Grandmother Odom's Fresh Ham with Cloves and Brown Sugar
Like many women of her generation, my Grandmother Odom cooked by rote, instinct or memory. Thus went her fresh ham with mustard glaze. She always made the ham on a spring Sunday. Early in the morning, she would score the fat and stud it with whole cloves. Then she would slather the ham with the bright yellow brown sugar-mustard-glaze. She would put this aromatic fresh ham in the oven and let it cook for hours until the glaze had baked into the meat and turned the darkest shade of brown. It’s no surprise that the outside burnt ends were my favorite, since they were the most flavorful. I’ve adapted the recipe to the grill. And it is perfectly suited to this recipe as the convection-like heat roasts the ham to a beautiful burnished brown all the way around without having to turn it.
Ingredients
12-15 pound fresh ham (bone-in leg of pork)
¼ cup whole cloves
½ cup dark brown sugar
1 9 ounce jar yellow (ball park) mustard
Methods/steps
Grilling Method: Indirect/Medium Heat
Remove ham from wrapping and pat dry with paper towels. Using a sharp boning or paring knife, remove skin but leave the layer of fat just beneath the skin (alternatively, you can have the butcher do this). Score the fat by making diagonal cuts from right to left and again across the original cuts to create a diamond pattern. Put a whole clove in the center of each of these diamonds. Mix sugar and salt and rub all over the exterior of the ham. Spread a thick layer of the mustard all over the ham.
Place the ham in the center if the cooking grates – either directly on the grates or in a v-rack roast holder. Grill roast the ham for 5-7 hours or until a meat thermometer inserted in the thickest part registers 180˚F. The outside should be darkly caramelized and the inside should be meltingly tender.
Remove from grill on to a clean platter and let rest for 20 minutes before carving. Serve hot or cold.
© ELIZABETH KARMEL 2019