Dr Pepper Glazed Ham

by The Editors of Cook’s Country
from Cook’s Country Best Lost Suppers
(America’s Test Kitchen, 2009)
Serves 20 to 30

This glazed ham recipe, like many of those submitted by our readers, was the creation of a resourceful mother, in this case the mother of one of our editors. “Never one to shy away from the possibility of failure, Mom always experimented with traditional Christmas recipes—even when it came to the ubiquitous spiral-sliced ham. This adventurous (and successful) attempt to dress up the holiday ham with a Dr Pepper glaze may seem strange at first glance, but the combination of flavors from the fruity soda, fresh orange juice, and mustard gives this ham an unbeatable sweet tang that’s pure genius. Use of an oven bag gets the ham on the table in record time and ensures that it’s moist through and through. This ham is more than enough to serve a crowd and still have some leftovers.”—The Editors of Cook’s Country

convert Ingredients
1 (7- to 10-pound) spiral-sliced, bone-in half ham, preferably shank end
1 plastic oven bag
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup Dr Pepper
2 tablespoons orange juice
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

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Method
1. Remove the ham from the packaging and discard the plastic disk that covers the bone. Place the ham in the plastic oven bag, tie the bag shut, and trim the excess plastic. Set the ham, cut-side down, in a 13 by 9-inch baking dish and cut four slits in the top of the bag. (If you don’t have an oven bag, place the ham cut-side down in the baking dish and wrap tightly with foil.) Let sit at room temperature for 1 1/2 hours.

2. Adjust an oven rack to the lowest position and heat the oven to 250°F (120°C).

3. Bake the ham until the center registers 100°F on an instant-read thermometer, 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 hours (about 14 minutes per pound if using a plastic oven bag, about 17 minutes per pound if using foil), depending on the weight of the ham.

4. While the ham bakes, bring the sugar, Dr Pepper, orange juice, and mustard to a simmer in a medium saucepan and cook until syrupy and reduced to 3/4 cup, about 8 minutes.

5. Remove the ham from the oven and roll back the sides of the bag to expose the ham. Brush the ham liberally with the Dr Pepper glaze and return to the oven until the glaze becomes sticky, about 10 minutes. Brush the entire ham again with the Dr Pepper glaze, tent loosely with foil, and rest for 30 to 40 minutes before serving.

Recipe © 2009 The Editors at America’s Test Kitchen. All rights reserved.
© 2009 Leite’s Culinaria, Inc. All rights reserved. Terms of use.