Glazing your ham

• Prepare your favourite glaze recipe
  
• Remove rind and use a sharp knife to score ham in a diamond pattern.
• Place ham scored side up in a large baking pan and brush over glaze.
  
• Place into a preheated oven or hooded BBQ at 180°C for 20 minutes per kg, basting occasionally, until ham is brown and warmed through.
  

Storing your ham

• Soak a Ham Bag, pillowcase or tea towel in 4 cups of water and 2 tablespoons of vinegar.
• Wring out excess water and place ham in the Ham Bag, pillowcase or wrap in tea towel. Store in coolest part of fridge.
• Re-soak bag in solution every few days or when Ham Bag dries out.

How to Choose Your Christmas Ham:

Tips from Fleischmeister and master butcher, Horst Schurger:

• Look for a natural meaty texture: avoid the wet or rubbery.
• Choose a ham with a good smoky flavour. Ask to taste it.
• Look for smooth, even skin and even colouring. If the knuckle is sunken, it’s overcooked. If the rind is buckled or uneven, it’s a sign of dryness.
• Hams 10-12kg are most likely to have the best flavour and texture due to age of the pig.
• For the best results, opt for fresh Australian pork rather than hams made in Australia from frozen imported meat.

How to carve your whole Australian leg ham

Step 1

Place ham skin side up. Then run a small sharp knife under the rind around the bottom (opposite end to hock) and each side of the ham to about halfway up. Peel the rind back.

Step 2

Run the tip of the knife around the bone, on the underside of the ham. Begin to slice on a slight angle down to the bone.

Step 3

Run your knife length-ways along the bone to remove slices. Continue to slice towards the hock.

Step 4

Continue slicing down to the bone, working your way around the ham until you reach about a third of the way up. Remove the bone by making a few short cuts at the joint.

Step 5

To keep your ham fresh, fold rind back over exposed surface, place in a Ham Bag, pillowcase or wrap in a tea towel and store in the fridge.