Ham is the centerpiece of many holiday meals. Hosting the holiday and preparing your first baked ham can be intimidating. We want to take the fear away and allow you to shine in the kitchen with a step by step guide on how to make a baked ham with a tangy glaze.
To prepare a tangy and sweet glaze for the ham, the ingredients can probably be found in your kitchen already – butter, brown sugar, and yellow mustard. Besides a roasting pan, you don’t need any fancy gadgets. Some people like to cook their baked ham on a rack, but we like to cook it in its drippings. The result is a moist and juicy baked ham. It comes out of the oven covered with a sticky, sweet, and tangy glaze that has penetrated the meat.
The sweet mustard glaze melts into the salty drippings making the ham full of flavor and creates the most amazing tangy gravy. Serve hot with a spoon of drippings drizzled over the slices of ham and your guests will swoon.
Follow these easy step by step instructions on how to make a baked ham for your holiday meal.
Ingredients
-
- 1 stick of unsalted butter
-
- 1 cup packed brown sugar
-
- 3 tbsp yellow mustard
- Fully cooked/smoked spiral sliced ham
Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Take the ham out of the refrigerator and let sit on the counter for 30 minutes to cut the chill.
2. Over med-low heat, melt butter in a small saucepan.
3. Add the brown sugar and mix into the melted butter.
4. Then add the mustard.
5. Once the mustard is incorporated, cook on med-low heat stirring constantly for a few minutes until the sugar melts and is a loose consistency. Make sure it does not boil. (You don’t want to make caramel.)
6. Unwrap the ham. Place in a roasting pan. Brush about 1/2 of the glaze on the ham.
7. Separate the slices and get the glaze in-between the layers. Set the rest aside for later.
8. Push the layers back together and cover the ham tightly with foil to keep the moisture in. Bake for about 15 minutes per pound. Bear in mind, the ham is fully cooked. You’re not actually cooking the ham, only reheating it.
9. Using drippings, baste every 30 minutes, or as often as you like, with a spoon or a brush.
10. In the last 15 to 20 minutes, you’ll do one final glaze of the ham. Before glazing, stir and reheat the leftover glaze for a couple of minutes on medium-low.
11. Take out the ham out of the oven and pour the reheated glaze onto the ham.
12. Brush glaze across the ham to spread it out.
13. Increase the temperature to 350 and cook uncovered for a final 15 to 20 minutes.
14. In order to easily serve the ham, cut in a circular motion around the bone deep into the ham and the slices will come right off.
Save the recipe to your recipe box by clicking here.