Easter Ham Recipe Glazed and Roasted

If you’re looking for a Easter Ham Recipe, look no further: this is my very special recipe to prepare an amazing honey glazed ham for Easter, by following chef Gordon Ramsay’s recipe, which is perfect for a Sunday lunches and of course for Easter and also Christmas.

The main thing about this Easter Ham Recipe is the glaze prepared by mixing orange and honey, sprinkled over the ham; once frosted with this glaze, the han is baked in the oven until the outside becomes crispy. The cloves also add something special to this ham, a truly unique taste and smell.

To ensure that this glazed Easter Ham is cooked correctly, you need to pay attention to small things that are fundamental:

• The cut of ham must be large enough otherwise when you will put it in the oven it will lose liquid and it will be too dry;
• You should never overdo the amount of frosting: just a brush or the ham will not really glaze and above all, the outside will remain soft instead of becoming crunchy;
• Once ready, wait a few minutes before serving to allow the cooking liquids to drain completely;
• The external part can be served separately (as happens for example with our Italian porchetta), removing it completely with a sharp knife;
• The cooking liquids are fundamental: the inside of the ham, in fact, could be excessively dry so it is good to provide an accompanying sauce that can be prepared using the cooking liquid of the smoked ham with red wine;
• Traditionally, the ham is boiled before being cooked but this step can be avoided. It is enough to cook it in the oven for 1 hour;
• To prepare the icing instead of orange juice you can use bitter orange marmalade.

Let’s now move to the traditional glazed Easter Ham recipe, to be served with potatoes or even a simple salad.

Easter Ham Recipe: advice and variations

• You can cook your Easter ham last minute or prepare it a few hours earlier and just serve cold with its juice;
• To give your Easter Ham a nice flavour, you can cover the surface with slices of pineapple and bake: the juice from the pineapple will release its flavour making sure the ham will taste amazing;
• Once ready, the Easter Ham lasts for a couple of days in the fridge: you can use it to make sandwiches or just heat it up and serve with vegetables. You can also freeze it, if you want to eat it on a later stage;
• Instead of orange jam you can use orange juice or even apricot jam.

How to make incisions on the ham

Using a sharp knife, make superficial incisions on the skin of the ham with a maximum depth of 0.5 cm and at a distance of about 1 cm from each other. If possible, make diamond-shaped incisions for an better effect.

Glaze for your Easter Ham Recipe

The glaze can also be prepared by mixing the honey with:

• mustard
• sugar cane
• various aromas.

How to cut your Easter Ham

At the time of cutting, the ham must be placed on a hard surface (a serving plate is not good) and should be cut using a long and sharp knife. It is necessary to make a clean cut so as to obtain homogeneous slices, which include both the meat and the outer crust.

Why Do in the United States People Eat Ham on Easter?

Ham is traditionally eaten at Easter in the United States because in the past pigs were usually slaughtered in the fall and since it was cold and the meat wasn’t ready before Easter time, it became common to eat ham to celebrate Easter.