This holiday season, make the most delicious brown sugar and honey glazed spiral ham. Simple to prep, and the easy sweet and savory glaze is absolutely mouthwatering! It’s all cooked until tender and juicy, then basted until perfectly sticky and caramelized!
This is one of my Holiday recipes I know you’ll want to keep on hand!
I know it’s such a cliche, but I swear this year truly is flying by… I mean we’re just about to Thanksgiving break, which means the time to plan that holiday menu is upon us.
While a great turkey is a classic dish on your holiday table, a juicy and perfectly glazed ham is always a welcome addition (or even replacement).
In our family, we usually serve both turkey and ham… because the leftovers are just amazing, and then there’s more of them to go around!
Usually we have my Copycat Honey Baked Ham, but this glazed ham is rapidly becoming one of my favorites, and just might have to be on the holiday table this year!
Why you’ll love this recipe!
- Simple – while the glaze is more than 3 ingredients, I promise it’s super easy to put together.
- Prepped ahead – making the glaze is the most “hands on” part of this recipe, and you can combine it ahead of time, then all you have to do is warm it, and follow the rest of the recipe.
- Leftovers – spiral sliced hams are easily stored for leftovers, which make great sandwiches, go really well in breakfast casseroles/scrambles, and are amazing in soups!
What do I need to make this recipe?
- Ham – this recipe was tested and developed with a fully cooked bone-in spiral-sliced ham. Using other types of hams will work, but you’ll have to do some adjusting to the cook time and prep.
- Water – this just keeps the ham from drying out in the oven.
- Orange – the slices of orange add a bit of extra flavor to the water, which helps keep the ham moist.
- Butter – you can use salted or unsalted butter for this recipe, so use whatever you have on hand.
- Brown sugar – I prefer using light brown sugar (since that’s what I keep in my pantry). Dark brown sugar could also be used though.
- Honey – just regular honey is all you need here.
- Soy sauce – I prefer to use low sodium, since the ham will likely already be a bit salty.
- Mustard – Dijon mustard is what I use, but a stoneground or grainy mustard will also work well.
- Rosemary – fresh rosemary is preferred, but in a pinch you could use about 1 tsp of dried rosemary.
- Spices – in this recipe these are garlic and onion powder.
- Orange juice – freshly squeezed is preferred, but if you need to use bottled, look for one that doesn’t have a bunch of sugar added.
How to make a brown sugar honey glazed ham:
This is just an overview; the full ingredients and directions are in the recipe card toward the bottom of this post.
- Make the glaze. This is done in a saucepan on the stovetop and is just heated until the sugar is dissolved and the mixture comes to a simmer.
- Prepare pan. Adding water and orange slices to the bottom of the roasting pan ensures that the ham won’t dry out as it warms through.
- Prepare ham. Brush the ham with about 1/3 of the glaze, getting some in between the slices if possible.
- Bake. To keep the ham from falling apart, I recommend baking it with the flat side down.
- Baste. Halfway through the baking time, add more glaze to the ham.
- Recover and continue to bake. You’re looking for the ham to come to an internal temperature of 130°F.
- Final baste. Using the remaining glaze, baste the ham again, then return the ham to the oven (with the temperature increased), uncovered, until the ham is at 140°F and the glaze is caramelized and sticky.
- Serve. Serve warm and enjoy!
Helpful Tip!
This recipe was developed and tested using a fully-cooked spiral-cut ham, which is what the vast majority of hams in the grocery store are. This recipe will work with a raw ham as well, but those will likely needed to be ordered from a butcher and you’ll have to follow their cooking instructions, as they’ll be different than the one shown here for a fully-cooked ham.
Variations of this recipe
- Bourbon – replace some of the orange juice with bourbon for a fun twist!
- Mustard – instead of dijon mustard, you could try using a grainy mustard. It adds a different texture and appearance, plus great flavor!
- Pineapple – if you love the flavor of pineapple with ham, try replacing half or even all of the orange juice for pineapple juice.
- Brown sugar – typically I use light brown sugar, since that’s what I keep on hand. But if you prefer dark brown sugar, that will also work well in this recipe!
- Spices – I purposefully kept the spices/seasonings light, as I feel that the flavors of the glaze ingredients and the saltiness of the ham are plenty and I wanted the flavor of the glaze to really shine through. However, if you’d like to try using some smoked paprika, black pepper, white pepper, red pepper flakes, or more traditional cloves, please feel free to experiment!
