How To Cook A Christmas Ham On The Barbecue

How To Cook A Christmas Ham On The Barbecue


Cook succulent Christmas ham, with sweet, sticky fat, on the barbecue

After the spectacle of the turkey there is no better sight and smell than the Christmas ham studded with cloves and with gorgeous crispy fat. Add a glaze, cook it on the barbecue and you will have the most gorgeous tasting ham with sweet, sticky fat. The beauty of cooking a ham is that it tastes just as delicious hot as cold and somehow you don’t become fed up with the sight of it as you tend to with turkey. Try and source locally bred, free range rare breed ham as the taste is a world away from meat from a factory farmed hybrid pig.

Sticky glazed ham with orange and soy sauce (courtesy of Claire Brookman)

  • 6kg (13lb) ham leg joint
  • 1tbsp whole cloves
  • ½ jar orange marmalade
  • 1/3 cup brown sugar
  • 1tbsp soy sauce
  • small piece fresh ginger; grated
  1. Take a small sharp knife and remove the rind; this can be cooked separately to make crackling, just cut into strips and cook over the direct heat.
  2. Pre-heat the barbecue to a medium heat and set it up for indirect cooking. Place a large Weber Drip Pan underneath the meat between the char baskets or on top of the unlit gas burners. You can put some water in the bottom and this together with the juices can form the base for your gravy.
  3. Score the ham to form a diamond pattern and place a clove in each diamond.
  4. Combine the marmalade, soy, ginger and sugar and brush half over the ham.
  5. Place the ham directly onto the grill over the drip pan or use the Weber Rotisserie accessory. Cook for 30 minutes then brush with the remaining glaze.
  6. Cook for approximately another 45 minutes until the core temperature reaches 82C (180F).
  7. Take off the barbecue and cover with a double layer of tinfoil then leave to rest for 20 – 30 minutes.

It can be served hot or cold, just remember to remove the cloves before serving.


Angela Slater

Daughter of a farmer and market gardener so have always had a connection with the outdoors, whether it was keeping animals or producing fruit, vegetables and cut flowers. Along with my work at Hayes Garden World I also have a smallholding, mainly breeding rare breed pigs. I gained an HND and BSc in Conservation and Environmental Land Management, as a result I am an ardent environmentalist and have a keen interest in environmentally friendly gardening. In my time at Hayes I worked for several years in the Outdoor Plant and Houseplant areas.