Holiday Baked Ham (United States)

       For many Americans, the Easter table would not be whole without a beautiful Holiday Ham.  Every Easter Sunday millions of Americans retire their turkeys for a baked ham adorned with the traditional pineapple rounds speared together with a maraschino cherry. 
      Now a normal holiday ham is actually cooked in two ways.  The first cooking method is the process of "Curing" the ham, where the meat is salted and dried over and over again until the meat is actually cooked through.  The second cooking method that the ham goes through is a boiling, which helps to reduce the mass amount of salt used in the first cooking process.  The meat is then packaged and shipped to the grocers where we the consumers put the meat through yet another cooking process, which is where a glaze is added to the meat before it is baked slowly. 
      When choosing your ham you should have two things in mind.  The first choice is when picking the size of ham.  A rule of thumb for choosing the size is that you should buy 1/2 pound of meat for each guests, this equation will not give you an exact number but it will give you a good estimate for how large of a ham you should buy.  If you buy to much ham, do not worry it has a great refrigerator life and there are many recipes which call for leftover ham.  Your next choice is the type of ham you will buy.  If you are not great at carving meats then I suggest a spiral sliced ham, but beware that this technique requires you baste the ham regularly or it will quickly dry out.  If you are not afraid of a knife and carver you could try a boneless ham which holds the juices much better than the spiral sliced. 
      The recipe I use when cooking my Holiday Ham follows my own rules for deviating from a recipe.  "Start with the flavors that you know and add in the flavors that you like."  When I first started cooking I only ever used my moms recipe which called for ginger ale, mustard, ginger, and a variety of spices which she then gave the traditional adornment of pineapple rings.  I kept the majority of the original flavors, but I did use the pineapples in a different fashion as you will see from the recipe that follows. 

Baked Ham with Pineapple Chutney



1 fully cooked Spiral sliced ham (about 10 pounds give or take)
2 cups brown sugar
3/4 cup ginger ale
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons ketchup
3 teaspoons ground mustard
4 cups pineapple tidbits
1/4 cup cornstarch
1 cup water

Place the ham Spiral sliced side up in a roasting pan.  Cover the ham with aluminum foil and bake in a 300* oven for 2-2 1/2 hours, or until an instant read meat thermometer reads 140*. 

While the ham is cooking Combine the brown sugar, ginger ale, soy sauce, ketchup, mustard, and pineapple tidbits in a medium sized sauce pan.  Cook the mixture over high heat until it begins to boil, stirring constantly.  Reduce the heat to low and allow the mixture to simmer until it begins to thicken. 

Combine the cornstarch with the water and whisk until smooth.  Whisk the cornstarch mixture into the pineapple mixture.  Bring to a boil and cook for an additional two minutes.  Remove from heat and allow the chutney to cool while you wait for the next step.

During the last 15 minutes of cooking take 1/4 of the chutney and pour into a blender.  Process until the mixture is a very smooth puree.  Gently baste the top of the ham with the puree and return to the oven and allow the ham to finish cooking. 

Serve the remaining chutney alongside the ham as a condiment.

Serves 15