‘The easiest and best ham I’ve ever had’: Danielle Alvarez’s mustard and sherry vinegar-glazed ham

November 29, 2024

Danielle Alvarez’s go-to ham glaze.William Meppem

easyTime:2 hours +Serves:12

This recipe is adapted from a dear friend’s. To this day, it’s still the easiest and best ham I’ve ever had or made, so I find it difficult to try anything else. It’s a total crowd-pleaser and it comes out looking absolutely stunning.

Ingredients

1 leg smoked ham (about 8kg or bigger)
500g brown sugar
250ml sherry vinegar
2 star anise
1 cinnamon stick
4 cloves
2 heaped tbsp Dijon mustard
1 heaped tbsp hot English mustard

Method

Step 1
Preheat your oven to 140C fan-forced (160C conventional).
Step 2
To remove the skin from the ham, wiggle your fingertips underneath a section of it until you get a piece that you can grab and then pull off. When you get to the shank, use a small paring knife to cut off the main piece of skin (freezing it to use later to flavour broths or a pot of beans).
Step 3
Score the fat layer on the ham in a diamond-shaped pattern or in straight lines, and place the joint on a baking tray lined with baking paper.
Step 4
Combine all the remaining ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a simmer. Simmer on low for about 10-15 minutes until the mixture has reduced by one-third.
Step 5
Spoon about a quarter of the glaze over the ham, ensuring the top is evenly covered, and bake in the oven uncovered. It will take about 1½-2 hours for the ham to heat through and become deeply glazed. Every 20-30 minutes, add another few spoonfuls of glaze to the ham so that, as the meat heats, the glaze caramelises and sticks to it. You want to use all the glaze in this process. For the last 15 minutes of roasting, increase the oven temperature by 20 degrees to further caramelise the ham and make it sticky and burnished.
Step 6
Allow to rest for at least 15-20 minutes before slicing and serve while still warm.