Festive glazed ham

The ultimate centrepiece. - by Ellie Vernon

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Adorned with a bouquet of bay leaves, rosemary and sage, this quince-glazed ham with take centre-stage.

Ingredients

8kg whole leg Australian ham on bone

1 tsp whole cloves

100g quince paste

¾ cup orange juice

½ cup brown sugar

2 Tbsp dry sherry

1 Tbsp dijon mustard

¼ tsp mixed spice

Preheat oven to 180 degrees C fan-forced (200 degrees C conventional).
Using a small sharp knife, cut through rind 10cm from top of ham shank. Run your thumb underneath skin and above fat layer, to separate edges. Starting from widest edge, gently pull back rind to remove.
Using a kitchen knife, score a diamond pattern at 2cm intervals, about 5mm deep, all over ham fat.
Stud ham randomly with cloves. Place on rack in a baking dish.
To make glaze, place all ingredients in a medium saucepan. Stir over low heat until sugar dissolves. Simmer for 5 minutes until slightly thickened. Cool.
Brush a quarter of glaze over ham. Bake for 20 minutes, basting twice. Cook for 10-15 minutes more, basting ham with remaining glaze until it caramelises (if you like, reserve some of the glaze, boil and serve with ham). Rest for 10 minutes. Serve with drizzled extra glaze, if desired.