This article was originally published in December 2022.

This year, Amanda Lee is having a crack at cooking the classic Christmas ham for the first time – and she has some questions.

Having moved from South Korea to New Zealand as a toddler and typically celebrated the festive season with Korean food, the ham – or, as Lee describes it, the “pink beast” – is something of a mystery.

Now 31, and raising two young New Zealanders with her Kiwi partner, Lee reckons it’s time to tackle the unknown and serve a showstopping ham to wow both family in New Zealand and loved ones travelling in from overseas.

But first, she needs a few things cleared up.

We took Lee’s burning questions to Richard Healy, co-owner of Auckland’s award-winning Mapari Meats to find out the method behind the madness.

Why on earth does a ham need a bag?

“A ham bag is basically something you keep wet to stop the ham from drying out when you keep it in the fridge,” Healy says.

“If you put a piece of bread or meat in the fridge it will dry out, or leave some cream in the fridge it goes all dry and crumbly, so if you put a wet towel over a ham it stops it from doing that.

“If you get white wine vinegar and water and put your ham bag in that, it’ll keep your ham moist for a lot longer.

If it’s already cooked why do I need to cook it again?

“Basically what you’re doing is warming it up – you’re not exactly cooking it again,” Healy says.

“People like to have their hams glazed, so they take the top layer of skin off and score the fat underneath the skin, and then put a sweet glaze on the top of it – like a barbecue sauce, brown sugar mustard rub – and then you warm it up in the oven.

“You really only need three or four cups of water in a dish, put your ham on top of that on a rack, and then you’re just setting your glaze and warming your ham.

“You’re not really cooking it unless it’s a raw ham, and that takes five or six hours in the oven, depending on how big it is.

My friend has offered to lend me their ham stand – what on Earth is that?

“A ham stand is just something you sit a ham on, so you can carve it,” Healy says.

“It’s always nice to have it sitting up above everything else on the table, it’s a bit of a centrepiece for Christmas dinner.”

Boneless or bone in – what is the difference (apart from the obvious)?

“The one thing about leaving the bone in is that it retains a lot more moisture, but it’s harder to carve,” Healy says.

Is it best to go to the butcher or a supermarket?

“I think it’s always best to go to your local butcher,” Healy says.

“We source all of our own pork and ham, and people only buy ham once a year so why not splash out and buy something nice?”

Pre-made glaze or homemade?

“I think homemade glazes are always the best, every family’s got their own recipe,” Healy says.

“Some of the glazes you can buy off the shelf are just as good.”

How does one serve ham? Like horse radish to roast beef, do I need extra condiments? Am I supposed to serve it hot or cold?

“Some people caramelise their glaze a little and just let the ham sit to serve cold,” Healy says.

“It doesn’t really matter – some people like warm ham, some people like cold ham.

“You slice it up from top to bottom rather than lengthways, and then everyone has a piece of glaze and meat.

“You could have a pineapple chutney or stewed fruit with the ham, or some people have gravy – it’s whatever your taste buds desire.

“I usually go for a sweet fruit chutney with ham, something with a bit of cinnamon in it. It sort of reminds you of Christmas.”