Nothing complements a holiday ham quite like a shiny sticky glaze. The sweet and savory coating gives baked ham an extra depth of flavor. But achieving that perfect glistening crust can be tricky for amateur cooks and hostesses. Follow these simple tips to learn how to properly glaze your ham.
Why Bother With Glaze?
You may be wondering if it’s necessary to glaze a ham at all. Can’t you just bake it and enjoy the porky flavor on its own? While an unadorned baked ham can be tasty, a good glaze offers several advantages:
- Adds sweet, tangy, spicy or savory flavors
- Helps form a caramelized, crisp crust
- Keeps the ham juicy and tender inside
- Provides a beautiful presentation
So don’t skip this simple step that can really bring your holiday ham to the next level.
Choosing a Glaze Recipe
There are endless options when it comes to ham glaze recipes Here are some top contenders
- Brown sugar glaze: Classic choice with brown sugar, honey, spices
- Pineapple glaze: Fruity addition of pineapple juice and rings
- Honey mustard glaze: Tangy mix of honey, mustard, and brown sugar
- Maple glaze: For a sweet maple syrup flavor
- Cherry or apple glaze: Uses preserves and spices
Consider the ham’s seasoning and other menu items when selecting a glaze recipe. You want complementary, not competing, flavors.
Glazing Technique and Tips
Follow these steps to perfectly glazed ham:
- Make glaze ahead of time and let cool. It should coat, not drip.
- Choose a small, thick ham or slice large ones to maximize glaze coverage.
- Cut fat cap on surface to help glaze adhere.
- Apply glaze with pastry brush during last 30 minutes of baking.
- Brush on more glaze once ham is removed from oven, coating entire surface.
- For pretty swirls, drizzle glaze from a spoon.
- If glaze hardens, gently warm to soften before using.
- Let glazed ham rest 10 minutes before slicing to let glaze set.
- Serve additional glaze sauce on the side for dipping sliced ham.
Common Questions
How long before baking should I glaze ham? Only glaze towards the very end of baking, not at the beginning. This prevents the sugar from burning. Glaze during the last 20-30 minutes of total cook time.
Should I glaze ham overnight? It’s best not to glaze ham raw and let it sit overnight. Glaze right before baking so the sugar doesn’t have time to burn.
Can I reuse leftover glaze? Don’t reuse extra glaze. Make a fresh batch to avoid contamination.
##Bake Up Sweet, Savory, Glazed Holiday Ham
With the right glaze recipe and technique, you can achieve bakery-worthy, candied ham every time. Get creative with fun flavors, practice your brushwork, and wow guests with your skills. Just be prepared for them to ask for leftovers!
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TIPS FOR THE BEST HAM GLAZE
The most important thing I can say is not to simmer the glaze for too long. If you do, it will turn into a hard caramel, which is hard to spread on the outside of the ham. You want to bring it to a gentle simmer and take it off the heat quickly.
When I had pan juices from the ham to use, I added them to the glaze. WOW! What a great taste! My ham wasn’t salty, so make sure you taste the glaze before adding the juices and add as much as you need to change the flavor even more.
Glaze and baste and baste and glaze and GO NUTS with it. The more the merrier, and ’tis the season, right?.
That brown sugar mustard glazed ham smells just as good as it looks, so I wish there was smell-ernet going on right now.
The BEST part is cutting it like butter and seeing the juices come out and run down between each slice. NO DRY HAM OVER HERE!.
HOW TO COOK A HAM
You only need 3 steps to make the perfect, heavenly ham recipe!
- Remove rind –- so easy, you can peel it off!
- Baste ham with a super easy Brown Sugar Ham Glaze
- Bake, basting every 15 minutes!