Plonk this glazed ham on your holiday table and then step back, listen to the gasps and oohs and aahs, accept countless accolades, and watch it disappear. The innate ham-iness of this baked ham is a big draw but the hints of pineapple, marmalade, and mustard certainly don’t do it any wrong. Quite the contrary, actually. Quite frankly, most folks who’ve tried this have declared it to be the best ham ever. Even our editor-in-chief’s family clamors for it each Christmas and Easter. Sorta makes you want to see what all the fuss is about, eh?–Renee Schettler Rossi

*How to buy a ham

Let’s be honest, shall we? It can be intimidating to step up to the butcher counter and be confronted with countless different types of ham. Spiral-sliced. Smoked. Cured. Uncured. With natural juices. Water added. It’s enough to make you want to just walk away. We have answers. And you’ll find them in our handy How To Buy A Ham cheat sheet.

A glazed ham on a cutting board with several slices cut from the end and a carving fork and knife resting beside it.

Glazed Ham

4.86 / 7 votes
This glazed ham with brown sugar, pineapple, honey, mustard, and marmalade is a centerpiece-worthy baked ham that we adore for its good looks and classic taste. Easy as can be and impressive as heck. Best cured pork we’ve ever had.
David Leite
CourseMains
CuisineAmerican
Servings8 to 12 servings
Calories659 kcal
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time2 hours 15 minutes
Total Time2 hours 30 minutes

Ingredients 

  • One (4 1/2-pound) smoked boneless ham* (see *How to Buy a Ham above)
  • 3 heaping tablespoons marmalade (smooth not chunky)
  • 2 tablespoons pineapple juice
  • 1 tablespoon honey
  • 1 heaping tablespoon light brown sugar
  • 2 tablespoons whole-grain mustard
  • Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Instructions 

  • Preheat the oven to 325°F (160°C).
  • Place the ham, skin-side up, on a wire rack placed in a large roasting pan. Pour enough water into the pan to reach a depth of 1 inch (3 centimeters). Cover the ham and pan tightly with foil and crimp the edges to ensure that no steam escapes. Slide the shiny metal behemoth into the oven and roast for 2 hours.
  • Meanwhile, combine the marmalade, pineapple juice, honey, brown sugar, and mustard in a small saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil and then reduce the heat to a simmer and cook until thickened, 5 to 7 minutes.
  • Remove the pan from the heat and season with salt and pepper to taste.
  • Remove the ham in its pan from the oven. Crank the oven temperature to 400°F (200°C). While the oven preheats, take a careful look at your ham. If the skin hasn't already been removed, you'll need to do that with a sharp knife, being careful to leave a thin layer of fat. [Editor's Note: Chances are, if you bought your ham in the U.S., the skin will have been removed.] Using the tip of your sharp knife, carefully cut a crisscross pattern in the fat. The ham will be quite hot so be careful.
  • Brush some of the marmalade glaze over the ham.
  • Return the ham in its pan to the oven and roast, uncovered and brushing with the glaze every 10 minutes, until the surface of the ham is brown and crisp, about 30 minutes more.
  • Remove the ham and pan from the oven and let rest for a few minutes. Thinly slice the ham and serve warm or at room temperature.

Adapted From

The Meat Cookbook

Buy On Amazon

Nutrition

Serving: 1 portionCalories: 659 kcalCarbohydrates: 9 gProtein: 55 gFat: 43 gSaturated Fat: 15 gMonounsaturated Fat: 20 gCholesterol: 158 mgSodium: 3073 mgFiber: 0.3 gSugar: 8 g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Tried this recipe?Mention @leitesculinaria or tag #leitesculinaria!
Recipe © 2014 Nichola Fletcher. Photo © 2014 DK Publishing. All rights reserved.

Recipe Testers’ Reviews

I made this glazed ham over the holidays but it’s a recipe that’s easy enough to do for a nice weekend dinner. There was very minimal prep, and most of the time spent was hands-free while the ham baked—who doesn’t love that?! This was so simple to pull together and provided plenty of leftovers for our small family.

I used orange marmalade and juice from some canned pineapple for the glaze. I left the ham in the foil for 2 hours as directed but I took it out after 20 minutes of basting, as I was using the convection setting on my oven, and the ham seemed plenty brown at that point.

