Christmas Glazed Ham

Name: Christmas Glazed Ham
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 2 h 30 min
Total time: 3 h
Yield: 10 to 12 servings
Ingredients: 1 (6- to 8-pound) boneless, unsliced city ham (brined and cooked, unsmoked or lightly smoked); 20 to 30 cloves; 6 clementines, halved through the equator then deseeded; 2 fresh (or dried) bay leaves; 3/4 packed cup Demerara sugar; 4 tablespoons dry English mustard powder (such as Colman’s); 2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon classic yellow mustard (such as French’s); 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar; 2 tablespoons olive oil; 1 scant cup mayonnaise; 1 star anise (or ⅛ teaspoon star anise powder)

By Yotam Ottolenghi

Updated Dec. 13, 2023

Christmas Glazed Ham — Linda Xiao for The New York Times. Food stylist: Maggie Ruggiero. Prop stylist: Sophia Eleni Pappas.

Total Time: About 3 hours, plus resting time
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 2½ to 3½ hours
Rating: 4(273)
Comments: Read comments

There’s nothing quite like the smell of ham roasting with clementines and cloves to announce the holidays. Taking inspiration from Claudia Roden’s orange and almond cake, which uses boiled oranges for moisture and flavor, this recipe steams clementines alongside the ham, then blends them into a sweet mustard sauce to pour over the meat. The result is a sweet, sticky, spiced glaze coating the ham, plus extra pooling at the bottom of the pan. Any excess turns into a clever sandwich condiment to dress any leftover ham.

Featured in: Add a Little Zing to Your Classic Christmas Ham

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Ingredients

Yield:10 to 12 servings

1(6- to 8-pound) boneless, unsliced city ham (brined and cooked, unsmoked or lightly smoked)
20 to 30cloves
6clementines, halved through the equator then deseeded
2fresh (or dried) bay leaves
¾packed cup Demerara sugar
4tablespoons dry English mustard powder (such as Colman’s)
2tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon classic yellow mustard (such as French’s)
1tablespoon white wine vinegar
2tablespoons olive oil
1scant cup mayonnaise
1star anise (or ⅛ teaspoon star anise powder)

Ingredient Substitution Guide

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Preparation

Step 1
Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Score the ham by cutting across the ham at an angle with a small, sharp knife, only going about ½ inch deep. Repeat the scoring multiple times in the same direction, creating parallel lines that are about 1½ inches apart all the way across the ham, and then repeat the scoring process in the opposite direction to create a diamond pattern. Stud the corners of each diamond on the top side of the ham with a clove.
Step 2
Place the ham in a roasting pan large enough to fit the ham with around 3 inches of space around the edge. Surround it with 8 of the clementine halves, setting them cut side up. Add the bay leaves and ½ cup water. Cover the pan tightly with foil and cook for 30 minutes.
Step 3
Remove from the oven and carefully transfer the cooked clementines to a blender, along with the sugar, mustard powder, yellow mustard, vinegar and oil. Blend until smooth, then pour the mixture over the ham.
Step 4
Place the remaining clementines around the ham, setting them cut side up, reduce the oven temperature to 325 degrees and roast, uncovered, for another 2 to 3 hours (roughly 20 minutes cook time per pound). Check every 30 minutes or so, and add ¼ cup of water at a time if the sauce starts to run dry around the edges of the pan. Remove from the oven once the glaze is golden and the pan juices are nice and sticky. Increase the oven temperature to 400 degrees.
Step 5
Transfer the ham to a cutting board and whisk the mayonnaise into the glaze in the pan, then use a spatula to transfer the mixture into a bowl. Return the ham to the pan, and apply a thin layer (around ¼ cup) of the mayonnaise mixture onto the ham as a glaze. Cook for a further 6 to 8 minutes until the glaze is glossy.
Step 6
Remove from the oven, grate the star anise on top using a microplane, and set aside to rest for 20 minutes before carving. Serve the remaining mayonnaise mixture with the ham, or later as a condiment to make sandwiches from any leftovers.

Ratings

4 out of 5

273 user ratings

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Comments

Kay1 year ago

If this recipe begins with a cooked ham, why does it need to be cooked for 2-3 hours at 325?

CFXK1 year ago

Two helpful rules for reading recipes that save a lot of confusion, and answer recurring clarifying questions on here: 1. Unless it says to do it, don't; e.g., if a recipe calls for a sauce to "simmer for 30 minutes," leave it uncovered; if recipe says "cover pot and simmer." put the cover on. 2. Read and act from left to right, e.g. "1 cup walnuts, chopped" means measure whole walnuts, then chop them; "1 cup chopped walnuts." means chop the walnuts then measure the chopped walnuts.

Mira1 year ago

What is a city ham?

Mary5 months ago

Pleasant but not my favorite. Mustard flavour was very strong

AM5 months ago

Did anyone else get more of a paste than a glaze? I feel like it’s missing some liquid.

LVK5 months ago

I had wondered about adding the mayonnaise to make a sauce - much to my surprise it’s great!! My family loved this ham. Very delicious, no hint of bitterness. The subtle flavor of the cloves blended beautifully with the clementines. Followed the recipe exactly, but did sub light brown sugar for the glaze/puree, and regular white vinegar instead of ww vinegar. Delish!!

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