The American Favorites section is where we have placed recipes for dishes that have become American favorites; these recipes are for foods that are enjoyed by many people throughout this great country of ours. In this particular section, I won't assign a specific part of the country as being the origin of the recipe.
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A 12- to 14-pound smoked ham, 1 T dry mustard
processed, precooked variety ¾ c whole cloves
¾ c bourbon whiskey 2 navel oranges, peeled and
2 c dark brown sugar sectioned
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Preheat the oven to 325°. Place the ham, fat side up, on a rack set in a
shallow roasting pan large enough to hold the ham comfortably. Bake in the
middle of the oven, without basting, for two hours, or until the meat can
be easily pierced with a fork. For greater cooking certainty, insert a meat
thermometer in the fleshiest part of the ham before baking it. It should
register between 130° and 140° when the ham is done.When the ham is cool enough to handle comfortably, cut away the rind with a large, sharp knife. Then score the ham by cutting deeply through the fat until you reach the meat, making the incisions ½-inch apart lengthwise and crosswise. Return the ham to the rack in the pan and raise the oven heat to 450°. With a pastry brush, paint the ham on all sides with ½ cup of the whiskey. Then combine the sugar and mustard and ¼ cup of the whiskey, and pat the mixture firmly into the scored fat. Stud the fat at the intersections or in the center of each diamond with a whole clove, and arrange the orange sections as decoratively as you can on the top of the ham with toothpicks or small skewers to secure them. Baste lightly with the drippings on the bottom of the pan and bake the ham undisturbed in the hot oven for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the sugar has melted and formed a brilliant glaze. Serves 12 to 14.
