Honey Glazed Ham Perfection

Transform your holiday table with this incredibly easy Honey Glazed Ham recipe. Ditch the pre-packaged glaze and craft your own aromatic spice mix for a depth of flavor that’s simply irresistible. You’ll know exactly what goes into every mouthwatering bite, ensuring a perfect centerpiece for your festive meal!

This homemade Honey Glazed Ham is the quintessential centerpiece for any festive gathering. Imagine serving it alongside a generous helping of creamy Scalloped Potatoes and warm, fluffy Lion House Rolls – your holiday dinner will be an unforgettable culinary triumph that everyone will rave about!

Why Choose a Homemade Honey Glazed Ham for Your Holiday?

When holidays like Easter, Thanksgiving, or Christmas roll around, a succulent ham often takes center stage. While many hams come with a glaze packet, opting to make your own from scratch is a game-changer that truly elevates the entire dish. This recipe proves that creating a gourmet-quality ham glaze at home is not only incredibly simple but also yields a far superior flavor profile. Forget the artificial ingredients and embrace the rich, authentic taste of real honey and aromatic spices, customized exactly to your preference.

The beauty of this particular Honey Glazed Ham recipe lies in its sheer simplicity and the incredible depth of flavor it achieves. It’s so easy, in fact, that you might wonder why you ever bothered with store-bought glazes. You likely have all the essential ingredients in your pantry right now, and the entire glaze comes together in just minutes. What truly sets this ham apart is the delightful balance of sweet and subtle heat. The golden sweetness of honey and rich brown sugar is perfectly complemented by a hint of warming cayenne pepper, adding a layer of complexity that elevates every slice. It’s a harmonious combination that brings the entire dish to life, making it a standout on any holiday spread and ensuring your guests are asking for the recipe.

Mastering the Perfect Homemade Glaze: Key Ingredients

Creating an exceptional honey glazed ham starts with selecting the right ham and then crafting an irresistible glaze with fresh, high-quality ingredients. Here’s a detailed look at what you’ll need to achieve that perfect balance of sweet, savory, and subtly spicy flavors that will make your holiday ham truly memorable:

• Ham Selection: The Foundation of Your Feast
  For the absolute best results, I highly recommend using a bone-in, spiral-cut ham. Spiral-cut hams are already pre-sliced, which makes carving and serving incredibly easy for your guests. More importantly, these pre-cut spirals allow the glaze to penetrate deep into the meat, ensuring maximum flavor in every single bite. A bone-in ham also offers distinct advantages; the bone acts as a natural insulator, helping the ham stay wonderfully moist throughout the cooking process. Furthermore, it imparts a deeper, richer flavor to the ham itself and to the pan juices, which are vital for basting. When planning your meal, aim for about 1/2 pound of bone-in ham per person. This generous estimate ensures everyone gets a satisfying serving and leaves you with plenty of delicious leftovers for creative culinary endeavors in the days that follow.
• Honey and Brown Sugar: The Sweet, Sticky Core of the Glaze
  This powerful duo forms the backbone of our sticky, golden, and deeply flavorful glaze. Honey, with its distinct floral notes and natural sugars, provides a beautiful sheen and contributes significantly to the glaze’s luscious texture. Brown sugar, on the other hand, adds a deeper, more caramelized sweetness thanks to its molasses content, helping to create that desirable slightly crisp and wonderfully sticky crust. The combination of these two natural sweeteners creates a rich, complex sweetness that is far superior and more authentic than any artificial flavor found in a pre-made glaze packet.
• Aromatic Spice Blend: The Secret to Depth and Warmth
  Our carefully crafted spice mix is what truly transforms a simple sweet glaze into something extraordinary. This isn’t just about adding sweetness; it’s about building layers of warmth, subtle heat, and an overall festive aroma that will fill your kitchen as the ham bakes. You’ll combine a harmonious blend of ground cinnamon, a touch of invigorating cayenne pepper, fragrant nutmeg, warm cloves, zesty ginger, and aromatic allspice. Each spice plays a crucial role: cinnamon and nutmeg offer classic holiday warmth, cloves and allspice add earthy depth, ginger provides a bright, pungent note, and the cayenne pepper is especially important for providing a delicate hint of heat. This subtle warmth beautifully complements the sweetness without overpowering it, creating a perfectly balanced flavor experience that will tantalize your taste buds.

