar (1/4 cup)

1/2  (454g)jar of ginger preserves (about 1/2 cup)

2 TBS French Dijon mustard

100g soft light brown sugar

dash tabasco sauce

Crumbled gingersnaps to finish (about 6) 

 

Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*f/ gas mark 4.   Melt the ginger preserves in a  flameproof casserole dish large enough to hold the ham.  Add the gingerale, apple cider vinegar, mustard, brown sugar and tabasco sauce.  Whisk well together.  Cut slashes in top of the ham.  Place it into the casserole dish, top first and rolling it around to coat it in the mixture.  Roast in the preheated oven, basting every 20 minutes or so for about 45 minutes.  Sprinkle the crumbled gingersnaps over top.  Baste again.  Roast for about 15 to 20 minutes longer, basting at least one more time, until heated through. 

 

Let stand for 10 minutes before cutting it into thin slices and serving, with some of the pan juices spooned over top if desired.

 

I really do hope you will try this out.  I can promise you, you won't be sorry.  If you cannot find the ginger jam, use some orange marmalade with a tsp of ginger powder added.  It will be every bit as good.   Happy New Year!!

 

 

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