Cherry-Port Glaze (Cook's Illustrated)

"I made this glaze while preparing a spiral sliced ham in the CI way, see recipe #366252 . I don't much care for ruby port, so used tawny port and also light brown sugar. I reduced the pepper to 1/2 tsp., use more if you wish.A key to this recipe is the quality of cherry preserves. I used preserves from the Kedainiu konservu fabrikas, which contain 35% cherries and no preservatives. I found these at a large ethnic grocery."
 
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photo by Jostlori photo by Jostlori
photo by Jostlori
Ready In:
40mins
Ingredients:
5
Yields:
1 cup
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ingredients

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directions

  • Simmer the port in a small saucepan over medium heat until it is reduced to 2 tablespoons, about 5 minutes.
  • Add the brown sugar, cherry preserves, and ground pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until the sugar dissolves and the mixture is thick, syrupy and reduced to 1 cup, 5 to 10 minutes.
  • To use as glaze, bake your ham until it reached an internal temperature of 100 degrees.
  • Remove ham from oven and increase oven temperature to 350 degrees.
  • Cut open the oven bag (if using the CI method) and roll back the sides to expose the ham.
  • Brush ham with about one-third of the glaze (a silicone brush is highly recommended).
  • Return to the oven until the glaze becomes sticky, about 10 minutes.
  • Remove ham from the oven, transfer to a cutting board, and brush te entire ham with another third of the glaze. (If the glaze has thickened, just reheat it briefly).
  • Let the ham rest, loosely covered with foil, for 15 minutes.
  • Heat the remaining third of the glaze with 4 to 6 tablespoons of the ham juices, until it forms a thick but fluid sauce. Pass the sauce with the ham.
  • Note: I think this recipe makes enough for probably six people, at best, but did not really measure it out after adding the juices. Also, I found the ham juices very salty, and would probably use just two or three spoons of ham drippings, and low-sodium broth or water for the rest.

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Reviews

  1. Oooh, baby - this was yummy! I tasted it before adding the drippings, and it was good. But after adding them - wowzers. This was so good on our Easter ham. The Port reduction really shines, and I'd never had cherry preserves before and was surprised at how good they are. This will definitely be my go-to ham glaze from here on out. No more using that package that comes with the ham! Thanks for sharing!
     
  2. loved this its so easy tastes great with ham
     
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RECIPE SUBMITTED BY

My screen name is a diminutive in Lithuanian for bread, so you won't be suprised to learn that I love to bake bread. In recent years I have been baking a lot of sourdough breads and have several starters sitting in my refrigerator. But I like to cook a lot of other things, as well, especially from various cultures. The cat wishes I would concentrate on meat and fish... I joined a few years ago but started posting recipes and participating in forums just recently - I wish I had done so earlier. Recipezaar is a great community! Right now I am a co-host for the Breads and Baking and the Eastern Europe forums - I hope to see you there!
 
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