Slather your holiday ham with this sweet and tangy ham glaze made with orange marmalade and bourbon. The crispy scored edges coated in sticky glaze will make this your best ham ever.
Do yourself a favor and ditch the packet of glaze that’s sold with your holiday ham. Those pre-made glazes are often too sweet for my liking and made with ingredients I can’t pronounce.
In This Post
This ham glaze, though? It’s a keeper.
Bourbon is flavored with spicy fresh ginger and simmered to create a more concentrated flavor.
Instead of brown sugar, this simple homemade ham glaze uses orange marmalade. It packs a one-two punch of both sweetness and flavor that melds beautifully with the tangy flavors going on in this glaze.
Keep this recipe tucked up your sleeve for any upcoming holidays, such as Easter, Thanksgiving, or Christmas. It’s fast, easy, and never fails.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- This is a super easy ham glaze recipe that uses just 6 basic ingredients.
- It’s sweet enough from the orange marmalade that there’s no need to add any additional sugar.
- The glaze thickens and becomes slightly sticky as it bakes, perfectly coating the crispy edges of the baked ham.
What’s in This Recipe?
The full recipe, with amounts, can be found in the recipe card below.
- Ham — look for a whole smoked ham with a good amount of fat on it
- Pineapple juice — choose 100% pineapple juice that contains no added sugar
- Butter — salted butter is preferred, but if using unsalted then simply add a pinch of salt to the glaze
- Ginger — fresh ginger is a must for this simple recipe
- Bourbon — gives the ham glaze so much depth and helps balance out the sweetness from the pineapple juice and marmalade
- Orange marmalade — use a sweet orange marmalade, not the bitter kind
- Dijon mustard — doesn’t make the glaze taste like mustard, just adds layers of flavor
- Soy sauce — rounds out the glaze and prevents it from tasting too sweet
Ingredient Swaps and Substitutions
- Pineapple juice — can be replaced with orange juice, or use a blend of both
- Bourbon — swap with extra pineapple juice, orange juice, or whiskey
- Soy sauce — use tamari to keep the ham glaze gluten-free
How to Make Ham Glaze
- Score the ham. Use a sharp knife to create a crosshatch pattern across the fat. Only cut approx. ½ inch deep.
Heidi’s Tip: Use a shank-end ham for this recipe. This type of ham contains more fat, which translates to a super juicy, succulent baked ham. Do not purchase a spiral cut ham.
- Bake the ham. Place the ham (flat side down) on a roasting rack that’s set into a roasting pan. Pour some pineapple juice into the bottom of the roasting pan, cover the whole thing with foil, and bake at 325ºF until the ham reaches 110ºF.
- Make the ham glaze. In a small saucepan, cook the ginger in melted butter until soft. Pour in the bourbon, then simmer until reduced by half.
- Add the remaining ingredients. Stir in the orange marmalade, Dijon, and soy sauce.
- Dissolve the marmalade. Cook the ham glaze just until the marmalade dissolves and everything’s combined.
- Baste the baked ham. Pull the ham out of the oven, increase the oven temperature to 425ºF, ditch the foil, and baste that baby before returning it to the oven. Within 15 minutes, the glaze should melt into the ham and begin to brown.
FAQs
Bake the ham until it’s mostly cooked through (90 minutes to 2 hours), then baste it with the homemade ham glaze. Once glazed, the ham needs to cook for another 15 minutes.
Do not glaze the ham before baking it. The glaze is packed full of sugar from the orange marmalade, and sugar can go from perfectly golden and caramelized to burnt in minutes.
If you know you’ll be juggling lots of recipes for an upcoming holiday dinner, feel free to prepare the ham glaze up to 5 days in advance (but do NOT glaze the ham itself). Keep the glaze in the fridge until ready to use.
Bourbon tastes slightly sweet and smoky, and it gives the glaze a more nuanced flavor. If you don’t want to cook with bourbon, replace it with pineapple juice or fresh orange juice.
Storage Tips
Leftover ham will last up to 1 week in the fridge, or 3 months in the freezer.
If your family gets tired of eating plain ham, repurpose it by using in ham and potatoes au gratin, ham salad sandwiches, split pea soup, or breakfast casserole. I’ve got a whole list of leftover ham recipes that come in handy after the holidays.
What to Serve With Glazed Ham
- Side Dishes — slow cooker creamed corn, green beans almondine, broccoli casserole, and sweet potato casserole
- Salads — shaved Brussels sprouts salad, butternut squash and wild rice salad, or Waldorf salad
- Breads and Rolls — buttermilk biscuits or buttery dinner rolls
- Desserts — banana pudding, pumpkin bread pudding, or pecan pie
If you make this recipe, please let me know! Leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating below, leave a comment to tell us what you think, and tag me on Instagram @foodiecrush.
Homemade Ham Glaze
Ingredients
- 6-10 pound bone-in, shank-end smoked ham , not spiral cut
- 2 cups pineapple juice , or a combination of juice and water
- 1 tablespoon salted butter
- 2 tablespoons fresh ginger , minced
- 3 tablespoons bourbon , or fresh orange juice, or pineapple juice
- ½ cup orange marmalade
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
Instructions
- Remove the ham from the refrigerator and bring to room temperature 3 hours before cooking.
- Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat to 325°F. Line a roasting pan with aluminum foil. If you have one, place a roasting rack in the pan.
- Using a sharp knife, score the fat on the ham about ½-inch deep in a crosshatch pattern to create 1½-inch diamond shapes. Place the ham, flat side down, in the roasting pan. Add 2 cups water or pineapple juice (or a combination) to the pan and cover loosely with aluminum foil. Bake until an instant-read thermometer inserted in the thickest part of the ham away from the bone registers 110°F (52°C), about 1 ½ -2 hours.
- Meanwhile, make the ham glaze. In a small saucepan, melt the butter over medium. Add ginge and cook until soft, stirring occasionally, about 2 minutes. Add bourbon, orange juice, or pineapple juice, and boil until reduced by half, about 2 minutes. Stir in orange marmalade, Dijon mustard, and soy sauce, and stir until the marmalade dissolves. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool.
- Remove the ham from the oven and discard the foil on top. Increase the oven temperature to 425°F. Baste all sides of the ham and the scored lines with the glaze. Immediately put the ham back in the oven and bake, uncovered, until the glaze melts onto the ham, and browns, about 15 minutes. The internal temperature of the ham should register 125°F.
- Transfer the glazed ham to a carving board and tent with foil. Rest for 20-30 minutes where the internal temperature should rise to 130-140 degrees. Carve slices parallel to the bone and serve hot or warm.
Notes
Nutrition
More Holiday Main Dish Recipes
- Roast Turkey Breast
- Whole Roast Chicken
- Juicy Oven Roasted Turkey
- Red Wine Braised Short Ribs
- Traditional Meatloaf
- Glazed Asian Ham
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Gina
So, if I made this Saturday night before Easter, could i just carve/cut it up and warm on Sunday in a pan covered in foil?
Yes, you could! I suggest setting the ham on a rack in the pan and adding a little water or juice to the pan before covering it so it stays moist.
Or, if it’s in slices as you suggest, it would probably be okay without the added moisture.
Gail C.
This looks delicious! I’ve always used brown sugar and whole cloves stuck into it, but I’m going to try this method this year. Do you think I could make a kind of gravy from the pineapple/orange drippings?
Oooooo, a gravy with the drippings? That sounds like it could be so yummy! Let me know how it turns out (and finish the gravy with a pat of butter to make it extra shiny and lush!)