Brown Sugar Glazed Ham

 

Glazed ham is one of my favorite holiday entrees. It's easier to prepare than a turkey and much more affordable than buying a spiral-sliced glazed ham at the store. The ham is delicious and served hot or cold. There are a lot of different variations you can use for the glaze. Some recipes use crushed pineapple and juice. I’ve seen some use Dr. Pepper or Coke. I like the balance of the flavors in this glaze. The mustard, orange juice, and horseradish balance out the sweetness of the brown sugar and honey.

Ingredients:

10lb bone-in shank ham 

Glaze:

1 cup brown sugar 

½ cup honey

¼ cup Dijon mustard 

Juice & zest from 1 orange 

1 minced clove of garlic 

1 tsp prepared horseradish 

Directions: 

Remove the rind and excess fat from the ham. It's ok to leave some of the fat, it will add flavor.  

Score ham in a crisscross pattern. This will create a space for the glaze to soak into the crevices. Some people like to insert whole cloves at the crisscross.

Place ham in a roasting pan on top of a rack. Fill the bottom of the pan with water till it is a quarter of an inch in depth. You don’t want a lot of water because we’re not braising the ham. We just want the water to keep it moist.  I line the bottom of the pan with foil because it makes cleaning up later much more accessible.  Bake ham for 2 hours uncovered at 325 degrees.  

Start preparing the glaze when there are 10-15 minutes left in the cooking time. Mix the glaze in a saucepan. Cook over medium heat until the sugar dissolves and starts bubbling. Continue stirring until the mixture has thickened. About 5 minutes.

Start applying the glaze with a basting brush after the ham has finished baking for 2 hours. Put the ham back in the oven to bake for 10 minutes after each glaze application. You should have enough glaze to do 3 applications.  

Before glaze has been applied

After the glaze has been applied

Remove ham from the oven.  Let it rest for 10-15 minutes before carving.   

Notes: 

The liquid left at the bottom of the pan is great to use for glazed carrots.  

The ham freezes well.  

Save the ham bone to cook with beans.  

You can use the leftover ham in hoppin john.