Ham glaze recipe hack you probably haven't tried

Glazed ham is not a new thing at Christmas. In fact, Aussies have been doing it for decades.

Using a popular breakfast spread as the hero of your ham glaze recipe isn’t a new idea either. Honey is one of the most common ham glaze ingredients, because it helps caramelise the outside of the ham, gives it just the right amount of stickiness that makes everyone love it (flies included!) and it goes perfectly with mustard, ham’s other best friend.

But what if I was to tell you that there’s another breakfast spread being overlooked when it comes to making your Christmas ham glaze?

I’m talking about jam. But, the raspberry kind.

Can you really use raspberry jam in a ham glaze recipe?

We’ve actually done it, and not only does it work, but it’s a triumph.

It makes sense when you think about it. Where honey, apricot jam or nectar and maple syrup are often used in savoury dishes to offset spicy, umami or salty flavours, raspberry jam can have the same effect.

Raspberries are sweet and tart, with slightly floral undertones. This recipe uses them along with Dijon mustard, which is sharp and tangy (basically, everything jam is not). Together, they give the ham a surprisingly rich and complex flavour.

The texture of the two together is perfect too. The stickiness and softness of the jam, when combined with the creaminess of the Dijon mustard, is the ideal consistency to spread on the ham – and it clings beautifully as it bakes.

There’s one warning with this recipe though. Your jam HAS to be seedless. Nobody wants to be getting raspberry seeds in their teeth during Christmas dinner.

How to use jam in your ham glaze

Of course, you need to prep your ham as you always would, removing the rind and scoring the fat in a diamond or spiral pattern (we’ve done spiral here, but either works). Pre-heat your oven to a low temperature.