This’ll give the spiced beef a run for its money.

Christmas cooks the world over swear by Nigella’s recipe for Coca Cola glazed ham, but if it’s a proper Cork flavour you’re after, stock up on Tanora.

Turns out the tangerine flavoured fizzy drink is the perfect complement to the salty, succulent flavour of Irish ham. Add a sticky honey and mustard glaze and you’ve got a main course or party dish that will have everyone coming back for seconds.

The iconic Cork drink (it’s been a firm favourite here since it was introduced by John Daly & Co in 1930s) is rarely available outside of Munster, so if you’re after a bottle for this recipe you may need to make a trip home to stock up first.

You can serve this as a main course (add veg and roast potatoes) or plonk a plate in the middle of the table with some fresh, crusty bread for an after-pub snack.

INGREDIENTS

For the ham:

2kg ham
2 litres of Tanora
1 large onion (peeled, cut in half)
1 tbsp black peppercorns
10 cloves

For the sticky orange glaze:

Juice of 3 mandarin oranges or clementines
5 tbsp runny honey (we use Coolmore Bees Raw Irish Honey, Carrigaline)
4 tbsp brown sugar
1.5 tbsp English mustard powder

Method:

• Place the ham in a large pot with the onion halves. Pour in the Tanora to cover. Bring to the boil, reduce heat and simmer for 130 minutes (or 20 minutes per 500g, plus and extra 20 minutes).
• Remove the ham from the pot and pre-heat the oven to 250C. Remove the skin from the ham and score the thin layer of fat underneath into diamond shapes with a sharp knife, studding each diamond with a clove. (Note: don’t worry if it doesn’t look perfectly tidy, just pop the cloves evenly into the ham and the flavour will permeate the meat in the final roast).
• In a saucepan, mix the sticky glaze ingredients together over a low heat until the brown sugar has melted.
• Gently spread the glaze over the ham before gently dusting it with mustard powder.
• Bake in the oven for 20 minutes until the glaze turns golden.

To serve: Using a fork, gently pull the ham apart until it’s well shredded. Save the remaining ham to slice for sandwiches later (these go down a treat on Christmas Eve!)