Remove your ham from it's packaging and cut off any ties or string. Place in a large pot for poaching.

The size of your ham will dictate your cooking time so it will vary every time. Take note of the weight of the meat. This ham is 2.25kg to serve 14 people

The whole ham should be covered with liquid for poaching and again this amount is dictated by the size of the ham and the size of your pot.
I measure 1 part water to 1 part cider to 1 part apple juice.
First I added 1 litre of apple juice (the whole carton). Using the empty carton from the apple juice as my measure I fill it with water and then pour this into the pot.

Followed by 2 x 450g cider (I use inexpensive, sweet cider, choose one that you would normally drink). If you would like to make it alcohol-free just increase apple juice in its place.
Once your equal parts of water/cider/apple juice are in the pot you can access how much more liquid is needed to cover the meat. If it is just a small amount (say a third) I just top it up with more water. If the pot is only half full I would do another lot of water/apple juice and cider.

Now add your apples cut in half, cinnamon sticks, cloves and star anise.

Once the simmering time is done. Remove from the heat and carefully remove the meat from the poaching liquid. Dispose of the liquid and spices. KEEP the apples (if they are still intact)

Add all your glaze ingredients into a separate small pot. (TIP: I always count out how many cloves I add to the glaze so they can be removed later on, it's not nice to bite down on a whole clove when you eat. In this case, I added just 6 cloves)
Add a splash of water and slowly bring the boil to melt and combine. Keep on a slow heat stirring for a few minutes and then set aside ready for the ham

Make sure your ham is clean by removing any of the whole cloves that might have stuck to it during poaching.

My meat this time was already scored on the skin when I bought it from the shop but if yours is not scored, do this now with a sharp knife so the glaze can get into the skin properly.
Cover with the glaze and pop in the oven at 200c for 15 minutes. (don't forget to remove your cloves from the glaze)

Remove from oven and spoon over the glaze again, returning back to the oven for another 10 minutes

After 10 minutes remove from oven. Set aside to eat later with your Christmas meal. This ham can be eaten warm or cold. It is perfect for leftovers the next day as well.

🍏🍏🍏 Apple sauce: If you saved the apples from the poaching liquid you can make a salty, sweet and ham-infused apple sauce to accompany the meat as an added bonus. See the recipe here: