THIS is my recipe for a Christmas ham.

The fruit juices in the marinade make the ham moist and flavoursome and complement it fantastically well.

This ham is traditionally served alongside the Christmas turkey.

Alternatively, it can be served on its own, with cheeses, pickles or chutneys.

Salad is a lovely meal served with the ham on Boxing Day.

It makes a light relief after all the Christmas indulgence, but it is still a fantastic meal.

Happy Christmas to you all.

Christmas ham

Ingredients:

O.950kg smoked ham joint

1tsp of whole grain mustard

1tsp of Worcester sauce

100gms of Demerara sugar

250ml of orange juice

100ml of apple juice

1 tbsp of cloves

Pre-heat oven to 180C.

Cooking time - 1 hour and 30 minutes.

Method:

Take your ham out of the fridge and leave to rest for 10 minutes so it is room temperature.

Skin side up, score the fat in a criss-cross fashion and insert your cloves into the slashes.

Place your ham onto a deep baking tray.

Take a medium sized saucepan, add the orange juice, apple juice, sugar, Worcester sauce and mustard and bring to a boil.

Reduce the heat and simmer for five minutes, stirring occasionally to ensure the sugar has completely melted.

Pour the marinade over the ham and cover with tin foil, and place in the oven.

Halfway through the cooking time, remove the foil completely and baste the ham with the marinade from the tray.

At this point, it will appear quite sticky in consistency and this is what gives the ham it’s lovely glazed effect.

Return to the oven and continue to bake for the remainder of the cooking time.

Once the ham is cooked, place on a plate and leave for a few hours to rest.