The No Fail Guide To The Perfect Christmas Ham

Traditional ham is always a winner with Christmas dinner guests. Here’s our guide to the perfect ham in three easy steps.

1. Selecting the right ham

When choosing your ham, calculate around 200g per person per serve and then add a little extra for leftovers. Allow for the weight of the bone.

Cured hams should be firm, plump and rosy pink with a fine grain to the meat. All cured hams require refrigeration before opening and sizes vary between 250g to 8kg.

Picnic hams or easy-carve hams are sized between 3kg and 7kg and come from the pig’s shoulder. Half leg hams are sized between 4kg and 7kg and have a bone through the centre.

2. Cooking your ham

It couldn’t be simpler to cook a beautiful Christmas ham. A simple glaze and basting in the oven will develop its beautiful flavours and sticky crust.

Preheat oven to 200 C (390 F). Carefully remove the skin from a 7kg leg ham using your fingers. Score the fat of the ham in a diamond pattern with a knife.

Place the ham in a baking dish lined with non-stick baking paper and brush with your favourite glaze. Roast for 1 hour, brushing with glaze every 20 minutes or until the ham is golden and caramelised.

Remove from the oven and transfer to a platter for carving. Serve warm. Serves 6-8 people.

3. Carving your ham

Use a large sharp knife and place a damp tea towel under your chopping board to stop it moving around. Hold the hock securely with one hand.

Start at the front of the ham and slice meat on a slight angle. This follows the shape of the bone and makes sure you get the most slices out of your ham.

When the front of the ham is all carved, start on the sides. Again, carve on a slight angle.

Storage

To store leftover cooked ham, place in a ham bag or cover with cling film and place in the fridge. If you have a lot of ham left over, dice it and freeze in bags for later use.