Southern Comfort Roasted Ham

For video instructions, click here!

I came  up with this recipe as a little tribute to my sister - who introduced me to gingersnaps in savory dishes years ago, and who loves a little Southern Comfort on occasion.
Coke and ham are a classic Southern combo, so it wasn't much of a jump from the cocktail to the glaze - with brown sugar, Dijon and a gingersnap crust, this ham is just to-die-for. It's really easy, if a tad messy for a bit - and the results are amazing. You'll like this one - trust me. :-)

The only special equipment you'll need is a spray bottle. Otherwise you'll need:

• 1 smoked bone in ham - not spiral cut
• 1 cup Dijon mustard
• 2 cups brown sugar
• 1/2 cup Coca-cola
• 1/2 cup Southern Comfort*
• 3 cups crushed gingersnap cookies

*If you want an alcohol free version, just use plain ol' Co-cola.

1. Preheat oven to 250F.
2. Rinse the ham well, and place it on a baking rack. Score the exterior of the ham with a sharp paring knife to create about two-inch sections. Don't worry about how pretty it is - it won't show.
3. Insert the probe of a thermometer into the ham, and cover with foil. Bake at 250F until you reach an interior temperature of 130F. My own ham took about 3 1/2 to 4 hours.
4. Remove from the oven. Using the score lines as guides, remove the skin and 'fat cap' from the ham. (save those - they make awesome stock!)
5. Brush a layer of Dijon mustard generously over the exterior of the ham. Gently pat the brown sugar onto the mustard. This takes a few minutes - but just keep patting small handfuls on until the ham is covered.
6. Increase the oven temperature to 350F.
7. In the spray bottle, combine the Southern Comfort and Coke. Spritz a very fine mist over the brown sugar layer.
8. Do the same thing with the cookie crumbs as you did with the brown sugar. The only tricky part is to work carefully so as not to knock off the crust you're building. Once the ham is completely covered with the gingersnaps, mist again with the Soco and Coke. Be sure not to over saturate - you'll make the crust too wet to stay put, and the flavors are plenty strong.
9. Reinsert the thermometer, being careful not to hit the bone. Bake the ham again at the higher temp until the temperature reaches 140F internally. During this second baking, mist the ham with a very scant mist of the Soco and Coke about every ten minutes or so. My ham took about 45 minutes to reach the 140F.
10. Remove from oven, and allow the ham to rest for at least 30 minutes before carving. All done!