"Easter" Ham

Dear Kara,

Easter was wonderful. The day included the works: church, an adult Easter egg hunt, and lots and lots of food. One of my favorite dishes was the ham. It was delish, full of flavor and texture. I love the idea of serving a ham for a spring dinner party. Here is the recipe.....

"Easter" Ham with Golden Breadcrumbs and Madeira Sauce

1 lb Whole Bone In Smoked Ham
2 Cups (packed) Dark Brown Sugar
1/2 Cup Dijon Mustard
1/4 Cup Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
3 Cups Course Fresh Breadcrumbs (made from six 1/2" thick slices rustic white bread)
3 Cups Madeira (Cooking Wine)

*Special equipment: Cheesecloth

Preheat oven to 300

-Without trimming fat, remove outer rind from most of ham, leaving a band around end of shank bone. Spacing cuts 3/4" apart to make diamond pattern, score fat on top of ham crosswise and then lengthwise on a diagonal. Don't cut into the ham, just surface. See picture #1 for visual.

-Place ham on large roasting pan. Pour 3 cups of water into pan and roast on bottom shelf for 2 hours.

-Stir brown sugar and mustard in medium bowl until thick paste forms and set aside.

-Remove ham from oven and increase temperature to 350. Spread half of the sugar- mustard paste over the top of hap. Bake until and instead read thermometer inserted into thickest part of ham registers 145 degrees- about 1 hour. Note! If pan juices have dried out add 1 cup to the pan.

-Remove ham from oven and increase temperature to 400 degrees. Spread remaining sugar-mustard paste over ham and pack breadcrumbs all over top.

-Bake ham until bred crumbs are a deep golden brown and crisp. Should take about 12-15 minutes. Transfer ham to serving platter and let sit about 20 minutes before carving.

-Line a fine mesh sieve with cheesecloth and set sieve over a medium pitcher or gravy boat. Spoon off fat from surface of juices in pan. discard. Add Madeira to pan. Place pan over medium high heat and simmer liquids briskly, scraping up broan bits until sauce thickens and is reduced to 2 cups. Takes about 15 minutes. Strain sauce through prepared sieve, pressing on solids and then discard.

Step one creating the criss-cross cuts

Making the paste...

The finished product!

Being carved