Easy Steps to a Perfect Honey Glazed Ham

Don’t let the idea of making a homemade glaze intimidate you. This process is straightforward and guarantees a ham that will impress everyone at your table with its vibrant flavor and tender, moist texture. Follow these simple, detailed steps for a truly memorable holiday meal that looks and tastes gourmet:

1. Prepare Your Oven and Ham: Begin by preheating your oven to 325ºF (160ºC). This consistent, moderate temperature is ideal for gently reheating the ham without drying it out, allowing the glaze to slowly caramelize. Carefully remove your spiral-cut ham from its packaging. If your ham includes a small plastic disc on the bone, be sure to remove that as well. Place the ham, ideally cut-side down if it has one, into a sturdy, oven-safe baking dish with high sides. A 9×13-inch pan often works perfectly for most standard ham sizes, providing enough depth to catch all the flavorful juices.
2. Craft the Irresistible Homemade Glaze: In a small, clean bowl, combine all the glaze ingredients: the sweet honey, rich brown sugar, warming cinnamon, a dash of cayenne pepper for a subtle kick, fragrant nutmeg, earthy cloves, zesty ginger, and aromatic allspice. Mix thoroughly with a spoon or whisk until all the ingredients are well incorporated and you have a thick, fragrant paste. This ensures all the spices are evenly distributed, leading to a consistent flavor across the ham.
3. Apply the Glaze Generously: Using a pastry brush or the back of a spoon, generously spread the prepared glaze over the entire surface of the ham. Don’t worry if it doesn’t cover every single inch perfectly – its thick, sticky consistency means it will adhere beautifully as it bakes and melts. Make sure to work the glaze into the spiral cuts where possible; this allows the flavors to seep deep into the meat, ensuring maximum flavor absorption and a wonderfully juicy result.
4. Cover and Bake for Moisture Retention: Loosely cover the baking dish containing the ham with aluminum foil. This step is absolutely crucial for trapping moisture and creating a steamy environment around the ham, preventing it from drying out during the initial baking phase. Place the baking dish on a larger sheet pan if you’re concerned about any potential glaze drips overflowing, although the high sides of your baking dish should typically minimize this.
5. Baste for Ultimate Flavor Infusion: Place the covered ham in your preheated oven. Cook for approximately 15 minutes per pound. The key to a moist, flavorful ham with a brilliant glaze is regular basting. Every 45 minutes to an hour, carefully remove the ham from the oven and baste it generously with the accumulated juices and melted glaze at the bottom of the pan. You can use a large spoon, a turkey baster, or a heat-resistant pastry brush for this task. Basting continually infuses the ham with even more flavor and keeps it incredibly succulent. Aim to baste at least 2-3 times during the cooking process to build up those incredible layers of taste.
6. Achieve that Perfect Caramelized Glaze Finish: During the final 30 minutes of the total cooking time, remove the aluminum foil completely. This allows the direct heat of the oven to work its magic, caramelizing the sugars in the glaze and creating that beautiful, slightly crisp, wonderfully sticky, and irresistibly golden-brown crust that is the hallmark of a truly spectacular homemade honey glazed ham. Watch it closely during this final stage to prevent burning, as the sugars can caramelize quickly.

