Honey & Ale–Glazed Ham

Directions

1. 1. Preheat oven to 350°F. In a small saucepan, whisk together brown sugar, Scotch ale, honey, mustard, cornstarch and garlic powder. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until thickened, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.
2. 2. Place ham, cut-side down, in a roasting pan. Pour half of glaze overtop; use a brush to coat ham evenly. Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes.
3. 3. Remove ham from oven and brush half of remaining glaze overtop. Return to oven and bake for 30 minutes.
4. 4. Remove ham from oven and brush with enough of remaining glaze to coat (discard any remainder). Return to oven and bake until a meat thermometer inserted into centre of thickest unsliced area reads 140°F (see tips), 8 to 10 minutes.
5. 5. Transfer ham to a cutting board and tent with foil. Let rest for 15 minutes before serving.

Tips

• Spiral hams are almost always fully cooked (check the packaging to be sure) and typically only need to be warmed through to a safe internal temperature of 160°F. Here, the ham comes out of the oven at 140°F, but the temperature continues to rise as it stands. Cooking time depends on size, but a good guideline is 13 to 15 minutes per each 450 g.
• If you are cooking a larger ham, simply make a double or triple batch of the glaze. You may need to adjust the amount of cornstarch in the mix, so start with less and whisk in more, 1/2 tsp (2.5 mL) at a time, as needed to thicken it up.
• The Scotch ale in this recipe is aged in barrels, which give the brew a deep caramel flavour. It’s often available in convenient single tallboy cans. If you can’t find it, another sweet, malty ale will work just fine.