How to make the best ham glaze recipe
This is the best ham glaze recipe I have ever tasted. With just a touch of heat and a bit of bite from the mustard to balance the sweetness of the honey, this glaze hits all the right notes. Sweet, sticky, caramelized edges give way to juicy slices of ham packed with flavor. This ham will be the star of your holiday dinner and the best side to go with it is everyone’s favorite 5 ingredient easy corn casserole.
Spiral sliced hams are fully cooked, making them ideal for large gatherings. All you have to do is layer on a flavorful glaze and heat it in the oven. Five minutes of hands on time is all you need for a juicy, flavorful holiday ham.
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Honey mustard glazed ham
These six ingredients are all you need to make the most ham glaze recipe you’ve ever had.
Most of the glazes I’ve had are a bit too sweet, but this one gets just a little bit of smoky heat from the chipotle sauce, while the garlic and whole grain mustard give this glaze lots of flavor.
How do I cook a 10 pound spiral sliced ham?
Spiral hams are fully cooked. They only need to be heated through. Mine was in the oven for 90 minutes, but could have used another 30 minutes to get it piping hot.
For a 9 or 10 pound ham, give it about two hours in the oven to fully heat through.
How to cook a spiral sliced ham without drying it out
Does that glazed ham look dried out? It most certainly doesn’t not.
This is how you do it – first, place your ham face down in the roasting pan and add a little water to the pan.
Then cover tightly with foil and put in the oven to heat. The water will create steam, which will help to keep the ham nice and juicy. Heating the ham up without covering it will result in a dried out, tough ham.
How to make glaze for ham
Just look at that ham. This glaze is good to begin with, but once it goes into the oven, you are in for something special.
Sweet, sticky and just a little bit of smoky heat make this chipotle honey mustard combination truly the best ham glaze recipe I’ve ever made.
To make this ham glaze, all you need to do is put everything in a small pot and let it come to a boil, then shut it off. It is the easiest glaze for spiral sliced ham that also tastes amazing.
Mustard and ham are good friends and everyone who’s ever been to a deli counter knows that honey and brown sugar go with ham.
The saltiness of the ham balances the sweetness of the glaze. Once you let the glaze caramelize in the oven for a bit, it takes it to the stratosphere.
The best ham glaze recipe
Look at that thing in all its glory. You can see the bits of garlic and mustard coating the outside of this ham, but make sure you get a little inside the slices too!
After your ham is heated through, remove the foil and crank up your oven. You can see from the photo that my ham was pretty tall, so I had to lower my oven rack. Mine was set in the lower third to give my ham plenty of space.
The ham glaze recipe contains honey and brown sugar, which could burn if too close to the heating element for an extended time. Keep an eye on your ham once you’ve glazed it to make sure it doesn’t burn.
Helpful tools and equipment
- Roasting pan – Look for a pan large enough to hold your ham with a rack that fits inside.
- Basting brush – To brush the glaze on the ham.
- Small, non-stick sauce pot
FAQ’s
If you are serving ham as your main meat for dinner, a 10 pound ham will serve about twelve people.
The easiest way to slice your ham is to stand it up on the bottom, with the flat side facing up. You can see natural breaks in the ham slices and you’ll cut along those. Cut down along the center bone to slice the ham away from the bone and then cut it into slices. 
If you prefer to take your bronzed beauty to the table and slice it there, you can do that too.
Because the ham is spiral-sliced, the ham pulls away pretty easily, which makes quick work of getting it sliced off of the bone.
Reserve that ham bone for a pot of beans or for my favorite Instant Pot Split Pea Soup with Ham. It’s the perfect use for your ham bone and some of that leftover ham!
Make it a meal
Try a few of these recipes to make it a complete holiday meal:
- Melting Potatoes with Garlic and Herbs
- Sautéed Broccolini
- Hubbard squash bisque
- Roasted Honeynut squash with maple pecans
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Chipotle Honey Mustard Glazed Ham
Ingredients
- 10 pound spiral ham
For Glaze:
- 4 tbsp. unsalted butter
- ½ cup brown sugar lightly packed
- ½ cup honey
- 2 tbsp. sauce from chipotles in adobo
- 2 tbsp. whole grain Dijon mustard
- 2 tsp. minced garlic
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325°F / 160°C.
- Place ham, flat side down, on a rack inside of a roasting pan and add ½ cup water to the pan. Cover tightly with aluminum foil.
- Bake for 1 1/2 – 2 hours or until heated through.
Make Glaze:
- In a small sauce pot, combine 4 tbsp. butter, ½ cup brown sugar, ½ cup honey, 2 tbsp. sauce from chipotles, 2 tbsp. Dijon mustard and 2 tsp garlic. Whisk to combine.
- Heat until bubbling and sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and set aside.
- When ham is heated through, remove it from the oven, take off the foil and raise oven temperature to 400°F.
- Brush half of the glaze on the ham and bake uncovered for 10 minutes. Brush remaining glaze on the ham and bake for another 10 minutes until glaze is caramelized. Let rest for 8 – 10 minutes before serving.
Nutrition
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The picture alone is mouthwatering! So flavorful and the ham is tender. Thank you
Thanks, Gypsy! 😉