Ham and Jam

If you want to make a killer recipe for ham that is super simple here it is. Don't buy a good fancy ham because this recipe actually works best with a cheaper one.

Trim off all of the tough outer skin.

Then trim off most of the fat. Leave a little for flavor.

Score the ham all over with a cross hatch pattern and then place in a 300 degree oven on a pan for 2 hours.

When you remove it it should look like this.

Place a whole clove in the middle of each square.

In a bowl combine 1 cup of dijon mustard, 1 1/2 cups brown sugar, and one jar of orange marmalade.


Stir thoroughly until blended.

I did my ham in the smoker but it turns out wonderfully in the oven as well. Cover the ham with some of the mustard/sugar/marmalade sauce and cook for another 1 1/2 hours basting two more times and using all the sauce.

Too bad we don't have smello-vision!

The finished project. This is great for a party. There is never any left over.


I also made pepper jelly today. It's the first time I made it and as I was rushing to fill jars I forgot to take a few pictures. I started with orange bell peppers, poblanos, and jalapenos.


I also threw in some red peppers. I diced them into very small dice. The above does not include the jalapenos. I cooked the jalapenos with the sugar and vinegar to get the flavor. I threw these in right at the end for color.

While I was making the jelly, I boiled the lids in a pot and sterlized the jars in the dishwasher.

These are the jalapenos cooking with 4 cups of cider vinegar and 12 cups of sugar.

Once it comes to a boil and the sugar is dissolved you add 4 3oz packs of liquid pectin and stir for 1 more minute. Then immediately pour into the jars, wipe the rims and place the lids on them.

Here they are before they go into the water bath.

They stay in the water bath for 10 minutes and then you let them sit on the counter for 24 hours to check for seals and allow to cool.

If you haven't tried pepper jelly before you are missing something really good. This is excellent served with cheese and crackers and it is going to be very good with the ham.