New Year's Resolution - POST!

Hello, any readers left?

I have been grossly negligent in posting the past two months. I have been cooking up a storm, but my charcuterie has fallen by the wayside. I made bresaola and currently have pancetta in my curing box, but I have not been producing and experimenting as much as I like.

I hosted Christmas dinner at my house this year. I cooked a whole bone-in ham and a turkey. I am nearly obsessed with cooking meat to temperature and these large hunks-o-meat were no exception. I have cooked dozens of turkeys, but I have only ever cooked one ham. Being the cook that I am, the family has high expectations for me during the holidays. I certainly felt the pressure to get the ham right. I bought a 12-pounder and perused the web in search of glazes. Dissatisfied, I decided to make my own. Here is what I came up with:

Maple-Dijon Glaze

• 1 Cup Maple Syrup
• 1 Cup Dark Brown Sugar
• 1/2 Cup Dijon Mustard
• 1 teaspoon Cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon Clove
• 1/2 teaspoon Allspice

I cooked the ham at 325 degrees for 15 minutes per pound as recommended on the package. According to this formula, the ham should have been done at 3 hours. It wasn't. I anticipated this and did not start glazing until the third hour. I mixed all of the ingredients in a saucepan and mixed them thoroughly. I basted the ham several times with the glaze. At 3 hours and 40 minutes, the ham read 148 on my digital thermometer. I pulled it an placed a loose foil tent over it. I was shooting for 160 as an internal temp. After 10 minutes, the carry over cooking had brought the internal temp to 159.9 degrees. At 15 minutes, the thermometer briefly touched 160- SCORE! The glaze was perfect. I also nailed the the turkey. Both were tender and juicy. Try this glaze, I promise you will like it.

david