Christmas Eve 2023 Dinner

▶️ Play Christmas Eve 2023 Dinner

Written with a nod to over-the-top prose found in epic (or not so epic) fantasy.

The done of a lightly smoked ham lays on the counter cut in a vaguely cris-crossing pattern to trap the locally made beer infused mustard. The mustard will, in turn, capture the ancho chili and brown sugar accented with cinnamon spice rub. Over the course of the long night the minor hill of the ham, for it is a mere foothill compared to a true representative of the holiday ham, will rest in the refrigerator giving the patted-in spice rub a chance to settle into the meat.



Top: The ham has been lightly scored with a knife to help let the flavors of the binder, spice rub, and eventually the glaze seep into the meat. Here you see the beer infused mustard. Bottom: the spice rub has been applied. It’s a blend of equal parts onion powder, chili powder, and paprika; a half part ground cinnamon; and 12 parts (or somewhat more) brown sugar.

The fog has been hanging about all day but it’s a bit less dense now. The ham has rested for a while after cooking for a bit more than two hours. We settle down to enjoy the main course after devouring pierogis and smoked beet salad with toasted pine nuts and feta cheese with a maple syrup balsamic dressing. Photo by Deb Salveta.

After resting the more flavorful ham is treated to the touch of a low smoky fire. The heat and smoke seep into the ham bring their own flavors to the meat as its temperatures rises to a wonderfully heated state. As that point approaches a final coat of maple syrup blended with the warm spices of nutmeg and sugar all carried along by sumptuous melted butter and a touch of acid from orange juice bring the ham to its final glory. 

After warming up within a 270 °F Weber Kettle under the influence of apple wood to acquire a bit more smoke the maple syrup glazed ham is being sliced for dinner.

This succulent ham features a wonderfully sweet buttery maple outer shell with just a bit of chili zing. You bite into tender meat full of flavor and a touch of smoke. A fine main course augmented by a beet salad that is sweet and savory from the pastrami-esque flavors infused into the red and white beets. Those beets blend with the toasted pine nuts and salty feta cheese. All coated in a bit of maple syrups vinaigrette dressing. The main meal is made complete with a selection of pierogis.

Ham Recipe

This was a pre-cooked smoked ham. You could eat it right away if you desired but I had plans for the ham. I coated it with a mustard binder and then added the spice rub. Use whatever you desire. I let the rub infuse into the lightly scored meat overnight before placing the ham within a 250 ºF smoker. When it passed 110 ºF internal temperature I added the maple syrup glaze.I applied the glze a couple of times until the ham reached an internal temperature of 145-150 ºF at which point I took it off the smoker and allowed it to rest for 15 minutes before serving.

The Rub

These amounts are approximate. Go with how it tastes.

• 1 oz brown sugar per 2 pounds
• 1/4 tsp onion powder
• per 2 pounds
• 1/4 tsp paproka per 2 pounds
• 1/4 tsp chili powder per 2 pounds
• 1/8 tsp cinnamon (or maybe nutmeg) per 2 pounds

The Glaze

These numbers are again approximate. It is best to go by how it tastes to you once you have thoroughly mixed the glaze.

• 3/4 cup maple syrup
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 1/8 cup apple juice (orange if it's all you have)
• 1 ounce butter
• Pinch of cinnamon and/or nutmeg

Beet Salad

This recipe was inspired by a video I found on YouTube from the Texas barbecue restaurant LeRoy and Lewis. I am sure my amounts of spices are different from what they use. However, this is a technique you can find employed by many people.

Ingredients

• Beets (about 1.5 pounds for 4-6 people)

For the brine

• Enough water to cover the beets. Make a 4% salinity solution (if you have a comparable amount of water by weight to your beets this will give them about 2% salt). Same amount of sugar. Equal parts coriander seeds (toast them for fuller flavor), black pepper - about 1 teaspoon per liter; maybe half parts cinnamon, nutmeg, star anise, cloves, garlic

Rub:

• 1 part ground black pepper
• 0.5 parts brown sugar , ground coriander 

Instructions

1. Steam the beas till tender,about 45 minutes (temp about 200 F).
2. Peel the beets and place in the brine overnight.
3. Remove from the brine and Pat dry before putting the dry rub on. 
4. Smoke the beats at about 250° F until done. Smoke about 45 minutes.

For a beet salad, add a few ounces of goat cheese (feta works well), toasted pecans or pine nuts, a bit of lemon juice or other vinaigrette style dressing (maple vinaigrette is good).