WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS: A big, smoky ham glazed with sweet apple cider and studded with cloves certainly sounds great, but we found many cider-baked ham recipes lacking in apple flavor. And most recipes call for frequent basting, which is a lot of work for a ham that doesn’t taste much like cider. We wanted to develop a relatively hands-off technique for a Cider-Baked Ham recipe that was infused with lots of flavor. Marinating the ham in apple cider for four hours helped keep it moist and added significant apple flavor. Reduced apple cider was sticky enough to cling to our ham in just one application, so we didn’t need to continually baste the ham. The cider also provided superior apple flavor to our Cider-Baked Ham. We also found that a little mustard added to the glaze provided a spicy contrast to the sweet cider.

• 1 cinnamon stick , broken into rough pieces
• 1/4 teaspoon whole cloves
• 13 cups apple cider
• 8 cups ice cubes
• 1 cured bone-in half ham (7 to 10 pounds), preferably shank ends
• 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 1 cup packed dark brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon pepper

1. Toast cinnamon and cloves in large saucepan over medium heat until fragrant, about 3 minutes. Add 4 cups cider and bring to boil. Pour spiced cider into large stockpot or clean bucket, add 4 more cups cider and ice, and stir until melted.
2. Meanwhile, remove skin from exterior of ham and trim fat to 1/4-inch thickness. Score remaining fat at 1-inch intervals in crosshatch pattern. Transfer ham to container with chilled cider mixture (liquid should nearly cover ham) and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or up to 12 hours.
3. Discard cider mixture and transfer ham to large oven bag. Add 1 cup fresh cider to bag, tie securely, and cut 4 slits in top of bag. Transfer to large roasting pan and let stand at room temperature for 1 1/2 hours.
4. Adjust oven rack to lowest position and heat oven to 300 degrees. Bake ham until internal temperature registers 100 degrees, 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 hours. Meanwhile, bring remaining cider and mustard to boil in saucepan. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring often, until mixture is very thick and reduced to 1/3 cup, about 1 hour.
5. Combine sugar and pepper in bowl. Remove ham from oven and let rest for 5 minutes. Increase oven temperature to 400 degrees. Roll back oven bag and brush ham with reduced cider mixture. Using hands, carefully press sugar mixture onto exterior of ham. Return to oven and bake until dark brown and caramelized, about 20 minutes.
6. Transfer ham to cutting board, loosely tent with foil, and let rest 15 minutes. Carve and serve.