My Kitchen My Table

Ham for the Tailgater

The day after Christmas my football team – Go Trojan’s! was sadly in the Emerald Bowl. The only redeeming part of this equation is that the Nut Bowl is blocks away from home. With rain threatening I decided to host the pre-game tailgater in the loft instead of in the parking lot. What better than to have civilized cocktails and fill up on food other than hot dogs and ten dollar beers before braving the storm and heading to the stadium?

Since everyone had been gorging on food for the past 2 days, I wanted to keep it simple with a dose of comfort. Ham was the call. It could be sliced to serve in sandwiches or fly solo with mustard and the reduced glaze on the side. Best of all, prep would be minimal.

After sticking a bunch of cloves on the top and pouring the glaze over it, it simply cooked for 90 minutes and voila – perfection, so succulent, it received three cheers and won fans from both sides of the game.

12-14 lb smoked ham
several whole cloves – enough to cover the top and around the sides
6-8 oz jar of mango chutney
1/2 cup smooth Dijon mustard (I prefer the spiciness in the smooth vs. the seeded but you could use either)
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
4-6 garlic cloves

Pre-heat oven to 350°

Put the ham in a deep baking dish or Dutch oven. Put the cloves in the top, about 3/4 inches apart. In a blender or using an immersion blender, add remaining ingredients and blend until smooth then pour over the top of the ham so it runs down all sides. Heat in the oven for 60-75 minutes until the top is golden and the ham is warm.

Remove the ham and let it rest for 10 minutes before slicing. While the ham is resting, pour the glaze and juices from the pan into a sauce pan and bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 5-7 minutes. Serve along side the ham to drizzle over the top.

Once the ham has been devoured, be sure to keep the hock and make split pea soup.

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