Christmas Ham

I have never made a ham before but thought it would be something good to try for Christmas dinner. It is traditional and BP II turns out is a huge ham fan, although he did not tell me this until I already planned the menu. Anyway, I looked for a good ham recipe and came across this on from Emeril. Again, I think it would have been much better if I had scored the ham correctly but that is a lesson for next time. BP II thought it was very good but I realized that I do not like ham.

The other reason I wanted to make a ham was now I have all these leftovers to make soup with. Yay!

Ingredients

1 (12 to 15-pound) fully cooked bone-in ham

1 teaspoon ground allspice

1 (2-liter) bottle cola

3/4 cup cherry preserves or jelly

1/4 cup fresh orange juice

2 tablespoons orange flavored liqueur (recommended: Grand Marnier) ( I left this out)

Directions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

Trim rind and excess fat from the ham, leaving a 1/4-inch thick layer of fat. With a sharp knife, score the fat in a diamond pattern. Place the ham in large roasting pan and sprinkle with the allspice. Pour the cola into the pan and bake uncovered 1 hour and 15 minutes, basting every 15 minutes with the pan juices.

Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, combine the cherry preserves, orange juice, and liqueur over medium heat and cook, stirring, until melted, 1 to 2 minutes.

Remove the ham from the oven and brush the top and sides with the cherry glaze. Return the ham to the oven and bake, brushing with pan juices and glaze every 15 minutes and tenting the ham with foil if browning too quickly, until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of ham without touching the bone registers 140 degrees F, about 15 to 30 minutes.

Remove the ham from oven and let rest for 30 minutes to 1 hour before slicing. Serve warm or at room temperature.

I also got this article from Bon appetite for scoring a ham:

How to Score a Ham

Whole, fully cooked ham comes with the rind partially trimmed and a white layer of fat covering the meat. Don't remove the fat layer—it flavors the roast and keeps it moist during cooking.

However, the fat does need to be scored, or lightly cut, before cooking so that it crisps up as the meat roasts. The easiest way to do this is with a small chef's knife. Make crosshatches about 1/3 inch deep and spaced an inch or so apart, creating a diamond pattern over the entire surface.

The crosshatches will help the fat to crisp up, and a pretty diamond pattern will emerge during roasting. It's easiest to slice the ham roast with the fat still on, and let diners work around the fat. Also, if there are leftovers to be stashed in the fridge, the cap of fat will keep the meat moist. If you do choose to remove the fat, pry your fingers underneath the cap of fat and pull gently