Baked Ham with a honey-mustard glaze

It is definitely feeling like fall here in Connecticut.  The leaves are colorful and are falling.  The air is crisp.  Lovely.

This is my humble home.

In the fall, I usually start to clean out my freezer.  While doing so, lo and behold, I came across a 10 pound ham.

Happy day.

I know that many people reserve baking a large ham for a special occasion.  No need, my friends!

I decided to bake it.  It will serve my family for a few meals and provide some lovely ham sandwiches for lunches. 

This is my favorite glaze for the ham.  Try to find a ham with a bone in it and that has not been pre-sliced.  The bone adds flavor and pre-sliceing tends to make for a very dry ham.  

Baked Ham with Honey-mustard Glaze

1 (10 pound or so) ham, bone in, smoked, and not sliced

1 cup honey

1/4 cup butter

1/4 cup whole grain mustard

1/4 cup brown sugar

Heat the oven to 350°F.

Remove any plastic packaging or netting from the ham. Don't forget that little plastic thing they put over the bone.  Weird.

 Trim away any excess fat, leaving about a 1/4-inch layer all over. 

Set the ham aside to rest at room temperature for 30 minutes.

Line a baking sheet with several sheets of aluminum foil.  Trust me. 

Place the ham, cut side down, on the baking sheet and cover it with a piece of parchment paper. Tightly cover the ham and parchment paper with aluminum foil and bake for 45 minutes.

Meanwhile, combine the remaining ingredients in a small saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until the butter melts and the brown sugar has completely dissolved, about 3 minutes. Set aside and let cool to lukewarm (the glaze should be the consistency of room-temperature honey).

When the ham is ready, remove it from the oven and increase the oven temperature to 425°F. 

Discard the foil and parchment paper and, using a sharp knife, score a 1-inch-wide diamond pattern (don’t cut more than 1/4 inch deep) over the entire ham.Spoon or brush the ham with the glaze, return it to the oven, and bake uncovered for 15 minutes. 

Remove from the oven, baste the ham with the glaze, and repeat every 15 minutes until a dark golden-brown crust has formed, about 55 to 60 minutes total. 

Let the ham rest 20 to 30 minutes before slicing.

We had ours with funeral potatoes.  It's tradition.  If you are not from the Green Jello belt of the USofA, (I'm not, but come from the "culture"), you might have to google funeral potatoes.  We won't judge.