Bilateral Ham (it’s on both sides!)

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 2 hours

Serving Size: depends on size of ham

8-15 lb. Smoked, Spiral, or any ready to eat Ham (Your preference. I prefer a smoked spiral ham)

1 can Coca Cola, opened and left out to go flat

1 1/4 cup Brown Sugar

1 cup Honey

3 tablespoons of Apple Cider Vinegar

1 teaspoon Ginger

2 tablespoons Cinnamon

4 tablespoons Dijon Mustard

Oranges or Pineapple Rings, to taste

1/4 cup Whiskey or Bourbon**

Preheat oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit. 

Bring ham to room temperature in sealed wrapper. In a deep baking pan, open and place the ham and the juices from the wrapper into the pan. Add 1/3 of the flat can of soda. Optional: Add some oranges cut into quarters, or some pineapple rings into the bottom of the pan if preferred. Cover with tin foil and place into oven for 1.5 hours at 300 degrees. 

Let the steam from the soda and the fruit juices seep into the ham. The ham is already dead, so please whatever you do, don't stab it or poke holes in it! This will only let the true flavor of the ham run out.  

Pour the rest of the soda into a sauce pan. Turn heat to medium.  Add brown sugar, honey, apple cider vinegar, ginger, cinnamon and dijon mustard. Stir or whisk until all ingredients are incorporated. You may have some lumps, but thats o.k. Bring the sauce to a boil, then lower flame and keep stirring until sauce reduces and becomes syrupy. If it starts to foam as its boiling, remove from the heat to another burner and stir quickly. The foam should subside. If you cannot tell if the sauce is the right consistency, use the back of a wooden spoon and place just the back of the spoon on top of the sauce. If the spoon has a nice coating of the sauce on it, then its ready. If you go too far beyond this point, you will scorch and burn the sauce. 

After 1.5 hours, remove the tin foil starting with the side farthest away from you so you won't get a face full of steam. Using a pastry brush, paint the sauce mixture onto the ham, a little on the heavy side, until the whole ham is covered. If the slices seem to flop over, (if you have a spiral ham that is pre-sliced), just use tooth picks to hold the ham slices in place. Put the ham back in the oven for 30 more minutes, brushing and bathing the ham with the sauce every ten minutes until all of the sauce is used. When the ham is golden brown and has the beginning of a caramelized crust on the outside, it is done. 

Serve it with your favorite vegetables and mashed potatoes with hot rolls or just eat it right out of the baking pan!

**The adult version of this recipe is the exact same way, except that you can add about a quarter cup of your favorite Whiskey or Bourbon into the sauce. Instead of using 2/3 cup of soda, cut it down to half of can and one shot of whiskey for the chef. Remember to remove the pan away from the flame when adding alcohol to your recipes or you won't have to worry about trimming your eyebrows.  Bon Apetit!

Submitted By: Wally Norcross, EMT/Police Officer

Massachusetts, USA