It's worth the effort to source and prepare a salt-cured fresh (uncooked) ham for this traditional Christmas entree. IKEA often carries hams in the freezer section; for best results, make sure that it still has its thick covering of pork fat.
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 5 hours
Total Time: 5 hours, 10 minutes
Yield: 25 servings
Ingredients:
- 1 7-9 pound fresh salt-cured ham
- 2 egg yolks
- 1 Tbsp. brown sugar
- 6 Tbsp. grainy mustard (Swedish if you can get it)
- 6 Tbsp. finely crumbled gingersnaps or bread crumbs
Preparation:
Preheat oven to 350. Rinse the ham well to remove any excess salt; pat it dry. Place, pork rind up, in a heavy roasting pan, place in upper third of oven, and roast until internal temperature is 160 (about 4 1/2 hours). Remove from oven; increase heat to 450.
Carefully slice rind off of ham (in Scandinavia, this crispy, delicious, heart attack-inducing crackling is often served as a side dish. Whisk together egg yolks, brown sugar, and mustard, then spread evenly over entire surface of ham. Sprinkle with crumbled gingersnaps or bread crumbs until covered.
Return ham to oven and cook over an additional 15-20 minutes until golden brown.