Ham and smoked pork shoulder are two cuts of pork that get a lot of limelight leading up to Easter. Shortly after, it seems to fade away, back into the sidelines while most people return to roasting chickens, grilling steaks, so on and so forth…
Me? Well, you’ll find a ham in my fridge more often than not. Since it’s already been cooked, it lasts a long time and is ideal for many things from cubing up into a simple omelette to mac and cheese, soups and more.
This recipe takes thick slices of ham (or smoked pork shoulder — the main difference is that they are different cuts of meat, but processed the same way) and turns them into filling, sweet-savoury dinner steaks in no-time. The cucumber cashew salsa helps brighten things up too.
This dish is just begging to be eaten outside on your back deck. Weather permitting, of course!
What you’ll need…
Cucumber cashew “salsa”:
1/2 long English cucumber (diced)
3 green onions (thinly sliced)
1 bird’s eye chili (thinly sliced)
1 lemon (zest and juice)
1 cup cashews (roughly chopped)
2 teaspoons sesame oil
1 teaspoon rice wine vinegar
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
Glaze:
1/2 cup honey
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons sriracha
1 teaspoon rice wine vinegar
1/4 teaspoon chili flakes
8 1/2″ slices of ham or smoked pork shoulder
Directions:
Cucumber cashew “salsa”:
Place all ingredients in a medium bowl and stir to combine. Keep cool in fridge until ready to serve with ham.
(note: most ideal to prep shortly before serving so cashews still retain their texture)
Ham:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Place all glaze ingredients in a small bowl and stir to combine.
Spread cuts of ham out evenly in a large baking dish and brush liberally with glaze.
Let cook in oven for 25 minutes, removing from oven and applying more glaze intermittently.
If desired, turn oven to low broil to help caramelize glaze for 5 minutes or so before completing roasting time.
Serve warm from oven with cucumber and cashew salsa on the side.
Serves 4-5
Total prep and cook time…35 minutes