A Christmas staple with a twist: Sorrel ginger-glazed ham

Based on budget, tradition, and religion, Christmas dinners vary from family to family. But for many, Christmas ham remains a traditional main course. Whether it’s a picnic or leg ham, it will be glazed and garnished with pineapples, cloves, and cherries. Food partnered with Arosa and Select Grocers to put a new twist on this mainstay dish with a sorrel ginger-glazed ham for you to try this season.

Christmas hams at Arosa are unique in both flavour and taste,which include a signature blend of mostly natural herbs and spices, that when paired with the Delect Sorrel Ginger Glaze is a splendid combination for your holiday spread.

Head Chef at Select Grocers Manor Park, Lishone Ramsden, and Assistant Chef Lovel Lodrick have come together to share their favourite way to prepare your Christmas ham.

Arosa’s picnic and leg ham (in bone) range in size from 2kg-8kg and are available at retail stores.

Don’t feel like doing the cooking this Christmas? You can pre-order your fully prepared Christmas ham at the Select Grocers Deli in Manor Park.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 Arosa picnic ham (bone-in)

• 2 sheets of aluminium foil

• 4 cups water

• 1 can pineapple slices

• 24 whole cloves

• 12 whole cherries

• ¾ cup of unsweetened apple juice

• 1 ½ cup Delect Sorrel Concentrate

• 2oz grated ginger

DIRECTIONS

1. Remove your ham from the freezer and thaw it in the bottom of the refrigerator for 24-36 hours.

2. Remove the casing from the ham and pat dry. Cover the ham completely with aluminium foil.

3. Fit a rack over the roasting pan and place ham on the rack, ensuring that the fat side of the ham faces upwards.

4. Bake ham in a preheated oven at 180°C (350°F), allowing 20 minutes per pound – approximately 2 hours. Replenish water if necessary.

5. Remove ham from the oven and let it cool for about 10-15 minutes. Ham is fully baked when the skin peels off easily (remove the skin).

Sorrel ginger ham glaze

Combine unsweetened apple juice, Delect Sorrel Concentrate, and ginger in a small pot. Reduce over medium heat until desired thickness.

To decorate ham

Peel off the skin. Use a sharp knife to make diagonal slits in the ham and then stud with the remaining cloves. Pour your glaze over the surface of the ham and spread evenly using a pastry brush. Return to the oven and bake for another 20 minutes or until a golden-brown colour is achieved. Remove ham from the oven.

Drain liquid from canned pineapples and arrange pineapple slices over the surface of the ham and secure each with toothpicks. Place a cherry in the centre of each pineapple slice.