Sticky, sweet, tangy, and full of flavor… this bourbon mustard and orange glazed ham is one that you’ll be happy to have as the star of your holiday meal!
This is one of my Holiday Main Dish recipes I know you’ll want to keep on hand!
With Easter quite literally just around the corner, I wanted to reshare one of my favorite ham recipes; this bourbon mustard glazed ham!
While this recipe isn’t new, with it being over 10 years old, it was time for some updated info.
Back in 2016, I was contacted by Snake River Farms, a premier “ranch to table” family owned company providing the finest beef and pork products, to create a recipe using their amazing Kurobuta bone-in ham.
You simply order online and your ham (or roast, steaks, etc) show up at your doorstep, packaged perfectly!
Making a glazed ham is really simple, as the ham comes to you fully cooked and smoked, you’re just heating it up and adding a great glaze. So don’t be intimidated here 🙂
As if that crazy flavorful glaze isn’t enough, I’ve also created a delicious mustard sauce to serve alongside, which is great with slices of ham, or on a ham sandwich using leftovers!
How to make bourbon mustard glazed ham:
This is just an overview; the full ingredients and directions are in the recipe card toward the bottom of this post.
- Make glaze. Nothing fancy here, just whisking it together (or you can use a fork to stir).
- Score ham. I like to score it in a criss-cross pattern.
- Glaze and bake. You won’t be using all the glaze, as you’ll need some for later on in the recipe.
- Baste. Towards the end of cooking, brush more glaze on the ham, baking it uncovered to allow the glaze to caramelize.
- Rest, slice, and serve. To keep the ham nice and juicy, don’t slice it right away.
Helpful Tip!
This recipe was developed and tested using a fully-cooked 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
- Ham – this recipe works best with a bone-in spiral sliced ham, which are all fully-cooked and either cured or smoked. Just discard the packet of glaze that the ham comes with and use the glaze listed in this recipe.
- Mustard – instead of grainy mustard, you could try using regular dijon mustard. It adds a different texture and appearance, but still great flavor.
- Pineapple – I love the flavor of pineapple and ham, so you could try replacing the lemon juice with pineapple juice.
- Alcohol-free – the flavor of bourbon is pretty hard to replicate, but you could try using orange juice, apple juice, or pineapple juice. No matter which juice you use, I would also add a small splash of vanilla extract and/or apple cider vinegar.
FAQ’s
I’ve included those instructions in the “chef tips” section of the recipe card below.
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.
Making a 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.
However, you could combine the glaze ingredients and keep it refrigerated for a couple of days
Storage
Leftovers should be refrigerated in an airtight container and consumed within 4 days. Leftovers can also be frozen.
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!).
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!
** This post was originally published in March of 2016 and has been updated in April 2026 with additional information.
This was a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Snake River Farms. The opinions and text are all mine.
Did you make this? Be sure to leave a review below and tag me @the_chunky_chef on Facebook and Instagram!
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup orange marmalade
- 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
- 1/4 cup whole-grain Dijon mustard
- 1/4 cup bourbon
- 2 Tbsp lemon juice fresh, if possible
- 1/2 tsp ground ginger
- Salt and black pepper to taste
- 1 bone-in half ham (about 6-10 lbs)
Instructions
If you are using a spiral-sliced ham, see directions in the "chef tips" section further below in the recipe!!
Prepare
- Move oven rack to lower third portion of the oven and preheat to 325°F. Line bottom of a roasting pan with aluminum foil for easy cleanup and set aside.
- Remove ham from package and pat dry if too wet.
Make glaze
- Add 3/4 cup orange marmalade, 1/4 cup pure maple syrup, 1/4 cup whole-grain Dijon mustard, 1/4 cup bourbon, 2 Tbsp lemon juice, 1/2 tsp ground ginger and Salt and black pepper to a mixing bowl and whisk to combine well. Set aside.
Glaze and cook ham
- Place 1 bone-in half ham on roasting rack, flat side down, so the fatty side is facing up.
- Gently score the ham in a criss-cross pattern, and brush all over with 1/2 cup of the prepared glaze. (Again, this is only if you're NOT using a spiral-sliced ham. That type of ham won't need to be scored).
- Cover ham loosely with aluminum foil to prevent it from drying out or burning.
- Bake for about 2 – 2 1/2 hours, until instant thermometer inserted into the middle of the ham registers 125-130°F.
- Remove roasting pan from the oven and peel back or remove foil from the top and sides of the ham.
Baste with glaze
- Increase oven temperature to 425°F.
- Brush 6 Tbsp of the glaze over the ham and bake for 20 minutes, brushing ham with additional 6 Tbsp of glaze every 6-7 minutes. You'll be brushing the ham with glaze approximately 3 times during this step.
- Be sure to watch that the glaze doesn't burn, but instead turns a rich, deep golden color.
Let rest and serve
- Remove roasting pan from oven and place ham on a large cutting board.
- Tent loosely with foil and let ham rest for 20 minutes before slicing. Serve warm and enjoy!
Want to save this recipe for later? Click the heart in the bottom right corner to save to your own recipe box!
Chef Tips
- I’ve estimated this ham will serve about 20-24 people (provided there are numerous other sides for them to eat), but the exact number of servings and serving size is up to you.
