Fresh Ham with Spiced Apple Glaze

A whole ham will provide enough meat for your grandest dinner party. A fragrant blend of cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg—ideal with pork—is rubbed on before roasting. Serve with everal kinds of mustard.

1 whole pork leg (fresh ham, 15 pounds), trimmed

2 teaspoons dried thyme

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper

1⁄2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1⁄2 teaspoon ground cloves

1 jar (10 ounces) apple jelly

1⁄4 cup balsamic vinegar

• Preheat oven to 350°F. With knife, remove skin and trim excess fat from pork leg, leaving only a thin layer of fat.
• In cup, combine thyme, cinnamon, salt, pepper, nutmeg, and cloves. Use to rub on pork. Place pork, fat side up, on rack in large roasting pan (17" by 111⁄2"). Roast pork 3 hours. Cover pork loosely with tent of foil. Continue roasting until meat thermometer inserted into thickest part of pork (not touching bone) registers 150°F, about 1 hour.
• Meanwhile, in 1-quart saucepan, heat apple jelly and vinegar to boiling over high heat; boil 2 minutes. Set aside.
• When pork has reached 150°F, remove foil and brush pork with glaze. Continue roasting pork, brushing occasionally with remaining glaze, until meat thermometer registers 165°. (Meat near bone will be slightly pink.) Internal temperature of pork will rise to 170° upon standing.
• When roast is done, transfer to warm large platter; let stand 20 minutes to set juices for easier carving.

Makes 24 main-dish servings.

Prep: 15 minutes

Bake: 5 hours