To Bake a Ham

Ingredients

• ham
• coarse paste (pie dough)
• oiled paper

Instructions

1. Soak the ham overnight in plenty of cold water.
2. The following day, soak it for an hour or more in warm water.
3. Wash the ham delicately clean and trim smoothly off all rusty parts.
4. Lay the ham with the rind downwards into a large common pie-dish, and press an oiled paper closely over it.
5. Fasten securely to the edge of the dish a thick cover of coarse paste.
6. Alternatively, lay the ham rind downwards on paste rolled to an inch thickness and sufficient to envelope it completely.
7. Press a sheet of oiled foolscap paper upon the ham.
8. Gather up the paste firmly all round, draw and pinch the edges together, and fold them over on the upper side of the ham, ensuring they are closed so no gravy can escape.
9. Send the ham to a well-heated, but not a fierce oven.
10. Bake a very small ham for quite three hours, or a large one for five hours.
11. Remove the crust and the skin while the ham is hot.