Cook time: 1 hour 30 mins | Prep time: 35 mins | Serves: 30

Ingredients.

• 8-9kg Whole leg ham 

• 4 x 450g Pineapple, slices in juice

• 2 x 700g Apricots, halved in juice

• 1 x 680g Morello cherries, pitted 

  Ham syrup

• Leftover juices from pineapple, apricots and morello pitted cherries

• 500g white sugar

• 500ml dry sherry

What you will need:

• Toothpicks

• Cooking twine

• Linen napkin or cheese cloth

• Christmas ribbon

• Sprigs of rosemary

Method.

STEP 1

• Preheat oven to 160°C fan forced (320°F) and get a large baking tray to fit the ham. Have a little space on the sides for the glaze to drip down into the tray.

• Soak toothpicks in water for 10 minutes (so they don't burn)

• With a pairing knife cut around the base of the bone, where the ham starts.

• Peel the skin slowly away from the ham, leaving the fat intact.

• With a paring knife, cut through the fat lightly in a large diamond pattern

• Get a piece of baking paper 20cm long and wrap it around the bone, tie-up with twine ready to bake.

STEP 2

• Use 2 toothpicks for the top and bottom of the pineapple. Evenly distribute the pineapple over the ham making sure they are touching each other to cover the ham.

• Place a cherry on the inside of an apricot. And secure with a toothpick 

• Then place the apricot in the centre of the pineapple and push the toothpick in to secure it.

STEP 3

• Pour 1/2 of the ham syrup over the dressed ham. Place into the oven. 

• Bake for 1.5 hours, intermittently coating with the ham syrup and the excess syrup at the bottom of the baking dish with a brush and spoon. Make sure you coat all the fruit so they don't burn. Approximately 6 - 8 times. For the last 20 minutes add the leftover fruit to the base of the tray. 

STEP 4 

• Take ham out of the oven. Discard some of the toothpicks so the pineapples don’t fall off before serving. Transfer to a large platter or chopping board. 

• Wrap the bone with a linen cloth and secure with Christmas ribbon securing rosemary in the ribbon to sit on bone. 

• Carefully drizzle/ place fruit onto the ham before serving. 

• Place excess juice into a jug to pour over sliced ham. 

Ham syrup

Place all the ingredients into a large pot and simmer for 1 hour on low. The syrup will be thick enough to cover the back of the spoon. Keep in the fridge until ready to use.

Enjoy! Amanda x