MARGARITA GLAZED HAM

A glazed ham is the perfect Christmas centrepiece because it’s equal parts showstopper and crowd pleaser: glossy, aromatic, and impossibly easy to carve, it fills the room with nostalgia and warmth while leaving you time to pour drinks and top up the pavlova. Its shiny crust catches the fairy lights, the knife reveals succulent, sweet salty slices, and the leftovers turn into sandwiches so good they should be illegal. A ham commands attention without demanding fuss, the ideal festive diva.

Why the Margarita Glazed Ham is the perfect “just boozy enough” twist:

  • Flavour balance: A margarita glaze brings bright citrus and a whisper of tequila that cuts through the ham’s richness. The acid wakes up the meat, the sweetness caramelises to a beautiful lacquer, and the tequila adds a rounded, slightly herbal warmth that won’t overpower the pork.

  • Just boozy enough: The alcohol mostly cooks off, leaving behind flavour and a gentle warmth rather than a punchy, boozy hit.

  • Versatility with sides: Margarita glazed ham pairs brilliantly with traditional sides, roast veg, creamy mash, mustard, but also with brighter accompaniments like charred corn, citrus salad or a crunchy slaw. The glaze’s acidity cuts through fattier elements and keeps the whole plate lively.

  • Leftovers legend: Those tequila citrus notes carry over into sandwiches, fried rice, quesadillas and salads, making your post Christmas meals just as dazzling.

MARGARITA GLAZED HAM

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MARGARITA GLAZED HAM 〰️

Time: 2 hours

Serves: 10-12

4-5kg ham

200gm marmalade

1/2 cup brown sugar

60ml tequila

15ml triple sec/cointreau

1/2 lime, juice

5 dashes bitters

5 dashes orange bitters

1 tbl sp sea salt flakes

Garnish: Glace cherries and lime wheels

Preheat oven to 160 degrees Celsius.

Start by removing the skin of the ham. Thinly slice under skin layer to reveal the fat, and using you fingers, gently push underneath the skin and remove bit by bit until it comes off. Continue doing this until all skin has been peeled off. Feel free to use a knife in tougher sections, but make sure to keep the layer of fat.

Next up begin scoring the fat by using a sharp knife to cut 1/2 way through the fat layer, scoring it it into parallel lines, about 1-2 cm apart. You can score however you like here, completely up to you, just try to not go too far in to the fat and hit the ham meat because it will fall apart when cooked.

To make the margarita glaze add lime marmalade, brown sugar, tequila, cointreau, lime juice, bitters, orange bitter and sea salt to a pan and place on low heat. Allow everything to come together, you’re not looking to cook the glaze, just gently heat until the mix is homogenous, stirring as you go.

Place ham on large non stick baking tray and brush on half of the margarita glaze, making sure to brush it in completely. 

Place in oven for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and brush on the other half of the margarita glaze. Pop it back into the oven for 20 minutes before brushing the glaze back onto the ham. Repeat this process 2 more times glazing as you go, making sure the ends of the fat end up a little burnt and charred. (30 + glaze + 20 +  re brush glaze + 20 + re brush glaze + 20).

Once cooked, remove from oven and spoon over all the juices at the bottom continually as it cools down, this will thicken as the time goes on and cools into the ham. Let rest for 30 minutes and carve it up, and run the mean through the leftover glaze juices.

Garnish Option:

Skewer glace cocktail cherries into the middle lime wheels and then stick them all over the ham for a kitschy cities style garnish for serving, before removing bit by bit when carving the ham up.