Herb-Crusted Fresh Ham Recipe

"This ham is an Easter favorite. You may be surprised to see lavender listed as an ingredient in this herb crust. Although very commonly found in desserts, lavender-especially sweet English lavender-is an incredibly versatile herb for savory cooking. Be sure to use only pesticide-free, food-grade leaves and blossoms from an organic farmer's market or online. Lavender from florists, spas, or home decor stores are probably not appropriate to eat. The key to cooking with lavender is to start out with a small amount of flowers, and add more as you go. A little amount of the sweet, perfumed herb is wonderful, but adding too much lavender to your recipe is much like eating a bar of soap. A little goes a long way."

Original is 7 servings

Metric US

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Ingredients

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1 tablespoon fresh thyme, chopped
1 teaspoon fresh rosemary, chopped
1 teaspoon fresh tarragon, chopped
1/2 teaspoon dried lavender ( untreated lavender flowers)

1/2 fresh (6-8 pound) ham (bone-in preferably shank end, with skin)
Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 cups chicken stock (or low-fat reduced sodium chicken broth)

Nutritional

Serving Size: 1 (463.7 g)
Calories 744.7
Total Fat - 38.3 g
Saturated Fat - 12.3 g
Cholesterol - 263.1 mg
Sodium - 5803.7 mg
Total Carbohydrate - 10.5 g
Dietary Fiber - 0.1 g
Sugars - 0 g
Protein - 84.6 g
Calcium - 36.5 mg
Iron - 4.5 mg
Vitamin C - 1.1 mg
Thiamin - 4 mg

Step by Step Method

Step 1

To prepare the ham, in a small bowl, combine the thyme, rosemary, tarragon, and lavender.

Step 2

Season the ham with salt and pepper and rub the herb mixture all over the ham then set aside to marinate and come to room temperature, 30-45 minutes.

Step 3

Preheat oven to 350º.

Step 4

Place the herb-crusted ham in a roasting pan and bake approximately 25 minutes per pound, or until the internal temperature reaches 150º on an instant-read thermometer inserted near the bone, 2 - 2 1/2 hours.