Picnic Ham

Baked picnic ham (pork shoulder ham) is one of my favorite hams to cook. While it is a far different cut of pork than I usually cook, which is the traditional ham, it tastes the same because its cured and smoked as a ham. So, over all, it tastes amazing and a great ham to serve on holidays or just about any time you wish to have a ham.

During the winter months when the oven can be on for a few hours at a time, its perfect time to cook a ham. If I have freezer space, I have a habit of buying a few picnic hams when they’re on sale to have on hand to make when I get a hankering for ham. 

Smoked picnic hams are the perfect size for any family. They are usually around 5-8 pounds and can easily feed a family of 4 two meals. If you like split pea soup you can save the bone and boil it up along with a few chunks of the ham to make split pea soup. This works great in a crock pot too.  Although I have made Split Pea soup many times, I don’t actually like it very much. Just being honest.

To make this ham, you first need to preheat the oven to 350F. Then in a roasting pan, place the picnic ham in the pan fat side up.  Pour approximately ¾ cups of water into the pan and cover with foil. Bake for one hour to help loosen up the fat so you can pull the rind away easily.  

After 1 hour of baking, take the ham out of the oven and remove the foil. Peel up the rind from the ham and discard. The rind will be hot, so I suggest you use tongs. If desired, you can trim some of the fat off the fat cap, but I usually leave most of it on the ham because it gives the ham that much more flavor.

The glaze recipe will be below. What I do is place it in a pan and heat it slowly to ensure it is smooth.  After the first hour, I baste the ham with the glaze with a bbq brush.

I retain half the glaze for my second basting after another 30-40 minutes of cooking. And then again 30-40 minutes after that, for a total of three bastings to help give the ham a more flavorful taste and caramelized glaze along with a wonderful final taste. 

Total baking time will be 3 hours, first hour covered in foil, second hour still covered and then uncovered the last hour. Glazing three time in total.

Once the ham Is cooked, take it out of the oven and let it rest for about 10 minutes before carving and serving. Using a good long carving knife, slice the ham in about ¼ inch slices. Serve with mashed potatoes and veggies, along with a good horseradish or Dijon mustard.  ENJOY! 

Note:  Leftovers can be used for sandwiches, with scrambled eggs for breakfast or my favorite either an Italian Frittata or Spanish omelette, or a Denver omelette

Getting the Glaze Just Right

Ingredients:

3/4 cup of Brown Sugar

¼ cup Maple syrup or honey

¼ cup molasses

¼ stick of Butter, salted

2 tablespoons of Dijon or horseradish mustard

¼ tablespoon crushed Garlic

1 tablespoon Cinnamon

1 tablespoon crushed Clove

 

Combine all ingredients into a bowl then place into a saucepan and mix together on low heat until everything blends together into a syrupy mixture. This should produce approximately 1 cup of glaze. If it is less then 1 cup add a bit more of brown sugar, maple syrup and molasses, cinnamon, garlic and mustard to the mix to bring it to a cup of glaze.

Enjoy!