Growing up my father always made the Christmas ham. I remember “helping” him get everything prepped and ready with the sweet brown sugar, honey, pineapple and cloves. Really it was my way of getting a few pieces of pineapple 😉 My whole life I ate ham this way; it was tradition after all. Sweet ham for a sweet ending to ring in the new year. That was until I came across this sweet and savory recipe. This Honey mustard ham with warm cinnamon applesauce is savory, and juicy with just the perfect balance of sweet from the apples.
I made this the other weekend while my father and brother almost inhaled the 10lb ham themselves! Sneaking a little “nibble” as they called it turned into a full on assault of my beautiful ham. I seriously had to stop them, so I could take pictures.
Ingredients:
8 to 10 lb smoked ham, bone in, skin on
sprinkle kosher salt and black pepper
2 tbsp thyme leaves, chopped
2 tbsp sage leaves, chopped
2 tbsp parsley, chopped
3 tbsp Dijon mustard
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup unsalted butter, cut in chunks
3 gala apples, cored and thinly sliced
3-4 shallots peeled, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cups apple cider
1 cup riesling wine
1 cup honey
1 cup water
1/4 tsp whole cloves
2 cinnamon sticks
*Adapted from Chef Lynn Crawford
- 8 to 10 lb smoked ham, bone in, skin on
- sprinkle kosher salt and black pepper
- 2 tbsp thyme leaves, chopped
- 2 tbsp sage leaves, chopped
- 2 tbsp parsley, chopped
- 3 tbsp Dijon mustard
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- ½ cup unsalted butter, cut in chunks
- 3 gala apples, cored and thinly sliced
- 3-4 shallots peeled, thinly sliced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- ½ cups apple cider
- 1 cup riesling wine
- 1 cup honey
- 1 cup water
- ¼ tsp whole cloves
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- Preheat oven to 300* F.
- Put the ham in a large roasting pan, skin side up. Using a sharp knife, score the ham with cuts across the skin (about two inches apart and one-half inch deep). Cut diagonally down the slashes to form a diamond pattern. Season the ham generously with salt and pepper.Mix the herbs, mustard and oil to make a paste. Rub the herb mixture over the ham, making sure to get the flavor into all the slits.
- Pour just enough water in the bottom of the pan to have about ¼ inch. Cover with foil paper and bake the ham for two hours. After the ham has been in the oven for the 2 hours remove the foil and baste with some of the liquid. Return the ham to the oven for 30 min to crisp up the outside a bit.
- For the applesauce, place a saucepan over medium heat. Add the honey, chunks of butter, apples, shallots, garlic, apple juice, brown sugar, wine, water and spices. Slowly cook the liquid down to a chunky, syrupy sauce (about 50 minutes). Remove the cinnamon sticks and cloves then serve with ham.
- Remove the ham from the oven. Set the ham on a cutting board to rest before carving. I like to cover mine with a bit of foil paper to retain the heat.
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