Roasted Fresh Ham with Cider Glaze

Ingredients

• 1 gallon apple cider 
• 2  bay leaves 
• 1 teaspoon pepper black freshly ground
• 1 cup firmly brown sugar dark packed
• 1  cinnamon sticks 
• 2 tablespoons flour all-purpose
• 1 cup flat-leaf parsley fresh
• 12  sage leaves fresh chopped
• 9 large cloves garlic peeled chopped
• 8 pound shank-end ham fresh bone in
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt 
• 2 cups kosher salt 
• 1 tablespoon mustard seeds 
• 0.3 cup olive oil extra-virgin
• 4 large onions spanish trimmed cut into 1-inch wedges
• 0.5 teaspoon pepper flakes red
• 1 teaspoon pepper flakes red crushed
• 2 tablespoons butter unsalted softened
• 8 quarts water 
• 0.3 cup whole-grain mustard 

Equipment

• food processor
• bowl
• frying pan
• sauce pan
• oven
• whisk
• roasting pan
• kitchen thermometer
• aluminum foil

Directions

1. One day before roasting: In a plastic container large enough to hold the ham, stir the water with the salt and brown sugar until dissolved.
2. Add the spices. Score ham in a diamond pattern through the skin and fat, taking care not to cut into the meat.
3. Add ham to brine, weight it with a plate to keep it submerged, and refrigerate for at least 4 hours but no more than 8 hours.
4. Drain, rinse, pat the ham dry, and refrigerate.
5. One hour before roasting, remove ham from the refrigerator. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
6. For the rub: Pulse the olive oil, mustard, parsley, sage, garlic, red pepper, salt, and black pepper in a food processor to make a paste. Rub it all over ham. In a large roasting pan, toss the onion wedges with 1 cup of the apple cider and set the ham on top. Roast the ham for 30 minutes, reduce the oven temperature to 325 degrees F, and roast until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part registers 165 degrees F, about 4 hours. After the first hour, loosely wrap aluminum foil around the bone to keep it from burning.
7. Meanwhile, for the glaze: Boil, then simmer, the remaining apple cider in a saucepan, skimming as needed, until syrupy and reduced to about 2 cups, about 1 1/2 hours.
8. During the last 1 1/2 hours of roasting the ham, brush it with the glaze every 30 minutes.
9. Transfer the cooked ham to an ovenproof platter and let it rest in the turned-off oven for 30 minutes. Loosely cover the onions in an ovenproof bowl and put them in the oven as well. Strain the pan juices into a saucepan, skim off any excess fat, and bring to a boil. Make a paste with the flour and butter and whisk a bit at a time into the juices. Boil until thick. Carve the ham and serve with the onions and sauce.