Traditional Baked Ham

Merry Christmas! Oh wait...its February. Well in my family we always celebrate Christmas with my Dad's side of the family on a different day to best fit everyone's busy schedules. This year I was hosting and I decided to make a baked ham, I have never done this before and I was extremely pleased with the quality and deliciousness of this ham. I have always wanted to have the beautiful ham with pineapple rings with cherries in the middle and this year I got it. I know for sure I will be making this again as it was a big hit with my family.

I apologize as I wasn't thinking and never got a picture of it before it went in the oven, when it came out, or when I was eating the leftovers!! This picture is actually from my sister who hadn't devoured her leftovers quite as quickly as we did :) But imagine the Christmas commercials with the pineapple rings with the perfect maraschino cherry in the center on a beautiful ham on a table!



Traditional Baked Ham:

12# Half Shank Fully Cooked Ham
1 Can Pineapple Rings - In Pineapple Juice
1 Jar Maraschino Cherries
Whole Cloves
20oz Sprite
1/2C Brown Sugar
Toothpicks

First take your ham and slice diamonds into it - approximately 1" in size but don't worry if it isn't perfect, if they become more like 2" it isn't a big deal. Set the ham with the pointy end up in a large baking dish. Next take the whole cloves and push into the skin of the ham all over (I often made a small slit with a knife in the center of the diamonds and pushed it in this way) You do want to make sure to evenly space these as you will need to pick them all out when it is finished cooking and if you know where to expect one it is easier to spot it! Next take the pineapples and pour the juice into a mixing bowl, then put the pineapple rings all over the ham securing in place with the toothpicks. Add a cherry to the center of each ring with another toothpick. Now mix together the pineapple juice, brown sugar, soda and a splash of the cherry juice and pour over the ham. Place in a 325° oven for approximately 4-5 hours (internal temp should be 140° when finished). Every 30-45 minutes remove from the oven and ladle the juice over the top of the ham and put back in the oven.

Once the ham has finished cooking remove it from the oven and let it sit for a good 30 minutes before slicing so all the juices stay in the ham and don't go running onto your cutting board! I just put the ham on the counter and covered loosely in foil and believe me it was plenty hot when we went to eat.

Remove the pineapple, cherries and cloves, discard the cooking liquid, and start slicing away as thin or as thick as you want, serve and enjoy!

__________________________
WW: 6 Points Plus / 4oz cooked ham