Understanding Ham Cooking Times and Temperatures for Perfection

Cooking a ham, especially a pre-cooked spiral-cut variety, is more about reheating it gently and allowing the magnificent homemade glaze to set rather than cooking it from raw meat. Precision in temperature and timing is key to ensuring your honey glazed ham is perfectly cooked, incredibly juicy, and never dry. Here’s a comprehensive guide to help you achieve ham perfection:

Choosing the Right Ham: Spiral-Cut and Bone-In for Optimal Flavor

In many regions, particularly the United States, spiral-cut hams are the most popular and readily available choice for holiday meals. These hams are meticulously pre-sliced, offering immense convenience for serving, and are typically available in both bone-in and boneless varieties. While boneless hams may seem easier to carve initially, I consistently recommend opting for a bone-in ham. The bone serves as a natural insulator, which is crucial for preventing the meat from drying out during the baking process, resulting in a much moister ham. Furthermore, the bone itself imparts a deeper, more savory flavor to the ham and enriches the pan juices, which are integral for basting and building the glaze. This extra depth of flavor is what truly elevates a homemade honey glazed ham above the ordinary.

Pre-Cooked Convenience: Reheating, Not Raw Cooking

It’s vital to remember a fundamental fact about most hams sold for holiday meals, including spiral-cut hams: they are already fully cooked. This means your objective in the oven is not to cook raw meat, but rather to gently reheat it to a safe internal temperature while simultaneously allowing that luscious, homemade honey and spice glaze to develop and caramelize. The time spent in the oven is primarily dedicated to ensuring the ham is heated thoroughly all the way through and to transform the liquid glaze into that beautiful, sticky, and slightly crisp crust. Without this crucial oven time, your ham would lack the signature warmth, the enticing aroma, and the irresistible caramelized glaze that defines a true, show-stopping honey glazed ham.

The Golden Rule: Trust Your Thermometer for Perfect Doneness

While a general guideline for cooking a pre-cooked spiral-cut ham is approximately 10-15 minutes per pound when baked at 325ºF (160ºC), the most accurate and reliable way to determine when your ham is perfectly done is by its internal temperature. Investing in a good quality instant-read meat thermometer is highly recommended for precision and peace of mind. For a pre-cooked ham, you want to reach an internal temperature of 140ºF (60ºC). To get an accurate reading, insert the thermometer into the thickest part of the ham, being careful to avoid touching the bone, as this can give a false low reading. Once the thermometer registers 140ºF, your honey glazed ham is perfectly heated through, safe to eat, and ready to be removed from the oven. Remember, overcooking is the most common cause of dry ham, so keep a close eye on that thermometer, especially during the final stages of baking, to preserve its incredible juiciness.

Make-Ahead Tips and Smart Storage Solutions for Honey Glazed Ham

Preparing for a holiday meal can be a bustling affair, but this honey glazed ham recipe offers some fantastic flexibility when it comes to planning. Knowing how to prepare parts of your meal in advance and store any leftovers properly ensures you can enjoy your delicious creation without added stress. Proper storage also means you can savor the flavors of your holiday feast for days to come.

Optimal Timing for Glazing and Cooking Your Ham

Because most spiral-cut hams are already fully cooked when purchased, the absolute best time to apply the delicious homemade glaze and bake the ham is just before you plan to serve it. While it might seem convenient to fully cook the ham with its glaze in advance and then simply reheat it later, this approach can unfortunately lead to a drier ham and a less vibrant, less appealing glaze. The goal is to heat the ham through gently and allow the fresh glaze to caramelize beautifully in one continuous baking process. This method ensures maximum moisture retention, optimal flavor development, and that perfectly sticky, crisp glaze texture that makes a homemade honey glazed ham so special.

Preparing the Glaze in Advance for Ease

One excellent and practical time-saving tip for holiday meal prep is to prepare your homemade honey glaze mixture ahead of time. Simply combine all the honey, brown sugar, and aromatic spices in a small bowl, mix them thoroughly until well blended, and then transfer the finished glaze to an airtight container. This prepared glaze can be stored safely at room temperature for up to 3-4 days before you plan to use it. Having the glaze ready in advance significantly streamlines your holiday morning preparations, allowing you to focus on other dishes or simply enjoy a more relaxed pace. When you’re ready to bake, just give the glaze a quick stir and apply it to your ham!

