Top tips for carving and storing your Christmas ham

Photo: pork.com.au

A traditional Aussie Christmas lunch means a juicy leg of beautiful Aussie ham on the bone! For more information on Australian Ham Week and buying, carving and storing your Aussie leg ham, visit Pork.com.au.

How to carve your Aussie Christmas ham:

1. Place the ham rind side up. Run a small, sharp knife under the rind at the end of the ham (opposite end to hock) and all the way down each side of the ham, to about halfway up towards the hock. To peel the skin off, slide your fingers under the rind, carefully pulling it back, while making sure it comes off in one piece. This is important as the rind will be laid back over the ham for storage.

2. Once the rind is removed, run the tip of the knife around the small bone at the opposite end to the hock. This will free the meat from the bone to make for easy slicing.

3. Holding the hock in one hand, begin to slice on a slight angle towards the opposite end, slicing down to the bone. If the ham slices do not fall away, re-run the knife around the bone.

4. Continue to slice, as you get further up the ham, continue to loosen the meat from the bone with the tip of the knife.

5. To keep your ham fresh, fold rind back over the exposed surface, place in a ham bag and store in the fridge.

READ MORE: Six great recipes to celebrate Australian Ham Week

How to store your leg of ham:

• Dip your ham bag (or linen tea towel) in a solution of 2 cups of water and 1 tablespoon of vinegar. Squeeze out excess moisture and place ham in the bag.

• Store in coolest part of fridge (below 4°C). Leg ham on the bone should last for up to 3 weeks.

• Rinse and re-dip your Ham Bag in water and vinegar solution every 3 days, or as needed.

Happy Christmas everyone!

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