Weekend Recipe: Maple-Glazed Ham

Here's a recipe from Cook's Country that comes just in time for Easter. It's said that the American tradition of eating ham on Easter Sunday was established by Northern European immigrants. As for the maple syrup -- that's definitely a North American thing.

Maple-Glazed Ham
Serves 16 to 20

This recipe requires an oven bag to keep the moisture loss at a minimum.

1 (7- to 10-pound) spiral-sliced, bone-in ham (see note)
1 (12-ounce) jar apple jelly
3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/4 cup maple syrup
3 tablespoons whole-grain mustard
1 cinnamon stick, broken into rough pieces
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard

Remove ham from packaging and discard plastic disk covering bone. Place ham in oven bag. Tie closed and cut 4 (1/2-inch) slits in top of bag. Transfer bagged ham to large roasting pan and let stand at room temperature for 1 1/2 hours.

Adjust oven rack to lowest position and heat oven to 300 degrees. Bake ham until internal temperature registers 100 degrees, 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 hours.

Meanwhile, bring apple jelly, 1/2 cup brown sugar, syrup, mustard, cinnamon and nutmeg to boil in saucepan. Reduce heat to low and simmer, stirring often, until mixture is very thick and reduced to 1/2 cup, about 45 minutes. Remove cinnamon pieces. Off heat, whisk in butter.

Combine remaining brown sugar and dry mustard in small bowl. Remove ham from oven and let cool for 5 minutes. Increase oven temperature to 400 degrees. Cut open oven bag and roll back. Using a pastry brush, paint ham with glaze. Carefully press sugar mixture onto exterior of ham with hands. Return to oven and bake until dark brown and caramelized, about 20 minutes. Transfer ham to cutting board, loosely tent with foil, and let rest 15 minutes. Carve ham. Serve.