Alyse’s New Fav Ham

Ham Glaze:

1. If cherry preserve has large chunks of cherries, pulse it in a blender.
2. Combine cherry preserve, lemon juice, lemon zest, brown sugar, and spices in a small sauce pot.
3. Whisk all the ingredients together until blended and bring the mixture to simmer over medium heat.
4. Simmer for a couple of minutes and take off heat.

Baked Ham:

1. Preheat oven to 325°. Cover bottom of the roasting pan with aluminum foil to catch the drippings and add a couple cups of water.
2. (If using spiral cut ham, there is no need to score it.) If using uncut ham, make sure to score the outer skin. Using a sharp knife, make cuts across the skin that are about 1/4-1/2 inch deep, forming diamond shapes.
3. Place ham on a couple of sheets of aluminum foil and glaze it all over with about half of the glaze. Wrap ham tightly in foil and place on the rack inside the roasting pan (flat side down if using half ham).
4. Bake for about an hour and a half covered (calculate about 15 minutes per pound).
5. Take ham out of the oven to glaze and close the oven door.
6. Raise oven temperature to 400°.
7. Unwrap the ham and generously glaze with more glaze.
8. Put it back in the oven, uncovered, and bake for about 30 more minutes, until internal temperature is 140° (for “fully cooked” ham).
9. **Note: If your ham is labeled “cook before eating,” cook ham at 350° until internal temperature reaches 160°.