Brown Sugar Ham Southern 3-Ingredient . My father insists on this Sunday dinner every spring. It is simply amazing with just three ingredients.
Servings: 10-12
Ingredients
-
1 cooked half ham (8-10 pounds), with bone in it, shank or butt.
-
2 cups loosely packed light or dark brown sugar.
-
1 cup coke (no diet), cold.
Brown Sugar Ham Southern: Instructions
-
Heat the oven to 325degF (165degC). Prepare a large roasting pan by lining it with heavy-duty aluminum foil which should be pushed up its sides to trap all the drips and make it easy to clean up.
-
Take out the ham and remove any plastic disk that is on top of the bone. Put the ham cut side down in the foil-lined loosely covered pan. In case of extremely thick rind, you can remove a little bit of it, but be careful not to cut away a lot of fat that makes it tasty and moist.
-
Evenly sprinkle the outside of the ham with 1 cup of the brown sugar and push it against the fat and surface to make it stick. It does not matter whether some will fall to the bottom of the pan–that will assist in making the syrupy juices.
-
Pour the cola into the bottom of the pan, which is around the ham but it is important not to pour on the sugar crust and leave it mostly in place. The liquid must rise a little all round the ham but must not cover it.
-
Cover the ham loosely with a layer of aluminum foil, and crimp the edges of the bottom foil in such a way that the ham is largely covered and yet there remains air space over the ham. This makes it wet and also be able to brown lightly.
-
The ham will take approximately 12-15 minutes per pound or until the ham is warmed and the temperature of the inside of the ham is 140degF (60degC) or close to the bone. This normally requires 2-21/2 hours in the case of an 8-10 pound ham. Brush the ham with the pan juices after every 30-40 minutes but be careful to lift up the foil tent to ensure the steam does not escape.
-
Removal of the top foil in the final 30 minutes of baking is done. Sprinkle 1 cup brown sugar left over the ham, on the top and on any sides not covered. Spoon a little of the hot pan juices over the sugar, to cause it to melt smooth into a glossy glaze.
-
Put the ham back in the oven with nothing covering them and proceed to cook it until all the sugar melts and forms a deeply caramelized coating and the edges of the ham are lightly browned. Sprinkle twice again with these pan juices to make them thicker and stickier.
-
Take out the ham in the oven and allow it to cool in the pan of at least 15-20 minutes. This enables the juices to settle thereby keeping the slices wet. Put the ham on a cutting board, cut it into slices and pour some of the brown sugar-cola pan juices on top and serve.