O M G. Christmas came early at our place this year. This is such a simple and delicious way to create a stunning Christmas table centrepiece.

We love all that Woody’s Free Range Farm stands for and when I was thinking about a glaze that might add some sparkle and pizzazz, I wondered if a cider based glaze might be just the thing. And as it turns out - it is!

Good George Doris Plum Cider is not only the most beautiful colour, but it strikes the perfect balance between sweet and tart. Perfect for a glaze. We served the cider alongside the ham and all agreed that it was a rather tasty experience. Actually no, we all decided that this was the most delicious ham we’d ever tasted!

So get that BBQ fired up and spend an hour enjoying the sizzle, the drizzle, the heat, then the eat. Nothing beats the flavour of food cooked over mānuka. But you can cook this just as easily in the oven if BBQ is just not your thing.

I used a 2 kg Woody’s Mini Ham for this recipe but a Half Ham will also fit snugly in the pan. Make more glaze and cook for longer if you’re cooking a bigger cut. The inside of the ham should read 60°C when heated through.

Handy hint: To help remove fat from the skin, microwave the ham for 3-4 minutes, then squeeze the tips of your fingers between the fat and skin and slide your whole hand in to loosen it all. The fat should stay attached to the meat.

IN THE PAN

1 Woody’s Farm Mini Ham
1 ½ cans Good George Doris Plum Cider
½ c water
Bay leaves

GLAZE

¾ c Good George Doris Plum Cider
½ c brown sugar
¼ c honey
¼ c white wine vinegar
1 T fennel seeds toasted
2 bay leaves

METHOD

Place all of the glaze ingredients into a small saucepan and simmer until the mix has reduced by half. Keep an eye on it in case it starts to burn. If it starts to caramelise, transfer immediately to a cool bowl to stop it from cooking any further.

Let the glaze cool down as you light the BBQ and prep your ham. Blitz all of the glaze ingredients in your Nutribullet or blender until most of the fennel seeds and bay leaves are ground up.

Remove the skin from the ham as mentioned above and score with a very sharp small knife. I like the thin-line-looks-like-pork-crackling-score myself! Try not to cut all the way through the fat to the meat.

Pop your prepared ham into your Legacy Ironclad Pan and onto a medium hot BBQ. (Temp between 180°C - 220°C). Pour ⅓ cup of Doris Plum Cider into the pan with a scattering of bay leaves. Cover and let cook for 20 minutes until the fat is starting to brown. You don’t want to let the pan dry out, so keep adding cider as the liquid evaporates.

Baste the ham liberally with glaze every 10 minutes, for another 40 minutes until it's sizzling and golden brown. You need to cover the ham (close the lid or the oven door) in between glazing sessions, continue to add cider and then water to the pan to prevent it all sticking and to keep the ham really moist.

**If cooking in the oven, preheat the oven to 160°C, cook and baste as per above instructions.

Let it rest covered for 30 - 45 mins and tuck in to the tastiest ham you’ll ever eat!