“Dipping Day” is Christmas eve in Sweden. Families gather around a large pan of pork boiling over the fire. Each person uses their Jule bread to “dopp i grytan” or “dip in the pan” in order to soak up the rich fatty juices floating on the surface. Here is a recipe for Jule Ham that takes only two weeks to brine and provides a nice “soup” into which the whole family can dip.

Ingredients
1 leg of pork (10 lb.)
1 1/2 pound salt
1/2 pound dark brown sugar
2 bottles dark beer
2 bottles light beer

Glaze
3/4 cup dark brown sugar
3 tablespoons dry mustard
fresh orange juice
whole cloves

Rub the leg of pork with 3 tablespoons salt and 1 tablespoon sugar. Place leg in a large crock and leave for 24 hours. Combine beer, sugar, and salt. Bring to a boil. Cool the mixture and pour over the leg of pork. Leave in brine for two weeks turning daily. When ready, simmer leg for four hours in unsalted water. You can use this “soup” to dopp i grytan. Remove from heat and cool slightly. Cut away the rind and slash the fat into a diamond pattern. Mix up 3/4 cup sugar and 3 tablespoons dry mustard. Add fresh orange juice until you have a thick spreadable paste. Rub all over the leg and stud the diamond intersections with whole cloves. Bake at 350? for 30 minutes. Serve hot for dinner or cold for lunch.

Adapted from a recipe in Norway’s Delight by Elise Sverdrup.
Arthur Vanous Co, 10th ed. 1980,

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