I was supposed to write about Red Currant Glazed Ham about a week and a half ago. Every day I’ve looked at my to do list and saw “write red currant ham post” at the top and thought to myself, “ugh, I don’t have anything to say about ham today,” then I skipped to something else. It’s time to stop.
Look, I still don’t really have anything to say about ham, other than it’s awesome and you shouldn’t wait for a holiday to make it. Just get a small one, and use the leftovers in everything ever. This ham has a lightly spiced, slightly sweet glaze that makes it extra awesome. Go get it.
In other news completely unrelated to ham, one of my long time favorite bloggers, Jessica from How Sweet Eats, has started a series on blogging with a massive post about building an audience. I’ve been writing this blog for over five years now, and I still don’t have an audience, so clearly, no amount of advice is going to help me, but I’ve still found it inspiring.
One of her first bits of advice is to create content you like. You’re saying, well duh, Jessica. But it’s easy to get caught up in wanting to please people or wanting to attract attention so people will notice you. Part of embracing my failure as a blogger and accepting that I’m writing this mostly for myself is remembering that I should just write about what I want. Nobody’s reading anyway, so what difference does it make?
Maybe I’ll write more general life nonsense. Maybe I’ll start writing about how I don’t understand makeup the way the rest of the blogosphere seems to. Maybe I’ll start being boring because that’s who I really am.
I still don’t know what I’m talking about, but I have to just say something and stopped being paralyzed by a self-imposed need to be interesting. Sometimes it’s the simple things, like Red Currant Glazed Ham, that are really the most comforting and perpetually awesome. Who knows.
- 1 kilogram gammon or ham joint
- 1/4 cup red wine
- 1 onion, quartered
- 1 clove garlic
- 1/4 teaspoon coriander seeds
- 1/4 teaspoon peppercorns
- 1/4 teaspoon whole cloves
- Whole cloves for studding the ham
- 2 tablespoons red currant jelly
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- 1/4 teaspoon red wine vinegar
- Take all the wrappings off your ham and pop it into a pop where it can be completely submerged but otherwise fits relatively snugly if possible.
- Add all the ingredients (not including those for the glaze) to the pot with your ham, then top it up with cold water until the ham is covered.
- Clamp a lid on and bring this to a boil, then reduce the heat to gently simmer for about 90 minutes. Your ham should cook for 30 minutes per 500 grams plus an extra 30 minutes, so just check to see how big your ham is, and do the math.
- When the time is up, gently removed your ham to a board and allow it to cool a bit (long enough so that you can handle it without incinerating your fingers) before cutting away the rind and most of the fat on the outside.
- While your ham is cooling, make your glaze by adding the jelly, cinnamon, paprika, and red wine vinegar to a small saucepan. Heat and whisk until it starts to bubble. Allow it to bubble away for a minute or two to thicken and get properly glazey.
- When you're ready to bring your ham and glaze together, preheat your oven to 400F (200C) and cover a baking sheet with foil. Your glaze will get really sticky, so make your clean up life easier with the foil. Transfer your ham to your foil-lined baking sheet.
- Use a sharp knife to cut a shallow diamond pattern in the thin fat layer of your ham. Pierce the corners of your diamonds with a whole clove.
- Use a pastry brush to cover the whole thing in your red currant glaze.
- Pop this in the oven for about 12-15 minutes or until your glaze goes sticky with a few deliciously burny bits.
- Allow your ham to rest for at least 10 minutes before slicing. This will be delicious hot, cold, or anywhere in between
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