Brined Fresh Ham
- Level: Intermediate
- Total: 3 days 3 hr
- Prep: 30 min
- Inactive: 3 days
- Cook: 2 hr 30 min
- Yield: 8 to 10 servings
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- Level: Intermediate
- Total: 3 days 3 hr
- Prep: 30 min
- Inactive: 3 days
- Cook: 2 hr 30 min
- Yield: 8 to 10 servings
Ingredients
Brine:
2 cups kosher salt
2 cups sugar
6 bay leaves
1/2 cup fennel seeds
1/2 cup mustard seeds
2 tablespoons crushed red pepper flakes
1 bunch rosemary
20 garlic cloves, or garlic bulbs, cut in 1/2 equatorially
1 large onion, coarsely chopped
4 ribs celery, coarsely chopped
2 gallons water
1 (6 to 8-pound) bone-in fresh ham
Paste:
8 sprigs rosemary, picked and leaves finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, smashed
Large pinch crushed red pepper flakes
Kosher salt
Extra-virgin olive oil
2 pounds red bliss potatoes, cut in 1/2
Olive oil
Salt
2 cups chicken stock
Glaze:
1 cup Dijon mustard
1 cup whole-grain mustard
1 cup honey
Directions
- To brine the pork:
- Combine all of the ingredients in a large container. Submerse the ham in the brine and let it hang out for 3 days in the refrigerator. (It's a plan-ahead but soooooooooooooo worth it!)
- To cook the pork:
- Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
- Remove the ham from the brine, pat dry and make slices in the skin to create a diagonal cross-hatch pattern.
- To make the paste:
- In a food processor, combine the rosemary, garlic, crushed red pepper, salt, to taste, and about 1/2 cup of olive oil. Massage this mixture generously all over the outside of the ham.
- Put the potatoes in a roasting pan large enough to accommodate this whole shootin' match. Toss the potatoes generously with some olive oil and salt. Nestle the ham on top of the potatoes and toss the whole thing in the preheated oven. Check the pork in about 30 minutes, the skin should be getting brown and crispy. At this point, remove the ham from the oven and turn over, baste with any leftover rosemary/olive oil paste and rearrange the potatoes so they don't burn. Nestle the pork back onto the potatoes and return to the oven. Roast for another 30 minutes.
- Remove the ham from the oven after the first hour. Check the potatoes to see if they are getting a little crispy, rearrange them and add the chicken stock to the bottom of the pan to keep things really moist and juicy. Reduce the heat in the oven to 350 degrees F and roast for another hour.
- To make the glaze:
- While the ham is cooking, combine the Dijon mustard, whole-grain mustard and honey in a small bowl. Remove the ham from the oven and brush it, generously, with the honey mustard mixture. Return the ham to the oven and roast it for about 30 minutes. Flip it over and brush again with the honey mustard mixture (really slather it on the pork). Roast until it reaches an internal temperature of 150 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer.
- Remove the ham from the oven, to a cutting board, tent it with aluminum foil and let it rest for at least 20 to 30 minutes before slicing.
- Carve that baby and arrange the slices on a serving platter. Transfer the potatoes to a serving bowl and serve with the ham
- Go to town on that bad boy!!!!
