Mississippi Baked Ham

Total Time: 3 hrs 30 mins Preparation Time: 30 mins Cook Time: 3 hrs

Ingredients

• 8 -10 lbs hickory-smoked bone-in ham
• clove, as many as needed
• 12 ounces coca-cola
• 1 (20 ounce) can pineapple slices in heavy syrup, drained and syrup reserved
• 1 -2 cup brown sugar
• 10 maraschino cherries

Recipe

• 1 preheat oven to 325°f.
• 2 rinse and dry ham. score skin of ham with a knife in a criss-crossing 1-inch diamond pattern all around. stuff one clove in every gap where the crosses intersect.
• 3 in a baking pan, whisk together the cola and reserved pinapple 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.
• 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.
• 5 for a more caramelized glaze on the ham, just before it has finished cooking increase the oven temperature to 450°f check it frequently and baste constantly to make sure it does not burn.
• 6 remove from oven and let sit for at least 30 minutes before slicing.