For many years it's been our family tradition to make homemade bread and ham on Thanksgiving Eve or Christmas Eve. This guarantees that the morning after there is a quick breakfast on the table as I'm usually too busy preparing our feast, hot cocoa or cinnamon buns for the kids and neighbors on Christmas morning.
1can pineapple ringsdrained and patted dry, optional
100clovesIf you don't care to count, ask any kid to do so or use a scant 1 ½ tablespoons
Reserved pineapple juiceoptional
1/2 tspcinnamon powderoptional
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Remove ham from packaging and rinse well under running water. Drain and pat dry with paper towels.Score the surface of the ham creating a diamond pattern and place cloves at each corner and/or center of the diamond.
In a medium bowl whisk honey, brown sugar, mustard and cinnamon, if using. (You don't want it too runny-it has to stay on the ham!). Rub or brush mixture over ham.
Place ham in a baking pan or roasting pan (not too wide or else the ham juices will evaporate too quickly and you will have no glaze) and top with the pineapple rings(secure with toothpicks if they do not wish to stay put). If all the pineapple rings don't fit on the surface of the ham, place in the pan. You may pour a few tablespoons of the remaining pineapple juice in the pan too.
Place the ham in the oven and bake uncovered @350 degrees F for 15-20 minutes per pound- may take longer in your oven. Baste every 30 mins for about 3 minutes continuously each time. This is called the "ham love-making process". Give it love to get love.
During the last 30 minutes, when the pan juices are thickening and hopefully becoming a syrup, baste every ten minutes to create a nice thick, fantastical, irresistible glaze. Remove from oven and let it rest for 10 minutes or overnight. Remove pineapple slices and cloves. Sometimes I leave them on if I am not slicing it right away.
Slice thinly and serve with hot home-made bread slathered with butter and hot sauce aka Trini style pepper sauce. I usually strain the sauce from the bottom of the pan and drizzle it over the ham slices to kick it up another notch. It soaks back in overtime and adds even more flavor.
Video
Notes
Cooking tips: • ***7 pounds is ideal, but this recipe can be used for a ham that's up to 10 pounds. For more than 7 pounds I increase the brown sugar to 1 cup and use 3 tbs mustard. • Trinidadians like boiling their ham before baking, I would only do so if it is salty. Read the package instructions to make your decision. If it says boil first, then BOIL! • Feel free to use your favorite marmalade, jam or chutney in combination with or in place of the honey. • Alternate method: Sometimes I place the ham in the oven only with the cloves and cook for an hour or more to allow the juices to be extracted, then I place the sugar mixture and pineapple on, BROIL to seal and caramelize the sugar(7-10 mins), then reduce heat to 350 degrees F and bake for the required time(as per the packaging instructions), basting regularly.