Do you ever get tired of deli ham? This is an easy recipe to cook your own succulent ham to use for sandwiches in your kid’s lunch boxes. Alternatively, it makes a tasty dinner if you serve it with potatoes and vegetables. It’s even posh enough for your Christmas ham! My friend Teresa gave me the idea of using maple syrup for the glaze as previously I used honey.

1 pale ham unsmoked – I used a 2 kilogram in this recipe, just increase the amount of cider if ham is bigger

1 can/500 millilitres of your favourite cider I used Bulmer’s apple Cider

Glaze

1/3 cup/5 tablespoons/ 75 millilitres Dijon mustard

½ cup/8 tablespoons/125 millilitres maple syrup

2 tablespoon brown sugar

Remove all packaging from the ham and soak overnight in cold water to get rid of excess salt. For a Christmas ham I would change the water at least once.

Drain off the water and pat the ham dry with a paper towel. Place ham in an oven proof dish with deep sides. Pour the entire can of cider over the ham and bake using the guide lines below. Don’t let the cider cook off, so maybe have a second can ready just in case!

Calculate your cooking time 20 -25 minutes per lb/450 grams in an oven heated to 180°C/350°F or until your internal temperature is 80°C /176°F

While ham is cooking mix together the ingredients for the glaze in a jug and use this to glaze your ham in the last thirty minutes of cooking time.

Don’t discard the juices left in the bottom of the pan, use them to a make a tasty gravy using cornflour and gravy browning or even gravy granules.