Baked City Glazed Ham is glazed with an apricot and brown sugar glaze. City hams are sweeter and have a milder flavor than country ham.
A good ham is an honorable and valuable commodity. The definition of a good ham is purely subjective. Some prefer a country ham that’s salt cured and them smoked for a long period of time resulting in a strong flavored ham that is an acquired taste. If this is your preference, I recommend Benton’s Country Hams. Alan Benton is passionate about using the time-honored curing process of our forefathers. This is a family operation with high demand for their product. If you want to order by mail, think about it months ahead. He has a waiting list. If you’re lucky enough to visit their storefront in Madisonville, TN, you can buy products there. If ham’s milder sweeter version, called city ham, is your preference, I recommend Cumberland Gap. I’ve purchased this brand for years and found them consistently good. In fact, I’ve never been disappointed.
Ham is always on my Easter menu. Since the ham is fully cooked, it only requires reheating. A glaze makes a good city ham even better. My glaze recipe is simple and uses ordinary ingredients. Cast iron Dutch oven cooking is my favorite and that’s where my ham gets cooked. I’ve cooked whole hams in the past but I’ve come to realize that two half hams are a whole lot easier to carve than one whole ham.
There’s a million and one uses for leftover ham. You can google it and spend the next year reading recipe ideas. I always dice up some and put in freezer storage bags for for seasoning greens and soups. It’s a rare occurrence to find my freezer devoid of ham. And, oh, the ham bone! It’s pure gold. Never ever throw it away after carving the ham. It’s got one more life left and it will make the best dried beans or soup you’ve ever tasted. Use some leftover ham for this tasty Ham Fried Rice .
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Baked Glazed City Ham
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
2 heaping tablespoons apricot preserves
2 heaping tablespoons Dijon mustard or substitute your favorite.
whole cloves
bone-in ham
1/4 cup water
Add first three ingredients to a small saucepan. Stir until sugar dissolves.
Place ham in a Dutch oven fat side up. Score top of ham into diamonds. Stud with cloves.
Brush with a little of the glaze. Pour about a 1/4 cup of water into the bottom of the Dutch oven.
Cover and cook following package recommendations. If you accidentally threw away the directions, bake for 10 minutes a pound at 325 degrees (I hear that can happen). During last 30 minutes of cooking, remove cover and baste with glaze every 10 minutes.
Let rest for 15 minutes before carving…..if you can stand it. Remove cloves before carving.
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Baked Glazed City Ham
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
- 2 heaping tablespoons apricot preserves
- 2 heaping tablespoons Dijon mustard or substitute your favorite.
- whole cloves
- bone-in ham
- 1/4 cup water
Instructions
- Add first three ingredients to a small saucepan. Stir until sugar is dissolved.
- Place ham in a Dutch oven fat side up. Score top of ham into diamonds. Stud with cloves.
- Brush with a little of the glaze. Pour about a 1/4 cup of water into the bottom of the Dutch oven.
- Cover and cook following package recommendations. If you accidentally threw away the directions, bake for 10 minutes a pound at 325 degrees. During last 30 minutes of cooking, remove cover and baste with glaze every 10 minutes.
- Let rest for 15 minutes before carving…..if you can stand it. Remove cloves before carving.
Jean says
Watching a popular cooking show that visits different spots in the country. They were selling what they called country ham….and using what we call city ham. I wanted to say no, no, no that is not correct but shouting at the tv does not get the desired results. I was raised on country ham and city ham and I know the difference! You are correct…ham hocks make the best beans anywhere!
Jackie Garvin says
Go on and shout at the TV, Jean. I do it all the time. :). There is such a difference between city ham and country ham. They are not easily confused by people who know. I get where you’re coming from. 🙂
Maureen | Orgasmic Chef says
Oh this reminds me of my first Thanksgiving in Tennessee. I’d never eaten country ham before and took that first oh so salty bite and nearly died. I learned to love it but I will never forget that first taste. Your ham looks so good!
Jackie Garvin says
Maureen,
You have to work up to country ham, no doubt about that. A tiny sliver in a biscuit is heaven.
cindy says
Haven’t tried Benton’s ham, but their bacon is the best ever! Your ham does look so good….I’ve never cooked one that looks so light in color and I’ve never even heard of city ham. What do I look for in the grocery store?
cindy says
I have eaten and really like green ham, which as I understand it, means it hasn’t been smoked, but have no luck finding them in the stores.
Jackie Garvin says
Cindy,
A green ham hasn’t been cured at all. It’s called fresh ham or picnic, too. If you ask your meat department for a fresh ham, he should be able to point you in the right direction.
Jackie Garvin says
City ham simply means sugar cured instead of salt cured. Cumberland Gap is the brand I prefer.
grace says
i think i just love baked ham, regardless of the adjective describing it. this sounds excellent.
Jackie Garvin says
Thanks, Grace. I never get tired of it, either.
sandradavisalltheway says
This is a great recipe for ham, Jackie. It turned out beautifully, once again. (I did this one last year too.)
Jackie Garvin says
Thanks, Sandra! I hope you and your family a wonderful Easter celebration.
Richelle says
I made a ham a for Easter and I am still mad that I accidentally threw the hambone away! I was so worried about cleaning up the kitchen that I wasn’t thinking about how amazing a pot of beans would have been! Thanks for sharing this recipe– I will definitely give your country ham a try (and hopefully keep the hambone).
Richelle
Jackie Garvin says
Aww, Richelle! That’s too bad. There will be a next time. 🙂
Melissa roseberry says
Thank you for posting. Sounds delicious! I will use this for my Christmas ham.