FAQ’s
It could certainly be warmed up in one, but you won’t be able to get the sticky glaze and caramelized edges like you do in the oven. If oven space is at a premium, I would suggest warming it in the slow cooker, then placing it on a baking sheet or in a baking dish, basting with the glaze, and broiling until it’s as sticky and caramelized as you’d like.
We prefer to use a bone-in fully-cooked (smoked) spiral sliced ham from the grocery store (such as Smithfield). The bone adds flavor and we love how the spiral cut not only makes slicing easier, but the glaze can really get into all the crevices and add so much more flavor!
Making glazed ham ahead of time
I haven’t made this entire ham ahead of time, so I can’t guarantee the flavor and freshness if you make it that way, and I wouldn’t recommend it.
However, you could combine the glaze ingredients and keep it refrigerated for a couple of days. Just rewarm the glaze on the stovetop before use.
Storage
Leftovers should be refrigerated in an airtight container and enjoyed within 4 days. Leftovers can also be frozen for several months.
Depending on the size of your ham and the size of your family or gathering, you might have quite a bit of ham leftover, so here are my personal favorites to use up those leftovers (aside from a classic ham sandwich!).
More Holiday Main Dish Recipes:
My Favorite Roasting Pan!
You can absolutely use any roasting pan you’d like, but I want to be transparent that this is the one pictured above. I’ve had it for a decade and it still looks brand new!
Did you make this? Be sure to leave a review below and tag me @the_chunky_chef on Facebook and Instagram!
Ingredients
Ham
- 7 – 10 lb bone in spiral-sliced ham (fully cooked or smoked)
- 2 cups water
- 1 whole orange sliced
Brown sugar honey glaze
- 2 Tbsp butter (salted or unsalted) melted
- 1 cup packed light brown sugar
- 1/2 cup honey
- 3 Tbsp reduced sodium soy sauce
- 2 Tbsp dijon mustard
- 2 Tbsp orange juice freshly squeezed is best
- 1 Tbsp chopped fresh rosemary
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
Instructions
Prepare
- Let 7 – 10 lb bone in spiral-sliced ham sit out at room temperature for 1-2 hours in the package. This will help the ham reach the right temperature in the oven without getting dried out while cooking.
Make glaze
- In a small saucepan over MED heat, add 2 Tbsp butter (salted or unsalted), then add 1 cup packed light brown sugar, 1/2 cup honey, 3 Tbsp reduced sodium soy sauce, 2 Tbsp dijon mustard, 2 Tbsp orange juice, 1 Tbsp chopped fresh rosemary, 1/2 tsp garlic powder, and 1/2 tsp onion powder. Mix until the sugar has dissolved and the mixture starts to simmer. Remove from the heat.
Preheat and prepare ham
- Preheat the oven to 325°F. Make sure your oven rack is towards the bottom to allow space for the ham. Place a roasting rack over a roasting pan and add 2 cups water at the bottom. Add slices of 1 whole orange in the water.
- Place the ham cut side down on the roasting rack.
Add glaze
- Brush the outside of the ham with about 1/3 of the glaze, trying to get in between some of the slices of it.
Bake
- Cover tightly with foil and bake in preheated oven for half of the time needed to rewarm the ham *see Chef Tips #1 below*.
- Remove the ham and glaze with half of the remaining glaze. Recover with foil and bake until the internal temperature reaches 130°F.
Finish
- Remove the foil, increase the oven temperature to 400°F, and baste with the remaining glaze. Cook until the ham reaches 140°F and the glaze is sticky and caramelizing. This takes me about 15 minutes.
Serve
- Slice and enjoy warm with your favorite holiday sides.
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Chef Tips
- Ham warming times are approximately 12-15 minutes per pound. I like to err on the side of caution and use 15 minutes. So if you have an 8 pound ham, it should take about 2 hours to completely rewarm to 140°F. 9 pound ham – 2 hours 15 minutes. 10 pound ham – 2 hours 30 minutes, etc.
- Spiral sliced hams from traditional grocery stores are fully cooked and/or smoked, so they just need to be warmed through, not necessarily cooked again. Look for wording that says smoked and/or fully cooked on the package, and if you’re not sure, ask the employee by the meat counter/meat department to confirm.
- If your glaze becomes too firm and not easily able to be brushed onto the ham, rewarm for a minute on the stove again.
- I’ve estimated this recipe serves 12-15, but you’re free to divide up the ham into as many servings as you’d like.
Nutrition Disclaimer
The Chunky Chef is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.
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