Ham 101 – How to Glaze a Ham
You could open up one of our hams, slice into it and enjoy right then and there - they're pre-cooked and it will still be super tasty. But you could also go to the minimal effort (promise!) of glazing it for maximum taste and wow factor. We know what we would do... here's how to (simply! easily! yummy!) take your ham from tasty to terrific:
- Wash your hands. Soap and water, 20 seconds, dry thoroughly - you know the drill.
- Take ham from the packaging and remove any brown tape from the hock if there is one.
- If the ham has a hock, cut a line around the base of it so you can retain the skin on the hock when removing from the rest of the ham.
- To remove the skin, slide your fingers under the thick skin and wiggle them around to loosen it, taking care to leave as much of the soft white fat intact as possible (the fat is where the flavour lives, so don’t be stingy!). Try to take the skin off in nice big pieces – and don’t biff it!
- With a sharp knife, gently score the fat in a cross hatch pattern, gently so as not to cut into the meat below. Scoring looks pretty, but also helps keep the glaze from sliding off
- Pop the removed skin in a baking dish, and place the ham on top of it. Add a little water to the dish… enough to cover the skin without touching the ham too much. This keeps any glaze drips from burning in the pan and keeps your ham moist and glossy.
- Glaze the ham. We recommend basting the ham with extra glaze during cooking, and also spooning over some of the lovely pan juices to give the ham a nice sheen. Bake for 10 mins per kilo at 160℃ to set the glaze, and 20 mins per kilo if you want to serve your ham hot.
- Get someone else to do the dishes!
Easy peasy, right? The hardest part is figuring out what flavours you want to glaze your ham with, and we have so many options.
The Glazes of Christmas past
Gingerly sweet: Our 2022 ham glaze
Sometimes it’s like we have a list of flavours all over the wall, throw a few darts and see what it hits. The flavours in this glaze might not be what you expect, and the glaze itself hits quite sweet, but once on the ham and baked, it just sort
Freedom Farms
The Sweet’N’Hot Glaze
Our 2021 ham glaze recipe, full of zing and belly warming spices - and quite possibly the easiest glaze to make. 🍽️Tip: This quantity will glaze a half Champagne ham with perhaps a little left over. Double the recipe for whole hams. Leftover glaze can be kept in a jar
Freedom Farms
Anathoth Spiced Tropical Glaze
Our Christmas glaze from 2017, using the delicious breakfast marmalade by the team at Anathoth Farm (purveyors of some of the best jams and chutneys in Aotearoa). A classic glaze recipe that still makes our mouth water with the citrus and spices. Ingredients * 2 cups Anathoth Farm Breakfast Marm…
Freedom Farms
GINGER BEER GLAZED HAM - Farro Fresh New Zealand
