This sweet, sour, spicy and smoky Apricot Chutney goes wonderfully with this salty ham that is perfect for a big occasion! Glaze the ham every 45 minutes or so to really build up the flavour and get a nice crust on the ham.
Servings: 6-8
Difficulty: Easy
Prep Time: 20 minutes | Cook Time: 1hour 30 minutes | Total Time: 1 hour 50 minutes
Ingredients:
- 1 smoked ham (I used a 4 pound ham), bone removed
- 25 cloves, whole
- 1/4 cup water
Apricot Chutney
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/2 cup yellow onion, finely diced
- 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, grated
- 1 cinnamon stick, whole
- 3 tablespoons hot sauce
- 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup apricot preserves
Directions:
Begin by making the Apricot Chutney. Add the olive oil to a small sauce pot and heat over medium-high heat. Once hot, add the diced onion and ginger and cook for 2-3 minutes or until the onions have softened and are translucent but haven’t browned.
Add the cinnamon stick, hot sauce, apple cider vinegar, salt and Worcestershire sauce to the pot and cook for 30 seconds. Add in the apricot preserves and stir everything together to combine. Bring the chutney to a boil and then reduce the heat to low. Cook, uncovered for 15 minutes. Taste the chutney to see if you want to adjust the flavours. Note: you can make the Apricot Chutney the day ahead and keep it in a jar in the refrigerator. The longer it sits, the tastier it gets!
Now to cook the ham. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
Place the ham in a baking dish and trim any fat that may be on the ham. Use a sharp knife to score the ham in a diamond pattern. Don’t score the ham too deep, only about one centimeter. Arrange the cloves around the ham in the scored bits that you just cut as this will help them stay in the ham and not fall off.
Add the water to the bottom of the baking dish and brush the top and sides of the ham with 1/2 cup of the apricot chutney. Cover the ham loosely with aluminum foil and place in the oven and bake. Baste the ham every 30 minutes with the juices in the bottom of the pan.
As a rule of thumb, the ham should cook for 20 minutes per pound, so adjust the cooking time as necessary. When the ham is 15 minutes away from being done, brush the remaining apricot chutney over the top and sides of the ham and bake it in the oven uncovered. This will really let the chutney stick to the ham and give it a nice shiny, glazed look.
Remove the ham from the oven, loosely cover it with aluminum foil again, and let it rest for 10 minutes before serving. Use a sharp knife to slice the ham- it’s really great they there is no bone left so that you can make even slices! Arrange the sliced ham on a platter and add the remaining juices from the pan to a gravy boat for people to serve themselves extra sauce!
Enjoy!
