Yesterday I made twelve Jack Daniel’s cakes, baked a ham sprit zed with Jack Daniel’s, and made Parker House rolls – no Jack Daniel’s there. I cooked a lot of other stuff too. Richard is home and friends were dropping by, but the ham was the masterpiece. I once read an article that said if you had a very fine watch and knew how to bake a ham you would be a successful hostess. The part about the watch was confusing, but I think someone in New York wrote the article and maybe watches are a big deal there. Anyway, I do have a very good watch that Sammy gave me for a BIG birthday and I have just cooked the finest ham I’ve ever tasted. I’m not moving to New York, but if I were invited there by friends who decided to throw a soiree, and needed a ham, I’d have my bases covered.
It would be nice if I had invented the spritzing thing, but I saw it on a cooking show. The ginger snaps were something I read about and the rest was just good sense. This ham is a perfect choice to cook during the holidays because you’ll have leftovers
to make delicious sandwiches. I have no idea who might show up to watch the Titans, but I’ve got chips and dips and ham and bread, plus a whiskey cake that Sammy “accidentally” dropped last night. It was in a container so it remained sanitary, but unattractive, and as he pointed out – should not go to waste. I think the menu is set for a nice Sunday afternoon, unless someone wants to actually drink Jack Daniel’s, that bottle is in the recycle bin.
Ingredients
4 to 6 lb bone in ham, labeled partially cooked, fully cooked, or ready to serve (my Mom calls these city hams)
1/2 c honey mustard or brown mustard
1 c light brown sugar
2 c crushed ginger snaps
1/4 c Jack Daniel’s in a spray bottle (I had an unused one from a set of travel containers)
Directions
Preheat oven to 250 degrees.
Put ham in a roasting pan. Mine was spiral cut so I didn’t need to cut diamond patterns to let the fat drain. If yours isn’t, just use a knife to score the ham running the knife around the ham in one direction, then in the opposite direction. It doesn’t have to be pretty.
Tent the ham loosely with foil and bake for 2 ½ to 3 hours.
Remove from oven, discard accumulated juices and remove any loose fat.
Raise oven heat to 350 degrees. Pat the ham gently with paper towels. Brush the ham with the mustard. Rub in brown sugar and give the ham an all over spritz with Jack Daniel’s.
Pat ginger snaps on the ham. They won’t all stick, but some will and that’s fine. Spritz it again and return the ham to the oven uncovered.
Bake for 45 minutes to an hour, until the ham has a nice crust.
Let the ham sit for 20 to 30 minutes before serving.
