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HAM COOKING

Brown Sugar Glazed Holiday Ham

A spiral-cut ham warmed low and slow so it stays juicy, then lacquered with a brown sugar, Dijon and pineapple glaze until sticky.

AI illustration of Brown Sugar Glazed Holiday Ham
AI-generated recipe illustration, not a photograph of a cooked batch.

Ingredients

Ingredients for 16 servings

Original recipe serves 16. Ingredient amounts adjust automatically. Cooking times and pan size may need adjusting separately.

Ham

  • 9 lb fully cooked bone-in spiral-cut ham
  • 1 cup water

Glaze

  • 1 cup brown sugar, packed
  • 1/2 cup pineapple juice
  • 1/4 cup honey
  • 2 tbsp Dijon mustard
  • 2 tbsp butter
  • 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
  • 1/4 tsp ground cloves
  • 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

Gear

  • Roasting pan
  • Aluminum foil
  • Saucepan
  • Pastry brush
  • Instant-read thermometer

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Steps

  1. Step 1: Take the ham out of the fridge 1 hour before cooking. Heat the oven to 300°F with a rack in the lower third. Throw away the glaze packet if one came with it.

  2. Step 2: Set the ham cut-side down in a roasting pan. Add the water to the pan. Cover tightly with foil.

  3. Step 3: Bake about 12 to 15 minutes per pound (about 2 hours for 9 lb), until the center reads 120°F.

  4. Step 4: Meanwhile, simmer all the glaze ingredients in a saucepan over medium heat 5 to 7 minutes, stirring, until syrupy and reduced by about a third.

  5. Step 5: Take the ham out and turn the oven up to 425°F. Remove the foil and brush half the glaze all over the ham, working some between the slices.

  6. Step 6: Return it uncovered and bake 10 minutes. Brush with more glaze and bake 5 to 10 minutes more, until the glaze is bubbling and caramelized and the center reaches 140°F. Watch closely; sugar burns quickly.

  7. Step 7: Rest 15 minutes. Serve with the remaining glaze and pan juices.

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Game plan

Holiday dinner at 4:00 PM:

  • Up to 3 days before: Make the glaze and refrigerate. Warm it up before using.
  • 12:30 PM: Ham out of the fridge.
  • 1:15 PM: Ham into a 300°F oven, covered.
  • 3:15 PM: Check the temp (120°F). Oven up to 425°F. Glaze.
  • 3:20 to 3:40 PM: Glaze, bake, glaze again.
  • 3:40 PM: Rest. Use the hot oven for rolls and quick sides.
  • 4:00 PM: Carve along the bone and serve.

Swaps

  • Glaze: Swap pineapple juice for orange juice, Coca-Cola or Dr Pepper.
  • Heat: A pinch of cayenne or a spoon of hot pepper jelly in the glaze.
  • Mustard: Spicy brown or yellow mustard.

Tips

  • A fully cooked ham only needs warming to 140°F. Any hotter and it dries out.
  • The water and foil create steam so the slices don’t dry out at the edges.
  • Save the bone for split pea soup or a pot of beans.

The story

HAM Cooking. Let’s fire it up.

With a name like mine, you’d expect me to have a ham recipe. You’d be right. And yes, I’ve heard every joke. Probably made most of them.

Here’s what most people don’t realize: a store-bought spiral ham is already cooked. You aren’t cooking it, you’re reheating it, and the goal is to get it warm without drying it out. The spiral cut is great for serving but it gives heat and air a hundred ways in. That’s why it’s low oven, covered, with water in the pan. The steam keeps it juicy. Then you crank the oven at the end for the glaze, which needs high heat to bubble and caramelize. Put it on early and the sugar burns long before the ham’s warm.

Honey, mustard, brown sugar, a little spice. Sticky, shiny and the centerpiece of the table. Just like its namesake.

HAM out.

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