Serves: 8-10
Prep: 20 minutes
Cooking: about 1½ hours
Ingredients
• 1 x 4 to 5 kg cooked leg ham
• 500 g fresh or frozen pitted cherries
• ¾ cup brown sugar
• ½ cup maple syrup or honey
• ⅓ cup orange juice
• 2 tbsp Dijon mustard
• 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• Pinch of salt
• Fresh rosemary, thyme and/or bay leaves, to decorate
Method
Preheat oven to 170°C conventional / 150°C fan-forced. Line a large roasting tray with baking paper (or foil)
Carefully remove the ham rind, leaving the layer of fat underneath intact.
Using a sharp knife, lightly score the fat with closely spaced parallel lines, being careful not to cut deeply into the meat. Wrap some foil around the bone at the end so it doesn’t burn.
1. Make the cherry glaze.
Place the brown sugar, maple syrup, orange juice, Dijon mustard, balsamic vinegar and cinnamon into a small saucepan.
Bring to a gentle simmer for about 5 minutes, stirring until slightly thickened/reduced.
Add roughly half the cherries and cook for another 5 minutes, gently crushing a few with the back of a spoon. Keep the remaining cherries whole or halved for decorating.
2. Glaze the ham.
Place the ham in the prepared roasting tray.
Brush generously with the cherry glaze, making sure it runs into the scored surface.
Bake for 1 to 1½ hours, brushing with more glaze every 20 minutes, until the outside is glossy, caramelised and deep golden brown.
If the glaze starts getting too dark, loosely cover the ham with foil.
3. Finish with cherries.
During the final 10–15 minutes, spoon the remaining whole cherries over the centre of the ham with a little extra glaze.
Remove from the oven and rest for approximately 20 minutes.
4. To serve.
Transfer to a large platter and spoon any sticky cherry syrup from the roasting tray over thetop. Decorate generously with fresh rosemary, thyme and/or bay leaves, tied with string.
Styling tip: For that exact glossy finish, brush the ham with one final layer of warm glaze just
before bringing it to the table. Pile the cherries down the centre rather than spreading them everywhere, and leave some glaze dripping naturally down the sides.
