A family favourite.

Stuffed Braised Ham

Remove all the skin from a 12-pound country ham. In a bowl combine 1
1/2 cups freshly made bread crumbs, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon
nutmeg, and 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves. Toss the mixture very well and
add 3/4 cup shelled and peeled pistachio nuts, either salted or not. In
another bowl plump 2/3 cup seedless raisins in 1/3 cup Port or Madeira.
Chop 6 to 8 pitted dried prunes and 3 or 4 pitted fresh cured dates
(not the packaged variety) fairly coarsely.

With a long larding needle or apple corer make deep diagonal incisions
in the ham: there should be about 10 or 12 incisions in the cushion of
the ham and some on the underside. With the fingers force some of each
of the stuffing ingredients into the incisions: first a few raisins,
then a little of the crumb mixture, then the chopped prunes and dates,
then more raisins and crumbs, and so on. Push them in very firmly, turn
the ham over, and push more stuffing into the incisions on the
underside.

Rub the ham well with cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg and about 1/2 cup
honey or brown sugar. Put it in a shallow baking dish and add a fifth
of rather sweet Madeira, Port, or Sherry. Cover the pan with foil and
seal the ends but not the sides. Bake the ham in a preheated moderate
oven (350° F.), basting it with the pan juices every 45 minutes and
adding additional wine if it seems to be cooking away, for 15 to 20
minutes per pound.

Remove the ham, baste it once more with the pan juices, and let it
cool. If it is going to be served the same day, it should be kept in a
cool place but not refrigerated. Before serving, trim the shank bone
and put a paper frill on it. Arrange the ham on a platter and garnish
it with watercress and chopped parsley, if desired. Slice it thinly.
The stuffing of nuts and fruits in the pink slices will give a pleasing
mosaic pattern. Serve the ham as a first course with a salad, as one of
the dishes on a large buffet, or as a main course with a hot vegetable
and an orange and onion salad for a buffet luncheon or a supper party.
Drink either the traditional Champagne, a sparkling wine, or a rose.
Carefully wrapped in foil or plastic wrap and refrigerated, the stuffed
ham will keep for two weeks.

From Gourmet magazine circa 1970

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