Honey Glazed Ham

Ingredients

1 x 2.5 kg ham off the bone
1 handful black peppercorns
2 bay leaves
1 cm piece fresh ginger, finely grated
1 star anise
1 handful cloves, plus extra to place on ham

Glaze:

2 cloves garlic, peeled, crushed and squashed
Finely grated zest and juice of 1/2 orange
225g honey
340g soft light brown sugar
1 red chilli, deseeded and chopped
1 tsp Chinese five spice powder
100ml soy sauce
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

Soak the ham in cold water overnight to remove the excess saltiness of the joint.

Remove from pan and discard salted liquid.

Weigh the ham to calculate cooking time before placing in a clean pan and completely covering with water.

Add peppercorns, bay leaves, ginger, star anise and half the cloves. Bring to the boil then turn down heat to a simmer - the joint needs 20 minutes simmering time per 450g, so roughly 1 hour 50 minutes)

30 minutes before joint is ready, preheat oven to 220 degrees celsius.

Mix all glaze ingredients in a small pan, heat gently to dissolve sugar then simmer for 25 minutes until reduced and thickened.

Remove the thick layer of skin from the joint, leaving the fat. Use a sharp small knife to diagonally score the meat before changing direction and scoring the other way to form diamonds.

Stick remaining cloves into the holes where lines cross then pour glaze over meat.

Put joint in oven and cook for 20-30 minutes until top begins to brown. Once cooked, remove and cover with baking paper to rest before serving.