Brown Sugar Baked Ham with Pineapple Recipe

Set the roasting pan on the counter and remove the roasting rack. Place 6 to 8 pineapple rings on the bottom of the roasting pan. (Or use a large casserole dish; if the ham fits, the dish is fine.)

Remove the ham from its packaging and place the ham in the roasting pan. Combine brown sugar and ground cloves together in a small bowl.

Massage the sugar mixture all over the ham, including the cut side. Really rub the sugar into the meat. It will turn into a paste while rubbing it.

If some sugar drops into the roasting pan, scoop it up, and keep rubbing it into the meat. When finished, set the ham cut side down onto the pineapple rings.

Score the ham ¼-inch deep in a diamond pattern. If this is difficult to do in the roasting pan, then transfer the ham to a cutting board. Score it, and then return it to the roasting pan, putting the cut side down onto the pineapple rings.

Pour the juice from 1 can of pineapple into the bottom of the pan. Don’t pour the juice over the ham because it will wash off the brown sugar.

Cover the ham with aluminum foil, secure it around the roaster, and let hang out in the fridge overnight, or for at least 8 hours.

The next day, remove the ham from the refrigerator. Open the foil and spoon pan juices over the ham. Lay pineapple rings across the ham so they touch each other, and secure them with wooden toothpicks if necessary.

Cover with foil. Make sure to seal the foil tightly around the edges of the roasting pan. Bake at 325 degrees F for 15 to 18 minutes per pound of meat. (Roughly 4½ hours for a 15-pound ham.)

Let the ham rest, covered, for 15 minutes before slicing.

Transfer the ham to a cutting board. Remove the pineapple slices, and save them to fry, and put on leftover ham sandwiches. Discard the toothpicks.

Slice the ham to the desired thickness. While slicing, place the sliced pieces into the roaster with all of the juices.

When everything has been sliced, transfer the slices to a serving platter. Serve alongside a selection of high-quality mustard and/or chutneys.