Best Fresh Easter Ham With Herbs Recipes

HERB CRUSTED FRESH HAM

Steps:

• In a small bowl, combine the thyme, rosemary, tarragon, and lavender. Season the ham with salt and pepper. Rub the herb mixture all over the ham and set aside to marinate and come to room temperature, 30 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Place the herb-crusted ham in a roasting pan. Bake approximately 25 minutes per pound, or until the internal temperature reaches 150 degrees F. on an instant-read thermometer inserted near the bone.
• Remove from the oven to a rack. Tent the ham loosely with aluminum foil and let stand until the center of the ham registers 160 to 165 degrees F. on the instant-read thermometer, 25 to 30 minutes. Remove ham from roasting pan. Transfer the drippings into a small saucepan to make the jus. Add the chicken stock, dash of salt, and pepper and bring to a boil over high heat. Decrease the heat to medium to keep warm until serving. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper.
• Once the ham has rested, transfer to a cutting board, carve, and serve with the jus on the side.

FRESH HAM WITH GREEN-HERB PASTE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 325 degrees with rack positioned as low as possible. To make the green-herb paste, combine garlic, rosemary, oregano, 1 tablespoon salt, and 2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper in the bowl of a food processor; pulse to combine. With machine running, add olive oil through feed tube, and process until just combined but some texture still remains. Green-herb paste can be made 1 day ahead and stored in an airtight container, refrigerated, until you're ready to cook the ham.
• To make the ham, you will need a large roasting pan; we used a 14-by-18-inch one. If you can cook a 20-pound turkey in the pan, the ham will fit; just make sure the pan fits in your oven. Arrange onion rounds in the bottom of the pan. Place 8 rosemary sprigs and 2 dozen bay leaves on top of the onions; this onion-herb bed will keep the ham from burning and will make an aromatic gravy.
• While ham is still cold, score the skin and fat: Using a sharp slicing knife, cut large diamonds, spaced about 2 1/2 inches apart, through both the skin and the fat. The uncooked meat should be moist and reddish pink, and the fat should be very white and smooth. Don't be alarmed by the amount of fat under the skin; it melts, shrinks, and crisps while cooking, making the meat tender. Using a paring knife, make a slit in the meat at each intersection; insert a sliver or two of garlic and a tuft of rosemary into each.
• Transfer ham, scored-side up, to pan. Using your fingers, rub 1/2 cup green-herb paste into the cut areas, over the skin and over the exposed end piece. Sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper.
• Tie ham crosswise in 2 or 3 places with kitchen twine. Make a bay wreath around the shank bone: Tie a piece of twine around the bone; tuck remaining bay leaves under the twine. Let ham sit at room temperature until no longer cold to the touch, about 30 minutes; if it goes into the oven too cold, it won't cook through. Cook ham 1 hour. Slide out the pan on the rack. Slowly pour 3/4 cup wine over ham; rub more paste into cut areas as they expand and release juices. Bake 3 1/2 to 5 hours more, basting with wine every hour and rubbing in more paste as needed, until an instant-read thermometer registers between 145 degrees and 155 degrees when it is inserted into 2 different sections of the center; be careful not to insert the thermometer next to the bone, or the reading will be incorrect. Cooking times will vary with the size of the ham, the weight of the pan, and the heat of the oven, so an instant-read thermometer is essential. While roasting, reverse orientation of pan for even browning, and tent ham with foil if the outside is cooking too quickly. Remove ham from oven, and let rest; the internal temperature will rise 5 degrees to 10 degrees more.
• When cool enough to handle, transfer ham to a platter garnished with rosemary and dandelion greens; remove twine. For easiest slicing, let ham rest 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Discard onions and rosemary; pour remaining liquid into a fat separator. Place pan over high heat. Add 1/2 cup water; once liquid bubbles, scrape bottom with a wooden spoon to dislodge any cooked-on bits. Cook until mixture reduces slightly, about 5 minutes. Remove fat from reserved liquid, and add liquid to pan. Heat through, strain, and serve with the ham.

ROAST FRESH HAM WITH CRACKLINGS

Steps:

• Combine 4 quarts cold water, 1 cup salt, and the garlic, onion, peppercorns, coriander, bay leaves, and parsley in a container that is large enough to hold the ham, and stir until the salt is dissolved. Submerge the ham in the liquid and refrigerate for at least 24 hours and up to 3 days. (Alternatively, if you can't fit the ham in your refrigerator, brine it directly in a clean cooler, just adding a little extra salt and enough ice to keep the ham cold, draining a little brine and adding more ice as needed.)
• Preheat the oven to 350°F.
• Drain off the brine, discarding all the seasonings, and pat the ham dry. Put a paper towel on top of a cutting board and set the ham on top of that so that it doesn't slip. With a sharp knife, score the skin with incisions that run the length of the ham and are about 1/2 inch apart, and then again the other way to form a crosshatch pattern. The incisions should just barely reach into the fat under the skin; do not cut into the meat itself, in order to help the crackling skin stay in one piece once it is crispy. Allow the ham to come to room temperature.
• Lightly oil and salt the meat, rubbing it in on all surfaces. Put the ham on a rack or on a few rolled-up sheets of aluminum foil in a large heavy roasting pan and put it in the oven. A 15-pound roast will take almost 4 hours total, while an 18-pounder will take as long as 5-about 15 minutes per pound. About 2 1/2 hours in, when the temperature of the ham hits about 130°F, raise the oven temperature to 425°F to crisp the skin (cover any areas that start to get too dark with a piece of foil). When the meat thermometer reads 145° to 150°F, remove the roast and allow it to rest, loosely tented with foil, for an hour or so before carving.