Winter thrills

“Quince paste is a great starting point for making a rich, sticky ham glaze. Brush the ham liberally with glaze before roasting, then once or twice during baking.”
Fran Abdallaoui, Editor, AWW FOOD

QUINCE-GLAZED HAM

PREP + COOK TIME 1 HOUR 45 MINUTES SERVES 20

8kg cooked leg of ham fresh bay leaves (optional), to decorate

QUINCE GLAZE

200g quince paste
1 cup (250ml) pure maple syrup
1 tablespoon finely grated orange rind
2 teaspoons ground allspice

1 Preheat oven to 180°C/160°C fan. Make quince glaze.

2 Using a sharp knife, score through rind about 10cm from shank end of the leg. To remove the rind, run your thumb around the edge of the rind just under the skin (see notes). Start pulling rind from widest edge of the ham; continue to pull the rind carefully away from the fat up to the score line. Remove rind completely; reserve. (Use reserved rind to cover the cut surface of leftover ham to keep it moist during storage).

3 Using a large sharp knife, score across the fat at 3cm intervals, cutting just through the surface of the top fat. Do not cut too deeply or the fat will spread apart during cooking.

4 Place ham in a large roasting pan lined with baking paper. Brush ham well with glaze. Cover shank end with foil.

Bake ham, brushing occasionally with glaze during cooking (see notes), for 1 hour 20 minutes or until browned