What makes a holiday table sing? A perfectly glazed ham . Yet glazing is a headache to many home chefs, including the most experienced. Can the perfect glaze be made? Yes. It just takes some good ingredients and knowing how togive ham that glossy look.
Ham is nothing new at Christmas. Long before Germanic tribes embraced Christianity ,Teutonic pagans celebrated the winter solstice or Yule with roasted wold boar. Throughout the centuries ha was the star of any German Christmas table. It went over to England and then to the American colonies where many Founding Fathers enjoyed cured ham as part of their holiday meal. yet glazing ham come about in the 1880's and it was usually with a savory stock that was either reduce or thickened with butter and flour .This was flavored with various herbs and spices. Any sweetness came from added wine . Ale could be added to this glaze too.The modern glaze that we know came about in the 1930's created by Harry Hoensellar in Detroit, Michigan He offered honey glazed hams to curious housewives.It clicked .The sweetness was a great foil for the meat's cured saltiness. He also in vented the spiral cut ham which made it easier for home chefs to carve at the holiday table
Throughout the recent decades home chefs have used all sorts of sweet ingredients to glaze holiday hams, both Christmas and Easter. They include everything from ginger ale to pineapple juice / A simple one includes dark brown sugar (which as more flavor than light brown sugar) along with honey or real maple syrup. Kickiness comes from the addition of Dijon mustard and ground cloves. Ground cinnamon and nut meg can also be added. You could go 1950's and create a different and fruity pineapple glaze. this is more than just pouring juice onto an uncooked ham. The glaze also has brown sugar and honey to give that skin that burnished, glossy caramel look.Dijon or stone ground mustard along with apple cider vinegar cuts all that sweetness (no one want a ham that tastes like a candy). Cinnamon and clove can also be added. How do you glaze a ham? Usually with a brush and its done during the last hour or so of baking. This is usually done four times - figure every fifteen minutes.. This is also the time to score the game -r creating those squares on the outside. Add water so the bottom doesn't;t burn either.
The perfect Christmas ham is a glazed one. You can go from a simple glaze or a more elaborate one. Pick the one that you feel the most comfortable with using. The result with be a perfect marriage for salty and sweet with a kick for mustard and spices.
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