Mustard Ham (Paleo, Low Carb)
Well, to be honest, this is not exactly a recipe. More of a cooking tip I guess. But points for the effort, right? Anyway. Last year I shared few of the modified (healhified?) Czech Christmas classics. But I’m living in Australia for a while now, so I guess it’s time to give the typical (and not so typical) Aussie Christmas meals a chance to shine as well. And what else should I start with than a ham. So here is a tip on a sugar free and healthier glaze / crust for you guys – Mustard Ham (Paleo, Low Carb).
If you are not from Australia, you might be thinking why am I starting with a ham out of all the things? Something so simple? Well, there isn’t much else in the meat section in the supermarkets here at the moment. It’s a ham invasion, seriously. Ham absolutely everywhere. Small ham, large one, bone in or boneless, double smoked, triple smoked… Australians love their Christmas ham. So I thought why not, I should give it a go as well. But instead of any of the classic glazes which are all full of sugar I wanted to come up with something a bit more healthy. And for me ham goes just perfectly with mustard (and pickles, but that’s a different story). So I made a beautiful mustard crust which doesn’t require any sugar or honey etc. And I like everything a bit on the crispier side, but as the ham is already cured feel free to take it out of the oven earlier.
- 1 piece of leg ham (I used a 1,5 kg free range ham, so the ingredients for the crust are measured for that amount. If you are baking a bigger piece just make a bigger batch and also make sure you'll bake the ham for a little bit longer)
- 3 tbsp wholegrain mustard
- 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
- 1,5 tbsp coconut aminos
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- Start with removing the rim of the ham. Slide a sharp knife between the skin and the fat of the ham. Then with your fingers gently peel the rim off.
- Cut the top fat layer in a diamond pattern.
- Mix all the ingredients for the crust together and glaze the ham with the mixture.
- You can place the ham on a lined baking/roasting tray or use vegetables and water as a "base" to sit the ham on. I do this for most of my roasts, instead of sitting them straight on the tray I would chop some onion or root vegetables, place them in a baking dish, pour about 1,5 cups of water in, so the vegetable doesn't burn and sit the meat on top of the veggies. Like that I have an extra little side or even a gravy if I blend the veggies and the juices. Place the ham into preheated oven on 180 C and bake for ca 45 minutes.
- After taking the ham out of the oven let it "rest" for about 5-10 minutes before slicing it with a sharp knife. Serve with your favourite Christmas side dish or for example the Traditional Czech Potato Salad.