This was the first time I actually made a glazed ham from scratch. Everyone loved the recipe. We decided to do it for Christmas dinner. The recipe is extremely easy to make and requires just a few ingredients.

I was worried it wouldn’t be enough glaze, but as I brushed the ham throughout the baking time, I realized it was the perfect amount. The glaze wasn’t as sweet as those you buy commercially. The orange flavor was pretty prominent, more so than the pineapple juice. (The marmalade I used was an orange one that wasn’t too sweet.) We were 8 total and still had some leftover ham.




About David Leite

I count myself lucky to have received three James Beard Awards for my writing as well as for Leite’s Culinaria. My work has also appeared in The New York Times, Martha Stewart Living, Saveur, Bon Appétit, Gourmet, Food & Wine, Yankee, Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, The Washington Post, and more.


Hungry For More?

Roasted Potatoes with Dill

A handful of cheap ingredients. The exact perfect temperature and timing. And a little patience, please, while spuds are elevated from simple to stellar.

1 hr 5 mins

9 Impressive Easter Lamb Recipes

Impressive lamb recipes for your Easter dinner that are guaranteed to elicit oohs and ahhs. Find your favorite new way to prepare lamb chops, shoulder, or leg of lamb.

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




34 Comments

  1. 5 stars
    I made this ham for our Christmas dinner, it came out great. I used a 9 lb-plus spiral sliced ham, fed 10 people (most had seconds) and still had half the ham left over. (Yay leftovers!) After reading the ingredients in the glaze I thought it might have been cloyingly sweet but it was actually spot-on and a really nice accompaniment to the flavor of the ham. And it’s such a low-hassle recipe, it left a lot of time to enjoy the company of family while dinner was in the oven.

    1. That ham is awesome, isn’t it, E? [Editor’s Note: Everyone, E is my husband and he insisted on making this ham for Christmas dinner. And I’m so glad he did.] Also, everyone, if you opted for bone-in ham, the ham bone makes terrific stock. Just add ample water to cover, simmer with your usual stock aromatics, and pull it off the heat after an hour or two. Not certain exactly what we’ll do with ours yet. I may want to make a simple brothy ham and potato soup. I suspect E will want to do something sturdier, like maybe split pea soup. Can’t go wrong either way.

  2. The smoked Smithfield Ham from Sam’s club is an excellent choice.

    I must add, that I am not a fan of the slideshows and never use them they take to long to load and play on my IPad. I would rather see a list with a link that I can go to if I wish.

    Like your site, though.

    1. Many thanks for the insights, Rod. Greatly appreciate them. As for the slideshow, we often have a list of links for the same content as a slideshow–in fact, the list of links is always longer than the slideshow on the same topic so offers more recipes. For example, here’s a list of links for Easter recipes. If there are any other topics you’d like to see recipes for, let me know and I’ll be happy to list your options. Lovely rest of the week to you.

  3. Would be interested in information on that particular ham. Where purchased. Brand. Mail order. Looks like it would be a good ham. No one does old style. Or perhaps it is the different hogs today. In my dreams I remember holiday & Sunday hams of my youth. Who thought she would ever say a sentence like I just did?! If anyone knows of a lovely bone-in ham, tell.

    I am not, one bit, a fan of slideshows. I rarely deal with them. Life is short. Too many other things to do. Thank you.

    Recently found your site. I am still here. 🙂

    1. Bev, we’re so glad you happened upon our site and stayed. Welcome. As for the ham, I’m with you on the hams of yesteryear. I’ve queried the publisher of the book in the hopes they have a trail of where the food stylist acquired props for the photos, but haven’t heard back yet. I’m afraid much of this publisher’s content is done in Britain, which probably explains the Old World charm and sensibility of that ham. I’ll let you know if I receive a response. In the meantime, I’ve asked some home cooks I know and trust if they have a source for hams and will let you know what I learn. As for slideshows, I understand and have noted that, thanks for letting us know. Trick is, many readers like the compilation of recipes on a single topic. Kindly just ignore the slideshows and don’t hold them against us. Again, welcome!