Honey Glazed Holiday Ham
This golden, caramelized holiday ham gets brushed layer after layer with a rich glaze made from honey, brown sugar, Dijon, pineapple juice, and warm spices until the outside is deeply lacquered and sticky. Basted throughout with pineapple pan juices and finished uncovered at high heat, it’s the kind of centerpiece ham that makes the whole house smell absolutely incredible.
Equipment
- Roasting pan
- Pastry brush
- Aluminum foil
Ingredients
For the Ham:
- 1 spiral-cut fully cooked ham, 6–8 pounds, bone-in or boneless
- 2 cups pineapple juice, for the pan
For the Glaze:
- 1½ cups honey
- ⅔ cup brown sugar, packed
- ½ cup unsalted butter
- ½ cup pineapple juice
- 2 tsp ham bouillon, dissolved in 2 tbsp warm water
- 3 tbsp Dijon mustard
- 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp ground cloves
- ½ tsp smoked paprika
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- Pinch of cayenne pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325°F. Place the ham flat side down in a large deep roasting pan – the pan needs to be deep enough to hold a generous amount of liquid at the bottom for basting throughout the entire cook.
- Make the glaze. Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the honey, brown sugar, pineapple juice, ham bouillon mixture, Dijon mustard, apple cider vinegar, cinnamon, cloves, smoked paprika, black pepper, and cayenne and stir until the sugar is completely dissolved and the glaze is glossy and completely combined. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook for 4–5 minutes until slightly thickened. Remove from heat and set aside.
- Brush a generous third of the glaze all over the surface of the ham making sure it gets into every slice and crevice. Pour the 2 cups of pineapple juice into the bottom of the roasting pan.
- Tent the ham loosely with foil and bake for 1 hour 45 minutes at 325°F basting generously every 30 minutes.
- Remove the foil and brush another generous layer of glaze all over the ham. Pour any remaining uncooked glaze directly into the bottom of the pan as well.
- Increase the oven temperature to 400°F and bake uncovered for 20–25 minutes until the glaze is deeply caramelized. Watch closely, the honey and pineapple can go from perfectly caramelized to too dark very quickly. Baste once more halfway through this final uncovered bake directly from the pan juices.
- Remove from the oven and immediately spoon the pan juices generously over the entire surface of the ham while still screaming hot. Let rest for 15 minutes before serving.
- Serve directly from the roasting pan or transfer to a serving platter and spoon the pan juices generously alongside. Slice and serve.
Notes
- Baste every 30 minutes without exception. Each layer of glaze and pan juice builds the lacquered, caramelized coating that makes this ham look and taste spectacular.
- Watch the ham closely during the final uncovered bake at 400°F. Honey burns fast at high heat, and a few extra minutes can take it from perfectly golden to too dark.
- Use a deep roasting pan so the pineapple juice and glaze pool at the bottom and give you plenty of liquid to baste with throughout the cook.
- Let the ham rest the full 15 minutes before slicing so the juices redistribute and every slice stays moist rather than drying out on the platter.
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