TO MAKE MUSTARD SAUCE FOR SERVING:
- Mix 1/2 cup whole grain Dijon mustard with 1/4 cup glaze.
TO PREPARE SPIRAL SLICED HALF HAM:
- Preheat oven to 275°F. Adjust oven rack to the lower third position. Line a roasting pan or large dutch oven with a long strip of foil (heavy duty works best).
- Position ham flat side down in center of pan.
- Brush with 1/2 cup of the glaze, if possible, getting some in between the slices.
- Bring sides of the foil up over the ham and cover loosely. If needed, add a sheet of foil over the top.
- Bake approximately 12-15 minutes per pound. For a half ham of 8-10 lbs, plan on baking for a total of approximately 2 hours (including glazing time).
- To get the sticky glaze, remove ham from oven about 30 minutes before it’s finished. Liberally brush ham with 1/2 cup glaze, getting in between slices if possible. Bake 30 minutes, repeating with a few tablespoons of glaze every 10-15 minutes if desired.
- For a stickier glaze, after ham is finished baking, broil for a few minutes until sticky and browned. Be careful though, you don’t want to burn it!
- Remove ham from oven, loosely tent with foil and let rest 10 minutes.
- Turn ham on it’s side and serve.
Video
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.
Carrie says
I made this for Christmas, and it was absolutely delicious. I want to do a ham again for Easter but want to do something a little different. Has anyone made this and used a different flavor of jam? I’m thinking cherry might be good, but I don’t want to ruin it.
Becca says
This is my go-to glaze for the past couple of years when I’ve made ham. It’s so flavorful and has not one disappointed.
Susan says
I’ve been cooking for 50+ years. This is seriously the best ham recipe I’ve ever made! The ham comes out juicy and moist and the flavor of the glaze is out of this world! Followed the recipe as written and have made it twice.
Reenie says
Didn’t have bourbon so used brandy and forgot the maple syrup and it still turned out great. Love the ease and flavor of the recipe. Thanks for sharing
Jarod Falk says
Can you make this ham ahead of time?
Marilyn Wells says
Preparing this ham again since it is so frigging good! Lots of requests for this recipe. Love it! Thanks!
Leslie says
Got the Kurobuta ham from Snake River and used your bourbon mustard glaze. The ham was amazing so full of flavor, never used a bourbon glaze before but this recipe will replace my old glaze recipe.
Beth says
This ham and sauce was so good. I couldn’t find a boneless uncooked half ham because I waited to close to Easter. But I made it anyway with a cooked boneless ham adjusting the time to the recommendation on the package. I left off the black pepper. The ginger gave it plenty of kick. Also, I didn’t add any salt. Used regular stone ground mustard (what I had on hand). I will try this again with a bone-in uncooked ham. Thank you Amanda.
Aileen Anthony says
Can I do it on the bbq on indirect heat? If so how long?
The Chunky Chef says
I haven’t tested this recipe using a grill or smoker, so I can’t say for certain whether what the temp/time would be or if any changes would need to be made. If you do some experimenting, I’d love to know how it turns out 🙂
Jerica says
Can this glaze be made separately as a dipping instead of glaze? Would I just head it on the stove till thickened?
The Chunky Chef says
Yes you can do that if you’d like 🙂
Margaret says
Can you use a boneless sliced ham for this recipe?
The Chunky Chef says
Yes, just note that the baking time will likely change.
erika says
for a whole ham that is 16 lbs, would you recommend i glaze halfway through rather than at the start? Worried about the glaze burning since the ham i got will take a lot longer to cook.
The Chunky Chef says
Yes, I’d probably add the glaze about halfway through.
Mike says
What if one cannot find the kurobuta pork? Is there a suggested alternative?
The Chunky Chef says
You can use any bone in half ham, as listed in the recipe 🙂
Susan says
Probably the best ham we have ever had for the Holidays! This was awesome for an 11 pound. Just added cloves after scoring!
Mike B and Susan from Cape Cod Massachusetts
Paula says
Can this be made in a crockpot?
The Chunky Chef says
I’ve only tested this recipe as written. So without testing and retesting it myself, I can’t say for certain if that would work. If you do some experimenting, I’d love to know how it turns out!
Kathy says
Can the ham be glazed the night before & cooked the next day?
The Chunky Chef says
Yes, but you’ll want to still baste with the glaze as it cooks the next day to keep it moist.
Julie Arieta says
Once I made this for Thanksgiving instead of turkey. Now my family begs me to make it every holiday! It feels great to have “the recipe” everyone adores. I save the extras and the bone for the most amazing ham bone and cabbage soup that ever happened.
Patricia Watson says
If I make in advance how do I reheat without drying out?
The Chunky Chef says
I would reheat in a slow cooker, if it fits, with a bit of apple juice or chicken broth in the bottom. You could also reheat in the oven in a roasting pan, covered, with some juice or chicken broth.
Karen says
I’ve Never been a big ham eater. But your directions and this glaze has made me one. It never fails! Thanks for sharing this recipe!
Ed says
Will this work without the bourbon
The Chunky Chef says
I’ve only tested this recipe as written. So without testing and retesting it myself, I can’t say for certain if that would work. If you try it, I’d love to know how it turns out!
Shelley A Williams says
yes, I have made it without bourbon and it was amazing!