Honey Glazed Ham

This delicious spiral cut Honey Glazed Ham is coated in flavorful glaze and baked to perfection!

It’s the perfect holiday main course but also great for any weekend night

The contrast of salty ham and light sweet honey glaze are a match made in heaven. This crackly glaze is a cinch to make at home with just 7 common ingredients.

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The beauty of cooking a ham is that is already cooked! All you actually need to do is warm it up and give it a coating of sweet tangy glaze at the end. It’s the perfect dinner.

Honey glazed ham has always been my top choice for holiday dinners, such as Christmas and Easter. It’s an easy hands-off preparation entree, and the leftovers are perfect for so many things. This recipe will save you the time and cost of buying it pre-glazed from the market.

One of our favorite ways to use leftover ham (and who doesn’t want leftovers?!) is to make ham and Swiss cheese biscuit sandwiches with our fluffy Baking Powder Biscuits. Our recipe calls for an 8-10 pound bone-in ham, which is also known as a half ham.

Ingredients for Honey Brown Sugar Ham

Our spicy sweet glaze is packed with flavor!

• Spiral Cut Ham – about 8-10 pounds (half ham) and preferably a bone-in ham
• For the Glaze:
• Honey
• Light Brown Sugar – or dark brown sugar if you prefer a little sweeter taste
• Butter – either unsalted or salted work fine
• Orange Juice – freshly squeezed is best
• Cinnamon
• Ground Cloves
• Dijon Mustard

What is the best type of ham to buy:

The majority of hams are already pre-cooked so when preparing you will really just be warming the ham up.

1. This recipe calls for a spiral cut ham. Do yourself a favor and try to find one that is already spiral cut as it will makes this recipe so much easier! If not, you can always thinly slice the ham before or after cooking.

• You can generally buy a spiral ham at any large market, but they are especially easy to find during the Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter holidays. Having the ham already pre-sliced makes quick work of this recipe.

2. For most recipes we strongly prefer a bone-in ham

• Cooking with the bone-in helps the ham retain maximum flavor and moisture, as well as giving you a beautiful presentation.

• The bone in the ham conducts heat while cooking which allows for more even cooking.

How to make honey glaze for ham:

This ham glaze is lightly spicy with the addition of Dijon mustard because we like our ham glaze flavorful but not overly sweet.

However, if you prefer a sweeter glaze just omit the mustard, and use dark brown sugar rather than light brown sugar.

1. In a small saucepan add the honey, brown sugar, butter, orange juice, cinnamon and ground cloves and stir to combine
2. Heat on medium until the mixture begins to boil, whisking, to ensure even cooking
3. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 3 minutes to allow the mixture to thicken
4. Remove from the heat and whisk in the Dijon mustard until well blended
5. The glaze will harden as it cools but can be gently reheated again to return to liquid
6. Depending on the size of your ham you may have leftover glaze

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Making honey glazed spiral ham:

Hams are already precooked so all that is needed is re-warming at a low temperature. The final internal temperature should be 140˚F

STEP ONE:

• Preheat oven to 325˚F with the oven rack in the bottom 1/3rd of the oven
• Use a large roasting or baking pan
• Drizzle about half of the prepared glaze over the top of the ham making sure to coat all over the top and sides
• Gently fan out the pieces and let some of the glaze trickle in between the pieces
• Tightly cover the ham with foil. It’s important that the ham is fully and tightly covered to keep it moist during cooking
• Cook to an internal temperature of 125˚F

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STEP TWO:

• Remove ham from oven, uncover and increase oven temperature to 375˚F
• Add about 1/4th of the remaining glaze over the ham, including gently fanning out the slices again
• Return ham to the oven (uncovered). Baste a few more times with the remaining glaze while the ham finishes cooking
• When the ham reaches an internal temperature of 140˚F remove it from the oven, tent loosely with foil, and let it rest for 15 minutes
• Serve whole on a platter, garnished, or place on a cutting board and carve individual slices for serving

How long can you store leftover ham?

Spiral-cut hams and leftovers can be safely stored in the refrigerator three to five days, or frozen one to two months. Gently reheat the ham tightly wrapped in foil at 325˚F.

Your Sommelier Suggestions

An amazing go-to wine pairing for honey glazed ham is a lovely California or Oregon Pinot Noir. These beautiful Pinots contain a nice balance of acid and sweet fruit flavors that cuts through the richness of ham.

With aromas of cherry and sweet fruit flavors these Pinots compliment the lush honey glaze and the flavor of cloves.

Great side dishes to serve with ham

Every type of vegetable pairs well with ham. Because ham has a salty flavor it’s always nice to serve it with something a little sweet too.

• Our homemade Cranberry Orange Sauce is a great side with it’s sweet and tart flavor
• Creamy Mashed Potatoes with Roasted Garlic is a classic combo
• Pan Roasted Brussels Sprouts is a light side dish
• For a heartier side dish try our Easy Baked Beans or Grilled Caesar Salad
• For a lighter salad try this Shaved Brussels Sprouts Salad topped with gorgeous pomegranate seeds