HOW TO PICK OUT THE PERFECT CHRISTMAS HAM

So, this year you are feeling brave and considering attempting your own glazed Christmas Ham?

Normally I leave these types of tasks to someone else, but, this year I was told I would fail miserably at this –so I (predictably) took on the challenge.

With the help of Google and some experienced housewives, I have put together the simple rules for picking your perfect ham:

SIZE

Decide on the size of the ham before you purchase one. You don’t want people moaning that there wasn’t enough! Determine how many guests you are going to be feeding. Ideally, work with 300g portions for men and 250g portions for ladies.

Be sure to order a little extra so that you have some left-overs for sandwiches the next day!

CUT

Believe it or not there are several different cuts of hams.

The ideal ham for Christmas lunch is either a horseshoe ham, or a collar ham; they are boneless, making them easier to carve.

People would normally opt for meat with the bone in because normally all the juices seep out the bone into the meat whilst cooking.

However, because the ham has been cured and smoked, this doesn’t apply.

WHEN TO PURCHASE?

Plan according to your ZESA schedule!

You don’t want to buy your ham a month in advance if it is going to be sitting in what used to be called your freezer, but has now retired into a leaking "hot-box"!

Uncooked, frozen hams are the best option (if you still have this crazy idea to cook the ham yourself).

Thaw and cook as close to the day as possible.

If you have come to your senses, you could opt to rather order a cooked and glazed ham from your favourite butchery (TBK?!) and have them rather do all the hard work!

We would recommend you collect no sooner than the day before you intend to serve it.

Keep it refrigerated – do not freeze as “freezer burn” is more likely to occur due to the ham already being cooked.

Keep an eye out for my next blog on how to cook your prefect Christmas Ham! This could get rather messy....