“Sad to say, the kitchens proved to have no wild boar on hand, and there was not time enough to send out hunters. Instead, the cooks butchered one of the castle sows, and served them ham studded with cloves and basted with honey and dried cherries. It was not what Cersei wanted, but she made do.” -A Feast for Crows
Ham with cloves, honey, and dried cherries
Our Thoughts:
Salty, juicy goodness. The sweet punch of a cherry. Slow drips of honey.
All this can be yours.
This recipe is so good that it nearly defies description. Even as someone for whom ham and pork generally hold little appeal, I still had 3 servings. It’s the kind of flavor combination that will keep you eating in an effort to really nail down a description. We at least had the excuse of writing this post, but you’ll have to come up with your own.
What’s more, this is a great way to sneak a little Westeros into your otherwise normal family holidays.
This tasty ham, followed by episode 2.2, and chocolate Easter eggs? WIN.
Ham with cloves, honey, and dried cherries Recipe
Cook’s Notes: As with most hams that come on the bone, the leftovers can be used to make a wonderful Split-Pea Soup!
Ingredients:
- 1 10 lb. ham (ours was spiral cut, but we would have preferred a solid one)
- ~30 cloves
- 2 large handfuls of dried cherries
For the Glaze:
- 1/2 cup honey
- 1/2 cup red wine vinegar
- 1/2 cup apple cider
But wouldn’t this mean that it was a fresh ham? Smoking takes time. Fresh hams are delicious , but the preparation is different.
I believe ours was smoked. It’s a standard spiral cut ham from Whole Foods, with the magical Westerosi sauce added.
MMMMmmmm… Ham….. :)
What Karen meant was that the ham in the book was fresh. I was also curious about preparing fresh ham. You’d need to add the salt at some point, and it would probably need much more cooking.
Yeah, I was confused about the ham-in-one-day thing. I had no idea a pork roast could be called “fresh ham.” learn something new every day! I greatly prefer my ham smoked, clover within an inch of its life, and baked with a fruity sauce like this one. Sounds fantastic!
Mmm, mmm, mmm, MMM!! I was looking for a special way to prepare today’s ham!
Just made this as a glaze, but I’m not sure that was right… The recipe is sort of ambiguous? Am I supposed to be basting the ham with the sauce? Or was I supposed to remove the ham from the sauce before roasting?
That was right! I’ve clarified in the post, but the honey, vinegar, and cider combine for a glaze, with which you baste the ham. Once the ham comes out of the oven, you can add the cherries and continue to cook the juices down for a slightly thicker sauce, perfect for serving with the ham.
Tried that recipe today and winter came on to my kitchen by myself being drawn away from the kitchen for 15 minutes.
So the crackling on the ham went black and the former so delicous sauce got bitter as well….
Recipe for the sauce is realy good as far as i can tell from tasting before the 15 minutes of winter came on me XD
But what do we say to the death of all dishes when he comes to ruin them?
“Not today!”
Best regards and keep on cooking ;-)
I can tell you are not much of ham or pork lover, if you chose a cured ham for this recipe. I agree with those above who think the passage in the book refers to a fresh ham, which is a lot like a pork roast but better. I would consider your recipe above to the modern. If you wanted an authentic version you would have to buy an uncured ham and try the recipe with that.
I’d try it myself, but I am without air-conditioning in my kitchen in New York City and it would probably take about five hours of the oven being lit. Maybe this fall. Thinking about fresh ham which I have no cooked in years, makes me want to try it.
A truly splendid ham and the cherries are a novel touch.
My mother makes a very similar recipe for Christmas.
For the glaze she uses honey, white wine and passion fruit juice.
I just made this yesterday for a feast at my church and it was INCREDIBLE. I couldn’t stop tasting the sauce while the ham was still cooking. I just sat in my kitchen for fifteen minutes pulling bits of ham off the bone and popping them in my mouth. I’m going to have to get another ham to make this again soon because I didn’t get to take enough leftovers home!
Awesome! I’ve definitely stood in the kitchen in a similar fashion, gobbling away at a dish before sharing it with anyone else. :)
I am going to have to try this. For several years we have smoked a ham for Thanksgiving. Since I have an abundance of wild cherry trees on my property we smoked it with that instead of hickory. We originally did this because the oven was broke but decided afterward that this was the way to cook a feast ham. Now I am thinking of how to incorporate the sauce with the cherry smoked ham.
Well I’m trying this recipe but with halved ingredients and a roasting bag. Basically I’m not supposed to “experiment” with the inlaws but since its GOT inspired (and we’re all sitting down for Seas. 5 ep 2 tonight), I cut the smoked ham in half, used 1/2c. ingredients and we still got 2 1/2 hrs left cook time :P We will see if it works!
I know this recipe was posted a while ago, but I just wanna say that I made this for Christmas dinner this year and it was a total hit! I was really nervous because I don’t have a ton of proper cooking experience especially with meat, but everything went off without a hitch. Thanks for posting!
after removing the ham and place it in the serving tray do I use the roasting pan and Oven to reduce the sauce or do I pour it into a different pan on the stove?
I used a different pan on the stove so I’d have more control over the temperature.
Great and about how often would you baste it?