With Easter coming, I wanted to try out a new glaze for the ham - something a bit different. I love mustard on ham, but I also like sweet glazes; when I came across a recipe that combined both the sweet and the savory I knew I was on to something! I loved how this turned out...it's got a nice little kick to it and will really make our Easter ham into something special!
Mustard-Apricot Ham Glaze - Adapted from Claire Robinson, Food Network.com
1 cup apricot or fig preserves, or a combination of both
1/2 cup Dijon mustard
1/3 cup cider vinegar
1/4 cup bourbon
** Can of 7-Up Soda (12 oz.)
Mix preserves, mustard, vinegar and bourbon in a small saucepan and cook over medium-high heat until it comes to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for ten minutes. Reserve 1/4 cup of glaze to use in a "gravy" and baste ham with remaining glaze. Baste 30 minutes before ham is due to come out of the oven. After basting, do not cover with foil. Read below for instructions on how to make "gravy" out of the remaining glaze.
** This is how I'll make my ham this Easter (it's how I cook my ham every year, whether I use the glaze that comes with the ham or this glaze): I purchase a bone-in ham (about a 10 lb. ham or close to it), put it into my baking dish, cut cross-hatch marks into the rind, making a diamond pattern, and pour a can of 7-Up over the ham. Cover with foil and bake for about 45 minutes to an hour. Remove foil and brush with glaze, forcing it into the cross-hatch cuts. Most of it will run down into the drippings and 7-Up but that's okay. Leave the ham uncovered and bake for an additional 30 minutes. When the ham is done, remove it from the oven, drain all of the juices into a sauce pan, stir in the remaining 1/4 cup of glaze and boil it. After it comes to a boil, reduce the heat to a simmer and let it simmer for 5 to 10 minutes to thicken up a bit. Then pass this "gravy" along with the ham. It's going to be good!!!
