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SHIRL'S SLOW BAKED EASTER HAM
Whole Double G bone-in ham, weight depending on how many people you're feeding. I usually go for around 30 lbs, but I feed over a dozen people and have lots of sandwich meat leftover. This brand is a Midwestern favorite. If you can't find it, buy a
top quality brand available in your area, but be sure to get a whole, bone-in ham. Boneless hams have far less taste even if they are easier to slice.
1/2 bottle dry sherry (or a bit more)
Enough whole cloves to cover the top half of ham at 2” intervals
8-10 slices of pineapple (juice packed in can, or fresh)
1 1/2 cup dark brown sugar, tightly packed in cup
4-5 Maraschino cherries, halved
Enough toothpicks to hold pineapple slices on ham
Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
Trim ham of excess fat and any tough skin at small end,
leaving enough fat to moisten the ham as it cooks. Place in large roasting pan.
Score the ham with a sharp knife in
diamond-shaped diagonal cuts across the top. Pour sherry over it. At the
intersection of the cuts, insert whole cloves, going as far around the sides as
you can reach. Arrange pineapple slices
across top of ham evenly and pin ones on the sides in place with
toothpicks. Pour juice from pineapple
into sherry mix in bottom of pan. Press
dark brown sugar over top of ham to cover it fairly thickly. (It will melt off during baking.) Place a cherry half inside each pineapple
slice for decoration.
Cover and bake in oven, basting ham with pan juices every
quarter hour or so. Once the pineapple
slices start to brown, tent ham with foil, recover and continue baking Depending on how large, it should take a
minimum of 2 ½ hours. For a large ham, I
bake around 3-4 hours, lowering heat to 275-300 for last hour or so. It is important to keep basting to check that
pineapple does not burn
To meld the flavors of ham, sherry, cloves, pineapple and
brown sugar, you need to allow of time and
baste often. When ham is done, remove
from roaster and place on wooden carving board with channels along sides to
catch juices. Unfasten pineapple slices
and set aside. Slice ham thinly and
place on platter, garnishing with roasted pineapple slices.
Serve with baked yams, tossed green salad, veggie of choice,
rolls and a crisp, slightly sweet white wine or very light-bodied red!
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