Dr. Pepper-Glazed Ham

By á-25087

This is a traditional technique for glazed ham, but the all the sugar you need is found in the Dr. Pepper. With "23 flavors," it brings something unexpected to the finished product.

Ingredients

• 1 (7 to10 pound) spiral-sliced, bone-in half ham, preferably shank end
• 3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
• 1/2 cup Dr. Pepper
• 2 tablespoons orange juice
• 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

Preparation

Step 1

Remove the ham from the packaging and discard the plastic disk that covers the bone. Place the ham in the plastic oven bag, tie the bag shut, and trim the excess plastic. Set the ham, cut-side down, in a roasting pan or 13-by 9-inch baking dish and cut 4 slits in the top of the bag. (Alternatively, if you don’t have an oven bag, place the ham, cut-side down, in the roasting pan or baking dish and wrap the ham and pan tightly with foil.) Let the ham rest at room temperature for 1 1/2 hours.

Adjust an oven rack to the lowest position and heat the oven to 250°F.

Bake the ham until the center registers 100°F on an instant-read thermometer, 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 hours, depending on the size of the ham. (Figure about 14 minutes per pound if using a plastic oven bag, about 17 minutes per pound if using foil.)

While the ham bakes, bring the sugar, Dr. Pepper, orange juice, and mustard to a simmer in a medium saucepan and cook until syrupy and reduced to 3/4 cup, about 8 minutes.

Remove the ham from the oven and roll back the sides of the bag or the foil to expose the meat. Carefully tip out the juices that have collected in the pan into your sink. Brush the ham liberally with the Dr Pepper glaze and return it to the oven, uncovered, until the glaze becomes sticky, about 30 minutes. (Check the ham occasionally and if it appears to be browning too much, tent it with a piece of foil.)

Remove the ham from the oven and brush it again with the Dr Pepper glaze. Tent the ham loosely with foil and let it rest for 30 to 40 minutes before slicing and serving.