how to get the ham seasoned just right

Here’s what I’m going to do to my bone in ham for Christmas, tried it once along time ago and it was good so i’m going to do it again. About a full cup of regular brown sugar, 1/4 to 1/2 cup Heinze yellow mustard, one too two cups of Pace picante sauce and a full big can of sliced chunk pineapple in heavy syrup, might even lightly fry the pineapple some before putting into the ham, I’m going to cut the meat every 3/4″ completely around the bone. Then take a teaspoon of yellow mustard, brown sugar and 8 to 10 pineapple chunks and put it between every slice being careful so it doesn’t slide out of the cut. Holding this together as much as possible and I’m then going to tie butchers string around the ham trying to hold in everything until its done roasting, pulling the strings tightly.

Then i’m going to mix in a bowl 1/4 cup brown sugar, 2 tablespoons of mollasas, 1/4 teaspoon of liquid smoke a (little celery seed 1/4 teaspoon) with a little juice from the heavy syrup that the pineapple came in, no sense in wasting it, two tablespoons of coarse rock sea salt to go on top when just about done and after final basting is done, just sprinkle it evenly all over the ham and i want the sauce on the warm side “atleast the lower end of good and hot”, maybe a very small jig of ginger to the mollasas. All of these ingredients will be for basting. On a meat like this that’s just been done roasting with its final basting then turn up the heat uncovered the last 20 to 30 minutes to around 375 too 400 to get a little crispier edges, maybe even add a little more coarse sea salt for good keeping.

Of course there going to be yams with a little cinnimon and ginger plus just a touch of apple pie seasoning with a brown sugar topping with small marsh mallows over the potatoes. One thick green bean casarole about 2 1/2″ thick with thinly sliced yellow onions. Broccolli boiled in cheddar cheese with a few small onions, and some oyster dressing on the side, I don’t know which will be better fairly heavily saged with older mature sage instead of new growth sage dressing or the oyster dressing, the oyster dressing is knock out for those that haven’t tried it, Last but not least is home made buns with twice the yeast so you can taste it.

Mossy, first of all I assume that you are using a pre cured ham.

The salt I would omit completely.
I would add clove, ground or whole ( my favorite).
How about sticking the pineapple rings to the exterior and pinning maraschino cherries to it as well?
Do not heat the ham to an internal temp past 135 as it starts to dry out,
just mo.

I use no salt with a ham. A skin on ham I usually soak in ice water for an hour before putting in the roaster to get some of the excess salt/cure out of it.

I simply score the skin and a checker board or diamond pattern and slip a whole clove in each junction in the cuts. I use pineapple slices but they go on during the last hour. For a baste I use pineapple juice and maple syrup mixed together in equal portions. Cherries are optional with me. While I love the cherries they are extra work, what with the toothpicks to hold them in place, just like pineapple rings but I do the pineapple. Melted until thin cherry jelly and bourbon in equal portions makes an excellent baking baste too and works well with the cloves and pineapple and really compliments cherries when they are used….mix the cherry juice from the jar of cherries in with the bourbon and cherry jelly.

Ham to me is one of those meats that I won’t lard up with a ton of other stuff. I love ham and hate to mask its fine flavor. I put mustard on my ham sandwiches but would never put mustard, or picante for that matter, on a ham being readied for the oven.

A good ham is something I have a hard time getting tired of and when that bone is starting to show itself all I can think of is bean soup with that shank cooked in it along with the pan drippings from the roaster, complete with chunks of ham. When its time to put the ham in the fridge I add some water to the roaster and simmer until everything is loosened up and has cooked a while. Then I strain the juice and let it cool in a freezer container then froze until I start the soup by simmering the shank bone and the frozen pan broth. What a way to honor a good ham.

I wouldn’t goof around with all that you’re talking about – IMO you want to enhance the ham, not cover it up with salsa and liquid smoke and pineapples.

This is pretty straightforward and foolproof, good enough where I’m not allowed to come to Thanksgiving without one. I make it in a throwaway roaster pan on top of a half sheet pan cause this will ruin whatever you make it on. The bone plus any leftovers make great baked beans, too. Good luck with what you decide.

https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/city-ham-recipe-2013153

Sorry guys but eating cloves is like eating pine cones to me, just not into cloves and never had a dish that i like with them included, just don’t like them. I like ham sandwiches with a little mustard and that’s why the mustard along with the pine apple in between each slice, it wont be lot just about 1/4″ of a teaspoon per slice. Mustard and pineapple goes well with me with the pineapple chunk and heavy syrup but its got to be heavy syrup. I’m not sure about the liquid smoke as yet because it is pretty powerful. I’ve got to have sea salt and coarse sea salt at that, maybe a teaspoon for the whole ham over the top at first i said two tablespoons of coarse sea salt but that does seem like to much, no high blood pressure here and because of that ‘m lucky, I was going to cover the ham as to keep it from drying out then uncover it to get it crisp the last 20 minutes to half hour, I have to have those crispy edges on the pineapple and the fat, that what makes it good. I’m not going to use a ton of picante sauce just enough to warm it up a little maybe a little jalapeno small chunks or slices to go along with the it, for those who haven’t tried it over ham its that little taste that makes the pineapple and brown sugar stand out. Maraschino cherries to me just don’t fit on a ham, while their very good straight from the jar i cant do them on a ham, and I know everybody has their own tastes because they like it that way and I don’t plan on changing just like everybody here. Maybe my taste buds are burnt beyond repair and that’s why I like picante sauce, picante sauce between the slices of ham does taste pretty darned good, that along with pineapple. Ill cook the ham at 300 to get the sweet potatoes to where I want them that will layer the bottom of the roaster with a little brown sugar on those, no marshmallows, if it were a side dish then Id but them on the top. Then tie up the whole ham good and tight to keep everything inside and to keep it from running out as much as possible, no onions or pine cones lol or anything else on my ham, I do respect your tastes guys just cant handle cloves (alias pinecones). Ahhhhhhh yes and have to have pecan pie with the dinner too. And for sure a little birdie said save enough meat on the ham bone for ham and beans, ham and straight up beans is one of my favorite dishes bar none, its hard to ruin a good kettle of ham and beans forsure. Anybody have a good recipe for raw boiled cranberries, I boiled up 4 bags thanksgiving, that’s how much we like them around here, oranges, tangelos, peaches just something delicious to add, no nuts though, but it has to be grandmothers favorite and nothing else will do, how about some fried chopped up peaches.

I buy the cheap hams and double smoke them in my wood fired smoker. The cheap hams take on the smoke really well. I’ve done it with more expensive hams and it doesn’t work as well. I don’t do much else to it other than spray it with a combination of apple juice and cherry schnaaps.
To me scoring a piece of meat to stuff flavorizers before cooking never made sense. You just give more places for juices to flow out and risk of drying it out. Just mo.