Easter Ham with Golden Breadcrumbs & Madeira Sauce

By á-3151

The truth is, you can use any supermarket bone-in ham for this recipe, or buy a half ham and cut the recipe accordingly. But considering the holiday occasion, it's worthwhile to get the best cured, smoked, bone-in ham you can find. Special-order one from your butcher or from dartagnan.com (we love the applewood-smoked version).

Ingredients

• 1 (16-pound) whole bone-in smoked ham
• 2 cups dark brown sugar, packed
• 1/2 cup Dijon mustard
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 3 cups coarse fresh breadcrumbs made from six 1/2-inch-thick slices rustic white bread
• 3 cups Madeira
• cheesecloth

Details

Servings 16
Preparation time 50mins
Cooking time 275mins
Adapted from bonappetit.com

Preparation

Step 1

Arrange a rack on lowest level of oven; pre-heat to 300°F. Without trimming fat, remove outer rind from most of ham, leaving a band around end of shank bone. Spacing cuts 3/4-inch apart to make a diamond pattern, score fat on top of ham crosswise and then lengthwise on a diagonal (do not cut into meat). Place ham in a large roasting pan. Pour 3 cups water into pan and roast ham for 2 hours.

Meanwhile, stir brown sugar and mustard in a medium bowl until a thick paste forms; set aside. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add breadcrumbs; toast, stirring often, until very crispy, 5 to 7 minutes. Set aside.

Remove ham from oven; increase temperature to 350°F. Spread half of sugar-mustard paste over scored top of ham. Bake until an instant-read thermometer inserted into thickest part of ham registers 145°F, about 1 hour. If pan juices have dried out, add 1 cup water to pan.

Remove ham from oven; increase temperature to 400°F. Spread remaining sugar-mustard paste over ham and pack breadcrumbs all over top.

Bake ham until crumbs are deep golden brown and crisp, 12 to 15 minutes. Transfer ham to a serving platter; let rest for 20 minutes before carving.

Line a fine-mesh sieve with cheesecloth. Set sieve over a medium pitcher or gravy boat. Spoon off fat from surface of juices in pan; discard. Add Madeira to pan. Place roasting pan over medium-high heat and simmer liquids briskly, scraping up browned bits, until sauce thickens and is reduced to 2 cups, about 15 minutes. Strain sauce through prepared sieve, pressing on solids; discard solids.

Carve ham. Serve sauce alongside.