Hey Amy!

My Grandma Jo always had both turkey and ham for holiday meals.  We had a big family (5 children, each with their own family) so she prepared almost more than we needed.  This recipe reminds me of the flavor of Grandma Jo’s ham.  It’s a nice combination of sweet and savory.

Ingredients:

7 to 8 lb. bone-in, smoked spiral-cut half half
1 c. maple syrup
3/4 c. brown sugar
3/4 c. Dijon mustard
1/3 c. apple juice
1/4 c. raisins
1 tart apple, cored, peeled and thinly sliced

Preheat oven to 350.  Remove and discard skin and any excess fat from ham. Place in a lightly greased baking pan and insert meat thermometer in thickest part.  Combine syrup, brown sugar, mustard and apple juice and pour over ham.  Set pan on lowest oven rack.  Bake for 2 1/2 hours, basting with drippings every 20 minutes.  Ham is done when thermometer reads 140.  Remove ham and allow to sit for 10 minutes.  Remove to a platter and save drippings.  Using a bulb baster, get rid of the fat from the drippings.  Over low heat, place drippings, raisins and apples in a saucepan and heat for 5 minutes.  Serve sauce with sliced ham.  Garnish with some small whole apples around the base.  Yum.

Now Grandma Jo was very simple in her approach to the kitchen.  I feel certain this recipe would be too fancy for her but the flavors of the outcome truly remind me of her ham.  Hope she is in heaven smiling.

xo–me

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