ham (boneless, cured, uncooked, rind on, about 7 1/2 pounds)

By SMorrissey

Ingredients

• 1 ham (boneless, cured, uncooked, rind on, about 7 1/2 pounds)
• 1/2 cup molasses
• 1 tablespoon whole cloves
• 1/4 cup molasses
• 1/4 cup turbinado sugar
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

Details

Servings 1
Adapted from abc.go.com

Preparation

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 450ºF, and let ham come to room temperature.
Line a large roasting pan with a layer of aluminum foil, and then sit a wire rack on top of this foil. Tear off a large piece of foil (big enough to wrap around the ham) and place this over the rack on the roasting pan. Tear off a second large piece of foil and place on top, but in the opposite way to the first, so you have 4 corners of foil ready to wrap your ham in.
Sit the ham on the foil and then pour the molasses over it, straight onto the rind, letting it run down both sides.
Now lift up the sides and ends of the first layer of foil and make a seal at the top leaving some room around the ham, then seal the ends. Then take up the other piece of foil and do the same: you are trying to create a good seal around the ham, so pinch together any open gaps that remain. Finally, tear off another piece of foil and put over the top of the whole parcel, making sure it's well sealed.
Put carefully into the oven and let it cook for 30 minutes, then turn the oven down to 200˚F and leave for another 15-24 hours.
The following day, take the ham out of the oven and open up the foil seal. Reserve the ham liquid for moistening the carved meat later. Carefully lift the ham out onto a board, snip and remove the string, and peel off the rind to leave a good layer of fat.
Increase the oven temperature to 400˚F. Using a sharp knife, cut a diamond pattern in the fat layer, drawing lines one way and then the opposite way, about 3/4 inch apart.
Stud the center of each diamond with a clove, then mix together the molasses, turbinado sugar, and dijon mustard in a bowl and spread over the fat on the ham. It will dribble off a bit, so just spoon it back over the ham before putting back in the over for 20 minutes, by which time the glaze will be burnished and blistered in the heat. Remove from the oven, and transfer to a board. Let it rest for 10-20 minutes before carving into thin slices.