By Easter. Made the ham again, same preparation, same method, same result. Some recipes reach a terminus of correctness and you stop trying to improve them. The Easter ham is one of those. The prime rib is another. The elk chili is a third. These are the fixed recipes and they hold the fixed occasions and I've stopped thinking of them as individual meals — they're part of the year's structure now. Removing one of them would be like removing a post from the fence. The section would still stand but the alignment would be off.
Tom came for Easter. He's walking without the cane on clear surfaces now, uses it for outdoor or uncertain ground. Claire had sent a good pair of boots with extra traction for the icy months and they've helped. I watched him come up the front path and he was moving steadily, his jaw set in the way that means he's paying attention to something he doesn't want to pay attention to. That's his version of caution. It's enough.
I went to church in the morning. Father Brannigan gave the Easter homily and partway through he said something I'd heard him say before in different words: that resurrection isn't only the physical thing, that the pattern of dying to something and coming back to something better is available to everyone who has the willingness to go through it. I've heard this framing many times and each time it sits differently. This time it sat like a description of what the therapy has been, and I thought about writing about it. Then I decided to keep it here, where it belongs, where private things can be private.
Ate the ham cold in a sandwich late Sunday evening. The best way to eat Easter ham. Thick-sliced, mustard, a little of the glaze that had dripped into the pan. The kind of meal that rewards you for having made the original thing right.
The ham I made this Easter is the same ham I’ve made for years — same glaze, same method, same quiet satisfaction when it comes out right. If you’re looking for the recipe that earns that kind of permanence on your table, this is the one I keep coming back to. It rewards the effort you put into it, and it rewards you again the next day, cold, in a sandwich.
Holiday Ham
Prep Time: 20 minutes | Cook Time: 2 hours 30 minutes | Total Time: 2 hours 50 minutes | Servings: 12
Ingredients
- 1 bone-in fully cooked ham (7 to 9 pounds)
- 1 cup packed brown sugar
- 1/4 cup Dijon mustard
- 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- Whole cloves for studding (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven. Heat oven to 325°F. Place ham flat-side down in a roasting pan fitted with a rack.
- Score the ham. Using a sharp knife, score the surface of the ham in a diamond pattern, cutting about 1/4 inch deep. If desired, press a whole clove into the center of each diamond.
- Make the glaze. In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine brown sugar, Dijon mustard, apple cider vinegar, honey, ground cloves, and cinnamon. Stir until the sugar dissolves and the glaze is smooth, about 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from heat.
- Apply first glaze coat. Brush approximately one-third of the glaze over the ham. Tent loosely with foil.
- Roast the ham. Bake for 1 hour 45 minutes, basting with pan drippings every 30 minutes.
- Glaze and finish. Remove foil. Brush the ham generously with the remaining glaze. Return to oven uncovered and roast for an additional 30 to 40 minutes, until the glaze is caramelized and the internal temperature reaches 140°F.
- Rest and serve. Remove ham from oven and let rest 15 minutes before carving. Reserve the pan drippings — they’re excellent brushed over thick-sliced leftovers the next day.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 420 | Protein: 38g | Fat: 18g | Carbs: 22g | Fiber: 0g | Sodium: 1340mg