Accompanied story, “Stuck on Sorghum,” published 12-27-2012
1 smoked, fully cooked ham (8 1/2 pounds)
8 cups apple cider
2 cups fresh orange juice (about 8 medium oranges)
3/4 cup bourbon
1/2 cup sorghum
4 black peppercorns
1 bay leaf
1/4 teaspoon salt
Cooking spray
1 cup water
Place ham in a large stockpot. Add cider and enough water to cover ham.
Bring to a simmer. Simmer 30 minutes. Discard cider mixture. Cool ham for 20 minutes.
Cover and chill ham 8 hours.
Trim rind and most of fat, leaving a 1/4-inch layer of fat. Score outside of ham in a diamond pattern.
Combine juice, bourbon, sorghum, peppercorns and bay leaf in a saucepan and bring to a boil.
Reduce heat. Simmer until reduced to 1 1/2 cups, about 35 minutes.
Remove from heat and stir in salt. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place ham on a rack coated with cooking spray.
Pour 1 cup water into a shallow roasting pan and place rack in pan. Brush ham with juice mixture.
Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 300 degrees (do not remove ham from oven).
Bake ham an additional 1 1/2 hours or until a thermometer registers 140 degrees, brushing with juice mixture every 30 minutes.
Let stand for 15 minutes before slicing.
