Baked Ham with Basting Sauce

 Eila Niemi's Yummy Sauce for Baked Ham recipe

Ingredients
1 ham with fat on it and a thick brown skin, allow 3/4 to 1 pound of bone-in ham per person or 1/2 pound per person for a boneless ham

15 cloves

Basting Sauce:
1 ½ cups brown sugar
1/3-cup dry bread crumbs
2 tsp. prepared mustard
3 tablespoons liquid from ham drippings

Instructions
Bake the ham in a roasting pan; use a ham with the fat on it and a thick brown skin. Bake with the fat on top. Place a bit of water in the bottom of the pan and cover. Bake at 250 F or 300 F. Bake until skin peels off easily; remove from the oven. The ham should cook for 2 to 3 hours or more depending on the size.
Peel all the thick skin off the ham. Cut the ham fat side, into diagonal lines in opposite directions, cut only ¼ deep. This will make diamond shape squares on the fat surface. Stud the squares with about 15 cloves. The cloves can go when the lines join. Cover ham with the Basting sauce, return the ham uncovered to the oven at 425 F for about 15 minutes. Or bake in a lower oven 300-325 for about ½ hour and baste. The ham should be golden brown.

Variation:
Pauline Therrien

Instead of the ham drippings in the above recipe, use 3 tbsp. cider vinegar, prune juice or wine.
Also add pineapple slices after you add the cloves to the ham, then cover with the sauce.