Whistle-Stop Recipe - Christmas Edition!
Black cherry & winter spiced glazed holiday ham, with roasted sweet potatoes, balsamic onions and crispy sage.
We have collaborated with the talented ArtustBBQ to bring you an absolute showstopper of a Christmas recipe, taking minimal prep ready for festive season events. The aromas of Christmas will fill your garden and have your neighbours hoping for an invite over to join you!
Please find digital recipe card here! Alternatively, follow the steps below. Find our how-to video here.
Prep time - 15 minutes
Cook time - 3hrs
Skill level - Easy
Ingredients
Ham
3-4kg cooked ham, unsmoked
2 jars of black cherry preserve
2 litres of apple juice
1 litre of cranberry juice
2 cubes crystalised ginger
2 heaped teaspoons cinnamon powder
1 heaped teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 heaped teaspoon ground ginger
8-10 cloves depending on taste
4 cinnamon sticks
Sweet potatoes
6-8 Medium sized and uniform shape sweet potatoes
2 medium white onions
25ml balsamic vinegar
50g melted unsalted butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
12 sage leaves
Salt and pepper to season
Method
Ham
- Start by lighting your Whistler grill to a temperature of around 150c. As the ham is pre-cooked the aim is only to warm it through, but this will still take around 2-3 hrs. Warming it slowly will ensure it does not start to cook the ham again and dry it out.
- Remove your ham from the fridge at least 30 minutes before you want to start cooking to allow it to come to room temperature on the sideboard. Score your ham with a sharp knife making 1cm deep incisions in a cross hatch or diamond pattern. This allows the heat and smoke in and helps the glaze to stick.
- Place the ham to the grill in a roasting tray with a trivet rack to lift the ham up allowing liquid to be placed underneath. In the bottom of the roasting tray add in 2litres of apple juice, (if there is not enough space, add 1ltr then top up 90mins into the cook) then add the 4 cinnamon sticks and 4 cloves into the apple juice. This will fragrance the vapours underneath the ham and the liquid will help to keep it moist.
- If you have a smoker box with your Whistler grill, now is the time to add in some cherry/apple wood chips and sit the smoker box above the lit burner. This will gently smoke the ham as it reheats. If you don't have a smoker box, place the chips in some foil and wrap tightly, then pierce some holes at the top to let the smoke out.
- Check the ham every 30 mins or so to ensure the pan underneath hasn't run dry, and top up with apple juice as needed, and to rotate the pan when you check for an even colour on the ham.
- At the 90min-2hr mark you need to add the sweet potato dish.
- Peel and evenly slice 6-8 medium sweet potatoes into discs, and thinly slice 2 medium white onions
- Using the side burner on the Whistler, gently fry off the onions with a splash of olive oil and a pinch of salt. When they start to soften add 25ml of balsamic vinegar and stir until fully covered. Remove from the heat.
- Lightly oil the bottom of your cooking tray and stand the discs of sweet potato on their end in a spiral pattern. In between every few slices add some of the balsamic onions.
- Mix together the melted butter and olive oil and brush on top of the potato slices then liberally season with salt and pepper.
- Add the tray of potatoes to the grill and increase the grill temp to 180c, cover tightly with foil
- Cook the potatoes in the Whistler (ideally on an upper shelf) for around 50 minutes until the potato slices start to soften. Remove the foil and cook for a further 15-20 minutes uncovered to brown the tops and the edges start to crisp
- Whilst the potatoes are cooking uncovered, start to heat a very shallow pan of vegetable oil on the side burner. Once the oil hits 180c add the sage leaves in 4 at a time and cook for 5 seconds to crisp up. Carefully remove the crispy leaves from the oil and rest them on some kitchen towel to dry. Once cooled take 8 of the leaves and gently crush them to then sprinkle over the potatoes, and garnish with the remaining 4 whole leaves.
- Take the two jars of preserve and empty them into a medium sized saucepan on the side burner. Once the preserve has melted to a liquid, add in all of the spices, cloves to taste as they are strong. If your preserve does not contain whole cherries, then you can add glace cherries at this point. Add a splash of the cranberry juice to thin the jam down to a glaze consistency. Keep stirring and
do not let it boil, just under a simmer is perfect. Heat for a further 5 minutes adding more cranberry juice if needed. Once ready, pour into a jug ready to pour onto the ham when you serve. - Once the ham is fully warmed through (you should have an internal temperature of 65c in the thickest part), remove from the heat and pour the sauce over, slice and serve. Enjoy!
Download digital recipe card here
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We'd love to see how yours turns out! Why not send us the final result via customersupport@whistlergrills.com, or alternatively to our socials and we'll be sure to repost!