English Ham - cooking recipe

Ingredients

1 (8 -10 lb) nice braising ham or (8 -10 lb) country ham
2 onions
2 stalks celery
2 carrots
1 cup madeira wine
1 tablespoon sugar
butter
thyme
bay leaf

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
Rub the ham with a mixture of bay leaves and thyme.
Chop the vegetables and saute them gently in butter with the sugar, a little thyme and a bay leaf until the onions are translucent.
Add 1/2 cup Madeira and let it evaporate almost completely.
Place the ham in a roasting pan and cover with the vegetable mixture, drizzle with melted butter, cover and cook in the preheated 400\u00b0 F oven for 20-25 minutes per pound.
Remove the ham from the oven and transfer to a serving platter,reserve the vegetables.
Degrease the cooking juices and pour them into a small saucepan; you should have about 1 cup; if not, add some water or stock; add the remaining 1/2 cup Madeira.
Reduce slightly; liquefy with the vegetables in a blender and pour over the ham.