Mississippi Baked Ham Recipe

"My partner's family is from Mississippi, and this is their recipe for Easter ham. I don't like ham at all, but I thought this was ok. Any ham-lover would adore this recipe, I think. Posted here mostly for safe-keeping, as I'll be making it every year."

Original is 15-20 servings

Metric US

I've Tried It

Ingredients

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1 bone-in (8 to 10 pound) hickory-smoked ham
Cloves, as many as needed
12 ounces Coca-Cola

1 can (20 ounce) pineapple slices in heavy syrup, drained and syrup reserved
1 to 2 cup brown sugar
10 maraschino cherries

Nutritional

Serving Size: 1 (478.4 g)
Calories 653.3
Total Fat - 21 g
Saturated Fat - 6.6 g
Cholesterol - 128.2 mg
Sodium - 3216.3 mg
Total Carbohydrate - 69.2 g
Dietary Fiber - 2.7 g
Sugars - 51.5 g
Protein - 46.2 g
Calcium - 42 mg
Iron - 4.7 mg
Vitamin C - 3.4 mg
Thiamin - 2.2 mg

Step by Step Method

Step 1

Preheat oven to 325F.

Step 2

Rinse and dry ham. Score skin of ham with a knife in a criss-crossing 1-inch diamond pattern all around. Stuff one whole clove in every gap where the crosses intersect.

Step 3

In a baking pan, whisk together the cola and reserved pineapple syrup. Place ham cut side down in the pan. Glaze with the cola/syrup mixture. Pat brown sugar all over the ham, then cover with foil.

Step 4

Bake, covered, for 15-20 minutes per pound or until internal temperature reaches 135-145°F (cooking these big chunks of meat always takes me longer than the packaging says- a probe thermometer really helps here). Baste every 20 minutes or so. Halfway through the cooking time, remove foil and stick the pineapple slices onto the ham with toothpicks. Put a maraschino cherry in each pineapple slice hole, also with a toothpick. Continue baking, uncovered, and don't forget to baste.

Step 5

For a more caramelized glaze on the ham, just before it has finished cooking increase the oven temperature to 450F Check it frequently and baste constantly to make sure it does not burn.