Cider Baked Ham Recipe

I have an abundance of frozen Apple Cider each year thanks to my family at Baker Orchard. I love that I am able to combine their cider with our farm-raised ham to produce a local food center-piece roast each Easter. This recipe has been adapted from Cooks Country.

Ingredients1 cinnamon stick, broken into rough pieces
1/4 t. whole cloves
13 C. apple cider
8 C. ice cubes
1 cured bone-in half ham
2 T. Dijon mustard
1 C. packed dark brown sugar
1 t. pepper

Recipe
Cut the skin from the ham and trim the fat to a thickness of about one quarter of an inch. Score the fat in a crosshatch pattern, making sure not to cut into the meat.

In a large saucepan over medium heat toast the cinnamon and cloves for about 3 minutes. Add 4 cups of cider and bring to a boil. Pour the cider into a container large enough to hold the ham, the cider and an additional 4 cups of cider. Add the ice and the 4 additional cups of cider and stir until chilled. Place the ham in the container, making sure that the liquid nearly covers the ham. Refrigerate for 4-12 hours.

One and a half hours before baking remove the ham from the soaking mixture (discard the mixture) and place the ham in a roasting pan. Pour one cup fresh cider over the ham and cover with foil. Let the ham sit at room temperature for 1 1/2 hours.

When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Bake ham until it reaches 100 degrees – about 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan mix the remaining four cups of cider and the mustard. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium low and simmer until it has reduced to 1/3 cup (1-2 hours), stirring often.

Mix the brown sugar and pepper. Take the ham out of the oven and let rest for 5 minutes. Raise the oven temperature to 400 degrees. Remove the foil from the ham. Brush with the cider/mustard mixture and press the sugar/pepper mixture onto the ham. Bake for about 20 minutes – until the ham is dark brown and glazed. Let rest 15 minutes before carving.