Pig Out on Drunken Ham

If you had time to check the blogosphere last week, you were a step ahead of me.  I hosted the family Thanksgiving festivities and had houseguests for several days.  I did lots of cooking, had a few hits and misses, and over the next few posts thought I'd share with you some of the family favorites.  

Here's a recipe you might want to try over the Christmas holiday if you decide to purchase a ham.  I can thank Southern Living Christmas Cookbook for this dish, which I also made for Easter.  It makes the house smell divine, serves an army of folks, and tastes wonderful.  If that isn't enough, it's also easy peasy.   The day before the Thanksgiving kitchen camp-out, I needed simplicity so I served it with baked beans, coleslaw and homemade biscuits.

Golden Glazed Ham
(Southern Living Christmas Cookbook)

1 (7-pound) fully cooked ham half  (I had a 10-pound spiral-sliced ham half)
2 C firmly packed brown sugar, divided
2 (12-ounce) cans beer
2 T. honey
2 T. Dijon mustard
1/2 C bourbon

Place ham, fat side up, in a deep roasting pan.  Press 1 cup brown sugar onto all sides of ham.  Pour beer into pan.  Insert meat thermometer into ham, making sure it does not touch fat or bone.  Cover and bake at 325 degrees for 30 minutes.  Remove 2 cups drippings from pan.

Combine remaining 1 cup brown sugar, honey, mustard, and bourbon in a saucepan; cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until sugar melts.  Baste ham with sugar mixture.  Return ham to oven; bake, uncovered, 1 hour or until meat thermometer registers 140 degrees, basting with reserved drippings and sugar mixture every 10 minutes.   Let stand 10 minutes before slicing.  Serves 14. 

Note:  Both times I made this, it took longer than an hour, but don't overcook the ham.  It's already cooked; you're simply heating it through.  I put my (impeccably clean) finger down one of the center slices and when it felt hot enough to me, I removed the ham from the oven.   How's that for precision?  Also, stay on top of the basting to keep it moist.  It's worth it.  Leftovers make great sandwiches and ham and eggs; or, if you're like us, you can yank it off the bone and eat it out of hand.  Pig out!