Espresso Chili Glazed Ham

I got this recipe from Tom Douglas' "Seattle Kitchen" when we lived in D.C. It is a great cookbook with wonderful recipes. Plus, when I am really homesick I can look at all the pictures of home and imagine myself back there. I have always admired Tom Douglas, but unfortunately have only eaten at Dahlia Lounge once. We have not had the chance to visit any of his other restaurants on our trip home, no matter how much I wanted to. I think back to the time when I lived in Seattle, and wish that I had spent more time enjoying Seattle's incredible food scene. Life is full of many would have, could have... isn't it? But as I remember back, I was much too young and much too broke to fully enjoy the pleasure of a truly wonderful meal out.

Now that is something that I have become better at. We are trying to enjoy the St. Louis restaurant scene, which may not be as well known as Seattle's, but is definitely lively. St. Louis has a terrific local restaurant scene, with many good places to eat. We have been to a few wonderful restaurants, and I am looking forward to trying more the longer we are here. They even have a free magazine and website called Sauce that is a terrific guide to eating out here in St. Louis. Hopefully I will even get around to telling you about some of them.

Every time I make this recipe, I wonder to myself why I don't make it more often. It is such a delicious combination of flavors, with the orange, chile and espresso adding a depth of flavor to the ham. Plus, ham is such an easy meal to prepare. It makes a wonderful presentation, it's less expensive than the larger cuts of beef roasts, and it is wonderful to use in leftovers. It is also very easy. I was cooking this for Easter this, in between working out in the yard! I served it with roasted asparagus and mashed potatoes. Tom recommends serving it as an Easter brunch with scalloped potatoes and hot cross buns or with warm cornbread.

Espresso Chile Glazed Ham

from Tom Douglas' Seattle Kitchen


Half a fully cooked ham (about 8 pounds)
1 quart fresh orange juice
1 tablespoon grated orange zest
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 cup Kahlua or other coffee-flavored liqueur
1 tablespoon Chinese chile paste with garlic or sambal olek
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 shots (about 1/4 cup total) brewed espresso or 1 tablespoon instant espresso powder, like Medaglio d'Oro


Preheat the oven to 325F. Cut the thick layer of fat and the skin from the ham and discard. Place the ham in a roasting pan. For easier cleanup, line the pan with aluminum foil, because the glaze will drip off and burn on the bottom of the pan. Roast the ham for 1 hour.


While the ham is roasting, make the glaze. Combine the orange juice and zest, brown sugar, Kahlua, chile paste, and pepper in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat to medium and simmer the mixture until it is reduced by about half and is as thick as maple syrup, about 35 minutes. Whisk in the espresso or espresso powder. You should have almost 2 cups of glaze. You are going to use half of this glaze to brush the ham while it is roasting and reserve the other half for brushing on the ham after it is sliced.


After the first hour of cooking, brush the ham with the glaze. Roast for another hour, brushing with the glaze every 15 minutes. Since the ham is already cooked, you just need to warm it all the way through. Check for an internal temperature of 130F to 140F using an instant-read meat thermometer. Remove the ham from the oven when it is nicely browned and warmed through.