Storing Leftover Honey Glazed Ham for Freshness

After your delicious holiday meal, any leftover honey glazed ham should be cooled completely to room temperature as quickly as possible, ideally within two hours. Once cooled, transfer the ham slices or chunks into an airtight container and store it in the refrigerator. Properly stored, your leftover ham will remain fresh, flavorful, and safe to eat for up to 4 days. Cooked ham is incredibly versatile, so don’t hesitate to incorporate these delicious leftovers into various exciting dishes throughout the week – it’s a gift that keeps on giving!

Freezing Leftover Ham for Future Feasts

The excellent news is that leftover ham freezes exceptionally well, allowing you to extend the enjoyment of your holiday meal far beyond the initial festivities. To freeze ham effectively, first slice or dice the ham into portions that align with how you’re likely to use them (e.g., individual servings, small chunks for soups or casseroles). Wrap each portion tightly in plastic wrap, ensuring as little air as possible is trapped with the meat. Then, place these wrapped portions into a freezer-safe bag or an airtight freezer container, again removing as much air as possible before sealing. Frozen ham can be stored in the freezer for 1-2 months while maintaining optimal quality. When you’re ready to use it, simply thaw the ham overnight in the refrigerator before reheating it gently. This makes for perfect quick weeknight dinners, additions to breakfast dishes, or flavorful components in future meals, minimizing food waste and maximizing deliciousness.

Creative Ways to Enjoy Leftover Honey Glazed Ham

One of the absolute best parts of making a large holiday ham is the promise of delicious leftovers! Honey glazed ham is incredibly versatile and can be transformed into a variety of exciting new meals, ensuring not a single savory slice goes to waste. Don’t relegate your beautiful leftover ham to just simple sandwiches; unleash its potential with these fantastic ideas to inspire your culinary creativity:

• Classic Ham & Cheese Sandwiches: The simplest pleasure! Layer thin slices of cold honey glazed ham with your favorite cheese (cheddar, Swiss, or provolone work wonderfully), crisp lettuce, and a touch of tangy mustard or creamy mayonnaise on fresh artisan bread or a soft roll for a quick and satisfying lunch.
• Hearty Ham and Bean Soup: If you used a bone-in ham, the ham bone is a treasure trove of flavor! Use it along with any leftover meat to create a rich, comforting ham and bean soup. Add carrots, celery, onions, and your favorite beans (navy, great northern, or cannellini) for a soul-warming meal that’s perfect for chilly evenings.
• Flavorful Breakfast Hash or Omelets: Dice your leftover ham and sauté it with potatoes, onions, and bell peppers for a delicious breakfast hash. Alternatively, fold it into a fluffy omelet or frittata with some cheese and your favorite vegetables for a protein-packed and satisfying start to your day.
• Quick Ham & Cheese Melts: For a delightful snack or light meal, take slices of your glazed ham, add your favorite melting cheese (such as Gruyère or fontina), and grill or bake until the cheese is wonderfully gooey and bubbly.
• Delicious Ham Salad: Finely chop or shred the ham, then mix it with mayonnaise, finely diced celery, red onion, and a touch of Dijon mustard for a savory ham salad. This is perfect served on crackers, in sandwiches, or as a scoop on a bed of greens.
• Creamy Pasta Dishes: Cube the leftover ham and toss it into a creamy pasta sauce (like Alfredo or a simple cheese sauce), or mix it into a homemade mac and cheese. It also makes a fantastic addition to a hearty pasta bake for an easy and satisfying weeknight dinner.
• Elegant Quiches and Savory Tarts: Elevate your brunch or dinner with diced ham added to your favorite quiche recipe. Combine it with spinach, Gruyère cheese, and a rich egg custard for a sophisticated and flavorful tart.
• Homemade Pizza Topping: Use thinly sliced or diced honey glazed ham as a savory topping for homemade pizzas. It pairs wonderfully with pineapple for a classic Hawaiian pizza twist, or with mushrooms and onions for a more savory option.
• Stuffed Bell Peppers or Potatoes: Mix diced ham with rice, vegetables, and cheese, then stuff into bell peppers or baked potatoes and bake until heated through and bubbling.

