Most children when asked about the first thing that comes to mind when thinking of things to eat at Easter time will most likely say jelly beans, chocolate bunnies, marshmallow chicks, or hard-boiled eggs. And as much as i enjoyed eating the jellybeans, biting the ears and/or head off chocolate bunnies, dying and eating hard-boiled eggs, [but not the marshmallow chicks---never was fond of those]---food-wise i had a different primary focus.
When i was a child, Easter dinner was the main attraction, with ham as the main course. Mother's prep after rinsing the ham would be to rub the ham with brown sugar. To my recollection prior to the rub, the meat was never soaked, only rinsed, because the salt that would have been eliminated from soaking, was a desired seasoning.
It was a different time, and the concern for salt reduction was not a priority. Besides which not soaking did make for a more flavorful dish. After the rub the ham was scored and dotted with cloves. Next came the pineapple rings alternating between the cloves and the scored sections. In the center of the pineapple rings maraschino cherries were placed.
Anyone who owned stock in maraschino cherries from the early '60s through to the mid '70s owes a tip of the hat to me & my sibs for an upswing in their late March/early April profit margin. Mother would always have to buy 2 jars---one for placement on the ham, the other for us kids who would eat them by the handful while we hung out in the kitchen as the ham was being dressed.
The recipe below is from wikiHOW, but i will always have fond memories of my family's Saturday afternoon before Easter Sunday tradition of preparing a salty sweet fall off the bone juicy ham.
Happy Easter.
 |  This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.via Cooking Stuff |
| From wikiHOW |
| How To Bake A Ham |
| 1 country-cured or city ham, not presliced water seasonings to taste (ex. onions, apples, bay leaves, allspice, etc.) | a glaze, preferably sweet or tangy (optional) cloves and/or pineapple rings (optional) maraschino cherries (optional) |
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F / 175 degrees C. Let it heat up while you prepare the ham. Score the fat. This will give the baked ham a nice “skin.” Consider glazing the ham. A sweet-and-salty or sweet-and-tangy combination is highly recommended. (Ex. honey and mustard; soy sauce, brown sugar, and sherry; honey mustard barbecue sauce; etc.)
Consider studding the ham. Inserting cloves into the skin or pinning pineapple rings to the outside with toothpicks can add another dimension of flavor.
Place the ham on a baking tray, wrap it in foil, and bake. You should allow around 10 minutes per lb or 20 per kilo. Baste regularly. Keeping the baste heated in a pan as you bake will keep the ham from cooling down too much.
 | As you baste, check the internal temperature; the desired temperature is around 170 degrees F / 75 degrees C. 30 minutes before the ham is done, remove the foil. This will allow the outside to develop a nice texture. |
Text Credits: Wikipedia wikiHOW || Image Credits:Wikipedia
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.via Cooking Stuff
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