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Donal Skehan
Plum & Star Anise Christmas Ham | DonalSkehan.com, A must have for christmas dinner.
  • christmas

Plum & Star Anise Christmas Ham

December 22

Sweet, sticky and aromatic, this Christmas ham comes with serious sophistication. Like most good Christmas ham’s this recipe is ALL about the glaze. The combination of sweet orange, sticky plum jam and Asian star anise ticks all the boxes in terms of Christmas tastes.

 

  • serves Serves 10
  • time 220 mins

Method

  1. 1. Place the ham in a large pot and pour in the water along with the onion, star anise, cloves and peppercorns. If the water doesn’t cover the ham, add more.
  2. 2. Bring to the boil and them simmer steadily for 40 minutes per kg (3 hours) After the cooking time, turn off the heat and allow to cool in the liquid.
  3. 3. In a small saucepan, add the orange juice, jam, sugar and star anise and cook gently until the sugar has dissolved and you are left with a slightly thick glaze. Leave to cool slightly.
  4. 4. Preheat the oven to 220°C/450°F/Gas mark 8.
  5. 5. When the ham has cooled, remove from the liquid before removing the skin, exposing the fat and scoring diagonally with a small sharp knife. Place the ham in a roasting tray and brush the plum glaze over the top of the ham. Push the cloves into each cross.
  6. 6. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden on top.
  7. 7. Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly before slicing thinly to serve.

Ingredients

For the ham:

4.5kg of ham

2 liters of water

1 large onion

1 tbsp black peppercorns

8 whole cloves, plus extra for garnish

3 star anise

For the glaze:

150g plum jam

100g brown sugar

Juice of 1 orange

5 star anise