THE MAIN EVENT

Two Christmas show-stoppers that will win you a round of applause

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Orange and spiced rum glazed ham

SERVES 16-18

This ham uses spiced rum to incite merriment. The glaze can be made in advance and refrigerated.

• 1 leg ham (about 8kg), at room temperature (see Note)

• 4 navel oranges, thinly sliced into rounds

• Cloves, for studding

• Rosemary and bay sprigs, for decorating

SPICED RUM GLAZE

• 300g brown sugar

• ⅔ cup spiced rum

• ⅔ cup maple syrup

• 150g unsalted butter, chopped

• 100ml orange juice (about 2 oranges)

• ¼ cup Dijon mustard, plus extra to serve

• 1 tsp ground allspice

1 For the Glaze, combine all the ingredients in a saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring, until slightly reduced for 10-12 minutes. Remove from heat; set aside to allow flavours to develop, around 20 minutes.

2 Meanwhile, preheat oven to 180°C. Use a small sharp knife to cut around ham rind 10cm from top of shank. Run knife under rind around edge of ham. Run your thumb underneath rind and above fat to separate edges all the way around. Starting from widest edge, gently pull back rind to remove and reserve (see Note).