What better time to celebrate indigenous ingredients than at Christmas? This simple glaze uses native lemon myrtle and aniseed myrtle for a very Australian Christmas ham. Ham really is simple; it just needs to be warmed through with a glaze on the outside. Choose the right size for your number of guests and your halfway there.
Ingredients
8kg whole leg of ham
100g dark brown sugar
75g castor sugar
½ cup golden syrup
¼ cup soy sauce
½ cup apple juice
15g ground lemon myrtle leaf *
15g ground aniseed myrtle leaf *
3 star anise
2 tbsp Australian dark rum
*Available from Herbie's Spices (herbies.com.au). Alternatively, substitute the lemon myrtle with 2 stalks of lemon grass, finely chopped, and replace the aniseed myrtle with 4 extra star anise
Method
1. Combine all the ingredients except the ham in a saucepan and bring to a simmer. Cook for about five minutes, until thick and glossy. Allow to cool to room temperature, then remove the star anise.
2. Remove the skin from the ham, making sure to keep as much of the fat as possible attached to the meat. (You can use a sharp knife or just run your fingers under the skin, pushing it away from the fat.)
3. Score lots of parallel lines over the surface fat of the ham. Heat your oven to 180°C. Brush the ham with the glaze and bake for about 1½ hours, brushing with the glaze every 15 minutes until a thick, caramelised, shiny coating has formed and the ham is warmed through. (You may need to wrap the end of the ham bone in foil to stop it burning.)
Serve with Adam's Campari frose punch and Chrissamisu!
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