Traditional Irish holiday meat of choice? Pork. It wasn’t until the 1800’s that Irish-American immigrants latched on to corned beef as a less expensive alternative when they arrived in this country.  Mix Guinness with some sugar and spicy mustard for a dark, sweet-savory sauce that complements the ham’s smoky flavor. The recipe calls for only a small amount of Guinness, so I am sorry to say that the cook must find some other use for the remainder of a 12-ounce bottle. Slàinte!

Ingredients
1 8-10 pound bone-in ham
Cooking spray
1 cup light brown sugar
½ cup spicy mustard (Gold’s Spicy Mustard with Horseradish is a good choice)
½ cup Guinness
1 medium head green cabbage
3 tablespoons butter
Salt and pepper, to taste
2 cups vegetable stock
1 pound baby white potatoes with skins on, scrubbed

Preparation
Preheat oven to 325°. Lightly spray roasting pan with cooking spray, and place ham in pan. Bake ham according to butcher’s or package instructions (generally 25 minutes per pound, or about 3½ to 4 hours for an 8 to 10 pound ham).

To prepare glaze, lightly spray small pot with cooking spray. Combine sugar, mustard and Guinness in pot, and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until glaze is well mixed and slightly thickened, about five minutes. Set aside.

One hour and fifteen minutes before ham is fully baked, prepare cabbage. Clean, trim, and slice cabbage head into eight wedges. Melt butter in large stock pot over medium heat. Add cabbage wedges and liberally season with salt and pepper. Cook over medium to medium high heat until cabbage is slightly browned and softened. Add vegetable stock and baby potatoes, cover, and reduce heat to simmer. Continue to simmer for about one hour.