Cajun Glazed Ham

What is Easter without a baked ham? In college, I did a Social Theory paper on why we have certain food items geared towards certain holidays. Thanksgiving=turkey; Christmas=turkey for some, ham for others, or beef for our family; New Years Day=black eyed peas; and Easter=ham. We've had this ham for as long as I can remember and it never disappoints. It's also AWESOME for leftovers for sandwiches. Now I'm really wishing I had a sandwich with this ham right now.

I'm not normally a bossy person, but I am for this recipe. There are absolutely no substitutions allowed. You must use Louisiana cane syrup. If you have family members in Louisiana, get them to ship it to you. You can even order it online. Trust me on this. You have to use it. It's worth the investment to get it shipped to you if you aren't lucky enough to live in Louisiana. Check your stores, you may be lucky enough to have it in your grocery store. Unfortunately, we're not so lucky in this area.

Ok, sorry for that. It's just crucial. :)

Cajun-Glazed Ham

Source: The Evolution of Cajun & Creole Cuisine by John D. Folse, page 251

Ingredients:
1 (5 pound cured ham)
1 cup Creole mustard
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup Louisiana cane syrup (no substitutions allowed!)
1/4 cup pineapple juice
1/4 cup cracked black pepper
pinch of cinnamon
pinch of nutmeg
pinch of allspice
pinch of ground clove

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a ceramic mixing bowl, combine all the above ingredients, except ham. Using a wire whisk, blend all spices into the mustard-sugar mixture until well incorporated. Place ham in center of dutch oven and coat completely with the sweet mustard mixture. Bake uncovered for one hour.

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