Heartwarming Christmas Ham And Pineapple. There are some things on this earth that were just made to go together like peas and carrots, chocolate and milk, tomatoes and basil, and ham and pineapple. The list really is endless. Mind you, eating one without the other isn’t terrible, but eating them together is perfection.
Today we are making an easy ham and pineapple. This simple Christmas Ham dish conjures up memories of holiday dinners, but you don’t have to wait until there is a holiday to enjoy a ham dinner. I cooked mine in less time than it takes to watch an episode of Downton Abbey.
My mother makes a Christmas Ham similar to this but she painstakingly pins each pineapple ring to the ham with whole cloves, then when the ham is done she removes the cloves so no one will eat them.
The reason for this is, if you eat a whole clove it will overwhelm your taste buds. While cloves are very delicious they are just too pungent to eat whole. Don’t do it. While my mother makes a very delicious Christmas Ham, I’m far too lazy for that. Plus I have an episode of Downton Abbey waiting and I have no time to waste in the kitchen.
Make sure you have lots of pineapple on hand in case you need more. I like a bite of pineapple with every bite of ham. I had 2 cans on standby in case we needed them. You can save the pineapple juice for later if you don’t use it all. You can even freeze it in ice cube trays to use when making frozen drinks later. I heated a small amount in the microwave and drizzled over the Christmas Ham after I played it.
I’m cooking in my halogen oven today, but you can do the exact same thing in a regular oven. It may not crisp the tips as much but if you really want those crisp edges just set your Christmas Ham under the broiler for a few minutes. Keep an eye on it though, it will go from crisp to burn very quickly.
Heartwarming Christmas Ham And Pineapple
Ingredients
- 1 5 pound Spiral Ham thawed, read the package and make sure it's fully cooked
- 2 cans pineapple slices 20-ounce each can, in 100% pineapple juice
- 1 pinch ground cloves
- ¼ cup local honey
- 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
Instructions
- Set a low rack in the bottom of your halogen oven.
- Drain pineapple juice into a measuring cup and set aside. Slice all but 5 pineapple slices in half and tuck the halves into the slices of ham. If you can’t get them into every slice, try every other slice.
- Set whole slices aside. Place ham into a halogen oven.
- Mix 1/4 cup of pineapple juice and a pinch of ground cloves. Slowly pour over the ham, careful to get juice in every slice. Place remaining pineapple slices on top of ham.
- Place your extender ring on and then the lid. Set your halogen oven to 275°F and 45 minutes.
- Check your ham after 15- 20 minutes. It should be starting to brown and crisp on top. Tent with foil. Use tongs to tuck the foil down so the fan doesn’t blow it around.
- Mix together honey, brown sugar, 2 pinches of ground cloves, and 1/4 cup of reserved pineapple juice.
- After 45 minutes remove the 5 pineapple slices on top of ham and set aside.
- Pour honey mixture all over the ham and try to get in every slice.
- Place the lid back on the oven and continue to cook until the edges are crisp (10 – 15 minutes.)
- Remove from the oven to a serving platter.
