Old dark beer baked ham

Instructions

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1 Line the roasting pan with foil so it will be easier to clean. Preheat the oven to 160°C and calculate cooking time.

2 Before cooking, remove the skin from the ham. You want to retain a good thick layer of fat, which looks gorgeous when golden and crispy and will keep the meat moist and flavourful. To do this, run your fingers underneath the skin to separate it from the fatty layer beneath before pulling it off. Score the surface of the fat with a sharp knife into diagonal lines, then cut through the lines to create diamonds. Stud the bay leaves to the ham in a decorative pattern with a whole clove then press a whole clove into the centre of each diamond. Place the ham in a roasting pan with the cut side on the bottom, this protects the cut side from drying out.

3 The cut area bakes on the base of the pan; and the melted glaze becomes a delicious sticky golden crust that everyone will be fighting over.

4 Combine the glaze ingredients and, 40 minutes before the completion of cooking, liberally brush the ham with glaze, repeating the process at regular intervals, sloshing on some of the pan drippings as you go.