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Ham in Coca-Cola

Posted by SaraBir, May 23, 2006 at 5:11 PM

At Ed’s request, here is the insanely simple procedure for making Ham in Coca Cola. This is my version of Nigella Lawson's version of some anonymous southern genius’ recipe. I’ve always wanted to make it with a few bottles of Coca-Cola from Mexico, which is reputed to contain more sugar and less corn syrup than what we have on this side of the border. Worry not, though, for our high-fructose American Coke still yields wonderful results. And don’t use Diet Coke. Duh.

Recipe

One 4-1/4 to 4-1/2 pound bone-in ham
One 2-liter bottle Coca-Cola
One onion, peeled and halved
5 to 8 whole cloves
One 5 to 6-inch piece orange zest, or a few orange slices (optional)

Directions

1. If the ham is especially salty, place it in a pan, cover with water, bring to a boil, drain, and proceed as directed below.

2. Place the ham in a large pan (skin side down if there is skin—see note #1) with the onion, cloves, and orange zest, if using. Pour enough Coca-Cola in the pan to almost cover the ham (you might not need all 2 liters). Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and cover. Cook one hour for every 2 pounds—if you’re using a ham as big as the one specified above, this should take about 2-1/2 hours.

3. Remove the ham from the pan and reserve the cooking liquid for another use (see note #2). Allow the ham to cool slightly. At this point, Nigella recommends peeling away the skin, scoring the fat, studding it with cloves, and smearing it with a sticky sugar-mustard mixture before blasting the works in a high oven for ten minutes or so. Me, I skip the glaze and just carve the ham as is. Serve it with horseradish and Dijon mustard.

4. Makes 8 very generous servings—enough for lots of leftovers.

Note #1: I’ve never used a bone-in ham for this recipe, mainly because I never had a crowd big enough. This is what you get for having vegetarian friends. In the past I have purchased two small Niman Ranch Black Forest hams, totaling maybe 3-1/2 pounds, and prepared them together instead of one large ham. This has worked well, and it cuts down on the cooking time, although you lose out on the flavor bonus of the ham bone.

Note #2: It may look like old motor oil, but the Coca-Cola/ham liquor is liquid gold. Don’t throw it out! Nigella suggests using it for black bean soup. I have done this, and it yields a tasty, intensely porky-sweet soup. If you don’t have the energy to deal with the stock on ham cooking day, you can always freeze it.

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Tags: ham, holiday entrees, holidays, Thanksgiving turkey alternatives