Holiday Ham
It’s the holidays and among roasted chicken, beef, turkey, is the humble ham. As a protein centerpiece, it is usually underappreciated but delicious and simple to procure and cook. We highly recommend you purchase an organic pasture-raised heritage breed, nitrate-free, and uncured whole ham from your local small farm and roast it in your oven. Organic and nitrate-free means it’s healthier for you than its generic counterparts, and you can feel good about supporting a local small business. Heritage breed pork is also far more flavorful than commercial factory-raised pigs, and if they are finished on the pasture, grass, or acorns, absolutely delicious.
Using fresh organic pineapple and rosemary pinned against the ham while roasting will give it a hint of sweetness and a deeply aromatic flavor. Serve with some of our tasty and easy side recipes.
Ingredients
- 1 whole organic uncured nitrate free-ham, for roasting
- 5-6 sprigs of organic rosemary, cut into 2 – 3 inch pieces diagonally so the stem is sharp
- 1 whole organic pineapple, cored, peeled, and sliced into ½ inch rungs
- 1 cup organic no sugar added pineapple juice
Directions
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Using the sprigs of rosemary, pierce the skin of the ham so that half the rosemary sprig stays out. Place rings of pineapple over the rosemary so it stays on the ham.
- Place ham into roasting pan, fat side up, and pour pineapple juice over the ham. Cover loosely with foil. Roast ham until internal temperature reaches 140 degrees Fahrenheit for pre-cooked, and 145 degrees Fahrenheit if raw. Remove foil during the last 10 minutes of cooking so the skin can brown.
- Serve hot.