With these creative ideas, your delicious honey glazed ham will continue to delight your taste buds and feed your family for days to come, ensuring no delicious morsel goes to waste!

More Irresistible Holiday Ham Recipes

If you’ve loved preparing and enjoying this homemade Honey Glazed Ham and are eager to explore more delicious ways to prepare a show-stopping ham for your next celebration or family meal, you’re in luck! Here are some other fantastic and popular ham recipes that are sure to impress:

• Effortless Crock Pot Ham: A hands-off approach to tender, flavorful ham, perfect for busy hosts.
• Classic Brown Sugar Glazed Ham: A timeless recipe featuring a rich, sweet, and perfectly caramelized brown sugar glaze.
• Unique Root Beer Glazed Ham: An unexpected twist that adds a delicious, subtly sweet, and tangy flavor to your ham.
• Sweet & Tangy Brown Sugar and Cherry Glazed Ham: A delightful combination of fruity sweetness and deep brown sugar notes for a truly special ham.

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Homemade Honey Glazed Ham

Author:
Deborah Harroun

Prep Time:
5 minutes

Cook Time:
2 hours 30 minutes

Total Time:
2 hours 35 minutes

Servings:
10 servings (depending on ham size)

Course:
Main Dish

Cuisine:
American

Print Recipe
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This Honey Glazed Ham recipe simplifies holiday cooking by guiding you to create your own irresistible spice mix and glaze. Expect phenomenal flavor and the satisfaction of knowing exactly what goes into your magnificent meal!

Ingredients

• 1 spiral-cut ham (8-12 pounds), bone-in recommended
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/8 teaspoon ground allspice

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 325ºF (160ºC). Remove any packaging from the ham, including the round plastic disc if present. Place the ham in an oven-safe dish with high sides (a 9×13-inch pan is ideal if the ham fits).
2. In a small bowl, combine the honey, brown sugar, cinnamon, cayenne pepper, nutmeg, cloves, ginger, and allspice. Mix until well combined and thick. Spread this glaze over the ham as evenly as possible, working it into the spiral cuts.
3. Loosely cover the ham with aluminum foil to retain moisture during baking.
4. Place the ham in the preheated oven. Cook for approximately 15 minutes per pound. Every 45 minutes to an hour, remove the ham from the oven and baste it generously with the flavorful juices that collect at the bottom of the pan. Remove the foil during the final 30 minutes of cook time to allow the glaze to caramelize and crisp up. The ham is done when an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part (avoiding the bone) reads 140ºF (60ºC).

Recipe Notes:

Nutrition information is provided as an estimate only. Variations in brands and products can alter the final counts. This nutritional data should be used as a general guide and is based on a 3oz serving of cooked ham with glaze.

Nutrition Information

Serving: 3oz, Calories: 254kcal (13% DV), Carbohydrates: 27g (9% DV), Protein: 16g (32% DV), Fat: 7g (11% DV), Saturated Fat: 3g (19% DV), Polyunsaturated Fat: 0g, Trans Fat: 0g, Cholesterol: 60mg (20% DV), Sodium: 854mg (37% DV), Fiber: 0g, Sugar: 27g (30% DV)

Keywords:
Easter ham, ham recipe, holiday ham, Honey Glazed Ham, homemade glaze, spiral ham, baked ham, sweet ham, spicy ham glaze, Christmas ham