How to cook the perfect Christmas Ham on the BBQ

As Christmas sneaks closer every day, there is more realisation about how exceptionally hard this year has been. Let’s all be grateful that we will all be able to spend some time with our loved ones from all around Aotearoa!

Nothing says a Kiwi Christmas like a Ham on the BBQ. Follow this recipe and you’ll be a holiday hero!

Ingredients

4.5kg Smoked Ham Leg
1 Cup Honey
1/2 Cup Brown Sugar
60g Unsalted Butter
2 Tbsp. Worcester Sauce
1/4 Cup Wholegrain Mustard
2 Zest and Juice of Orange
1/4 Cup Dijon Mustard
2 Tin Pineapple Rings
Cloves

Method

Step 1
Take the ham out of the fridge 45 minutes before cooking, if you can. Slide a finger in under the skin and carefully peel the thin layer away - leave all of the cloudy white fat layer there for flavour and moisture. Remove all of the skin.

Using a small, sharp knife, make a series of diagonal slices about 3cm apart and a few millimetres deep through the fat layer around the whole ham. Cut another series in the opposite direction, so you end up with rough diamond shapes. Push cloves into your ham leaving gaps between them. Use toothpicks and place your pineapple rings all around your ham. (The pineapple is optional, it’s what my Nan always used to do!)

Prepare a covered barbecue for indirect cooking. For a gas barbecue, heat one burner on medium-high and leave the other burners off. For a charcoal barbecue, build a fire on one side of the charcoal grate, leaving the other side of the barbecue empty, and let burn just until the coals are covered with white ash. Do not spread out the coals.

Step 2
Place the ham on the tray and set the tray on the side of the barbecue that is off. Close the lid and leave to cook (the barbecue temperature should be about 190C) for 1 and a half hours or until a meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the ham registers 42C.

Step 3
Meanwhile, in a medium heavy saucecpan over medium heat, whisk the ingredients for the glaze and cook until everything has melted. Remove the glaze from the heat and set it aside.

Step 4
When the ham is warmed through, increase the barbecue temperature slightly (so the barbecue temperature reaches 200C). Using a pastry brush, brush some of the glaze all over the ham. Cook the ham, basting it about every 5 minutes with the glaze, for a further 45 mins or until the thickest part of the ham registers 52C on the meat thermometer and the ham is evenly caramelised.

Step 5
Remove the ham from the barbecue and set it aside on a carving board for 10 mins to rest. Meanwhile, pour off the juices from the baking tray into a tall and narrow heatproof container and allow the fat to settle to the top. Skim off as much of the fat as possible. In a serving bowl, combine equal parts of the skimmed juices and remaining glaze.

Step 6
Serve ham with the barbecue sauce.