Recipe Background
Few Christmas meals are as iconic or delicious as the Holiday Roasted Ham. The ham is succulent and rich, elevated by the sugar and spice mixture baked right in, and its delightfully rosy and juicy pink center. But this Holiday Roasted Ham also adds a wonderfully fresh and savory apple jus to make each bite a taste memory you won't want to forget! The holidays are here and they taste amazing!
Few Christmas meals are as iconic or delicious as the Holiday Roasted Ham. The ham is succulent and rich, elevated by the sugar and spice mixture baked right in, and its delightfully rosy and juicy pink center. But this Holiday Roasted Ham also adds a wonderfully fresh and savory apple jus to make each bite a taste memory you won't want to forget! The holidays are here and they taste amazing!
Ingredients
- 1 (16-ounce) package light brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons freshly ground black pepper
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cloves
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 (8-10-pound) smoked ham skin removed
- 3 medium Fuji apples peeled and cored, thinly sliced
- 2 tablespoons water
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- kosher salt to taste
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- In a medium bowl, add the brown sugar, the black pepper, the cloves, and the cinnamon and whisk or stir to combine.
- On two large pieces of foil, add the ham fat-side up.
- Using your clean hands, rub the spice mixture all over the top and the sides of the ham. The spice mixture should form a thick layer over the ham.
- Wrap the ham tightly in the foil.
- Transfer the ham to a large roasting pan.
- Roast the ham until it is glossy on the outside and it reaches an internal temperature of 125 degrees F at the thickest part, about 3 hours.
- Transfer the ham to a work surface and allow it to rest, wrapped in the foil, until it is cool enough to handle safely, about 2 hours.
- Unwrap the ham and slice the meat.
- Transfer the ham to a large platter and tent it with foil to keep it warm, being careful to reserve the accumulated juices.
- In a large measuring cup, add the reserved accumulated juices from the ham and spoon off any fat.
- In a medium saucepan over medium heat, add the apples and the water and cover the saucepan.
- Cook the apple mixture, covered and while stirring occasionally, until the apples are tender, about 10 minutes.
- Using a slotted spoon, transfer the apple mixture to a blender.
- Add the ham juices and the vinegar to the apple mixture in the blender and cover the blender.
- Purée the apple mixture until smooth.
- Strain the puréed apple mixture through a fine-mesh sieve over a gravy boat.
- Season the apple jus with the salt, as needed.
- Serve the ham with the apple jus.
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