Easter HAM
The Easter season is upon us, even though to look outside right now you may want to strike up a medley of your winter holiday favorites. I thought I would use the space this week to talk about preparing the Easter Ham. Make no mistakes about it, while you putter away in the solitude of your kitchen there is a war raging over whether or not to enshrine the ham with fruit or not. There are really some quite strong opinions about this, however I will enjoy either one that is served to me. In my kitchen I have departed from the traditional pineapple rings with the cherries, for what I believe to be a more contemporary brown sugar and clove glaze. No matter how you prepare the ham, truly the aroma of the wafting around the house gives way to a great feeling of the holidays presence and the gathering of family.
The Ham is quite simple to prepare if you are using a pre-cooked ham.
Here's what you need
1 - 8 to 10 pound bone in smoked, fully cooked ham, butt or shank portion
(If you find a ham already spiral cut this will make serving all the easier. If not, you may want to ask the butcher if he can spiral cut a ham for you)
1 1/2 tsp of ground clove
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup orange or pineapple juice
Here's what you do
Let the Ham set at room temperature for about 30 minutes. Preheat your oven to 325 degrees F.
Place the ham flat side down on a rack in a roasting pan and pour 1/4 inch of water into the bottom of the pan.
Roast the ham until it has reached an internal temperature of 130 degrees. That equates to 15 minutes per pound or about 2-1/2 hours.
Brown Sugar Clove Glaze
In a small sauce pan add your juice, brown sugar, and clove over a low heat stirring gently and constantly.
Now bring to a small boil, stirring constantly, reduce heat to a medium-low heat; this mixture will begin to thicken some.
Remove the Ham from the oven when it has reached the 130 degree internal temp and raise the oven temp to 425 degrees F.
Now brush or spoon the glaze all over the ham. Place the ham back in the oven for about 45 minutes. Continue to baste the the ham every 10 minutes until it is nicely coated, glazed and brown. The higher heat allows the glaze to be set on the surface of the ham.
baste - to spoon or brush food as it cooks with melted butter or other fat, meat drippings or liquid such as stock. A bulb baster can also be used to drizzle the liquid over the food. In addition to adding flavor and color, basting keeps meats and other foods from drying out. Fatty roasts, when cooked fat side up, do not need basting.
Mashed Potatoes (Homeboycooking style)
Now everyone has there own way of making mashed potatoes, but if I let you leave this page without sharing how I do it, I could never forgive myself.
Here's what you need
4-5 white potatoes or my favorite Yukon Gold
1/4 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
(option crushed and sweated garlic)
Here's what you do
Peel and chop the potatoes into about 1-1/2 inch cubes.
Boil these potatoes until they are very tender to the stick of a fork.
Drain the water from the potatoes and add the 1/4 cup of buttermilk.
Remember: "add seasonings slowly..you can always add more....taking out is a bit of a problem"
Using a potato masher, begin smashing as the potatoes are all mashed add about half of the heavy whipping cream. Keep stirring those potatoes.
Add the rest of the cream as you begin to get the creamy consistency you need...Add more cream if needed for your quantity of potatoes.
Add salt, seasoning salt, and/or pepper to your taste!
Happy Easter!!
The Easter season is upon us, even though to look outside right now you may want to strike up a medley of your winter holiday favorites. I thought I would use the space this week to talk about preparing the Easter Ham. Make no mistakes about it, while you putter away in the solitude of your kitchen there is a war raging over whether or not to enshrine the ham with fruit or not. There are really some quite strong opinions about this, however I will enjoy either one that is served to me. In my kitchen I have departed from the traditional pineapple rings with the cherries, for what I believe to be a more contemporary brown sugar and clove glaze. No matter how you prepare the ham, truly the aroma of the wafting around the house gives way to a great feeling of the holidays presence and the gathering of family.
The Ham is quite simple to prepare if you are using a pre-cooked ham.
Here's what you need
1 - 8 to 10 pound bone in smoked, fully cooked ham, butt or shank portion
(If you find a ham already spiral cut this will make serving all the easier. If not, you may want to ask the butcher if he can spiral cut a ham for you)
1 1/2 tsp of ground clove
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup orange or pineapple juice
Here's what you do
Let the Ham set at room temperature for about 30 minutes. Preheat your oven to 325 degrees F.
Place the ham flat side down on a rack in a roasting pan and pour 1/4 inch of water into the bottom of the pan.
Roast the ham until it has reached an internal temperature of 130 degrees. That equates to 15 minutes per pound or about 2-1/2 hours.
Brown Sugar Clove Glaze
In a small sauce pan add your juice, brown sugar, and clove over a low heat stirring gently and constantly.
Now bring to a small boil, stirring constantly, reduce heat to a medium-low heat; this mixture will begin to thicken some.
Remove the Ham from the oven when it has reached the 130 degree internal temp and raise the oven temp to 425 degrees F.
Now brush or spoon the glaze all over the ham. Place the ham back in the oven for about 45 minutes. Continue to baste the the ham every 10 minutes until it is nicely coated, glazed and brown. The higher heat allows the glaze to be set on the surface of the ham.
baste - to spoon or brush food as it cooks with melted butter or other fat, meat drippings or liquid such as stock. A bulb baster can also be used to drizzle the liquid over the food. In addition to adding flavor and color, basting keeps meats and other foods from drying out. Fatty roasts, when cooked fat side up, do not need basting.
Mashed Potatoes (Homeboycooking style)
Now everyone has there own way of making mashed potatoes, but if I let you leave this page without sharing how I do it, I could never forgive myself.
Here's what you need
4-5 white potatoes or my favorite Yukon Gold
1/4 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
(option crushed and sweated garlic)
Here's what you do
Peel and chop the potatoes into about 1-1/2 inch cubes.
Boil these potatoes until they are very tender to the stick of a fork.
Drain the water from the potatoes and add the 1/4 cup of buttermilk.
Remember: "add seasonings slowly..you can always add more....taking out is a bit of a problem"
Using a potato masher, begin smashing as the potatoes are all mashed add about half of the heavy whipping cream. Keep stirring those potatoes.
Add the rest of the cream as you begin to get the creamy consistency you need...Add more cream if needed for your quantity of potatoes.
Add salt, seasoning salt, and/or pepper to your taste!
Happy Easter!!
