This is the dish which will make your house smell like Christmas. Spiced beef adds another layer of Christmas too.
Ham fillet of around 2kg (will feed 4/5 people)
1 onion peeled
2 bay leaves
handful of cloves
Two tablespoons of Wholegrain mustard
75g of Soft brown sugar.
Firstly you need to soak your ham for at least 5 or 6 hours or overnight preferably. You can empty out the water a few times and replenish it.
When I come to cook the ham I bring it to the boil and pour off all the water and fill up the saucepan with more water again then add the bay leaves and the onion with a few cloves stuck into it. Once its boiling let it simmer for close to two hours. Leave the ham to cool in the pot of water it boiled in to preserve its moistness.
Once cooled you can then take the top layer of fat off with a knife but leaving a thin layer on the top of the ham. Then its time to create the diamond effect by scoring the fat. Use your knife to score several lines going in one direction and then going back across the ham scoring more lines in the opposite direction. Place a clove at each corner of the diamonds created.
Mix your mustard and sugar together to form a thick paste and smear it all over the diamond design.
Put it in a hot oven at around 220 degrees C for about 25/30 mins. You can baste it with some of the topping which may run off the meat during its cooking time. Ideally you want the joint of meat to look lovely and brown and caramelised.
Remove and leave to cool.
WARNING – This is so popular you may be well advised to do two of them as in my house the ham disappears as soon as its cooked and rarely makes it to Christmas Day.!!
