Sexy Domestic: Bourbon Honey and Orange Christmas Ham

A ham on Christmas has always been a tradition for my family. My mom would make a HUGE honey baked ham which would last us through the week, making all kinds of ham concoctions. And isn't there just something about a good ham that's not only addictive but you just never get sick of it? Ham sandwiches, ham and eggs, ham macaroni, ham by the handful.....the possibilities are endless in leftover ham heaven!

I always go for the big one for that reason alone. This is especially helpful for the days after Christmas when the thought of cooking anything makes me want to have a nap. I've included a couple leftover ideas at the bottom of this post that will hopefully inspire you to get yourself the biggest ham you can find.

Now, for the actual ham recipe! It's pretty much like bathing the ham in a giant Old Fashioned cocktail. If you don't know what an Old Fashioned is, it's the bourbon cocktail you'd find the characters on Mad Men sipping. Don't worry though, the alcohol cooks out so no one will be getting hammered. (Haha, get it? No? I bet Jon Hamm would laugh at my puns....ok I'll stop.)

Ingredients:

2 cups water

1 cup bourbon

Peel of 2 oranges (use a vegetable peeler)

Juice of 3 oranges

1/4 cup honey

2 bay leaves

2 Tbs whole cloves

One big ham.

Turn slow cooker on high. Add first 7 ingredients to a slow cooker and stir. Now put in the ham, cover and let slow cook for 3 1/2 hours. Heat oven to 170c or 350f. Remove ham from slow cooker and make diamond scores in the fat (if there's a fat layer on the outside). Transfer ham and juices to a roasting pan (fat side up) and place on the middle rack of oven. Bake for another hour, basting occasionally. If you want crispier fat, turn the oven's top broiler on high and broil the ham for an extra 5-10 minutes.

Remove ham, cover with foil and let rest for at least 20 minutes. Get stuck in!

*If you don't own a slow cooker, just bake everything covered in a roasting pan at 170c/350f for 2 hours then uncover and bake for an additional 1 hour.

*Leftover Ideas*

Baked ham, cheese and apple quesadillas

Place one seeded large tortilla on a greased cookie sheet. Sprinkle with shredded cheddar, diced ham and peeled sliced green apple. Place under the broiler in the oven and bake till cheese is totally melted then sandwich another tortilla on top and press down. Bake for addition 3 minutes, remove and cut into slices!