Description
A delicious baked ham recipe featuring a sweet pineapple and brown sugar glaze with warm spices. This recipe uses a pre-cooked ham that is glazed and baked to tender, flavorful perfection, making it ideal for holiday meals or family dinners.
Ingredients
Scale
Ham
- 10-12 pound fully cooked bone-in spiral cut ham
Glaze
- 20 oz canned pineapple slices (retain the pineapple juice)
- ¼ cup honey
- ½ cup brown sugar (dark or light)
- ½ teaspoon ground cloves
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon water
- maraschino cherries (optional)
- toothpicks
- foil
Instructions
- Bring ham to room temperature: Allow the fully cooked ham to come to room temperature, which usually takes about 1 hour. This prevents temperature shock when baking.
- Preheat oven: Set the oven temperature to 325 degrees Fahrenheit to prepare for baking.
- Score the ham: If necessary, lightly score the surface of the ham to help the glaze penetrate.
- Make the glaze: In a saucepan over medium-high heat, combine brown sugar, honey, all pineapple juice from the can, cinnamon, and ground cloves. Stir continuously for 3-4 minutes until the sugar dissolves.
- Thicken the glaze: In a small bowl, mix the cornstarch and water to make a slurry. Slowly add it to the saucepan while stirring. Continue stirring until the glaze thickens.
- Prepare ham for glazing: Place the ham on a foil-lined sheet pan or roasting pan. Drizzle and brush the glaze generously over the ham, ensuring it gets into the cuts.
- Garnish with pineapple and cherries: Use toothpicks to secure pineapple slices and maraschino cherries onto the ham's surface.
- Wrap the ham: Tent the ham loosely with foil to insulate it without touching the glaze to avoid sticking.
- Bake the ham: Bake the ham covered with foil for 1 hour and 30 minutes. Then remove the foil and baste the ham again with glaze.
- Final baking: Return the ham uncovered to the oven and bake for an additional 30 minutes to set the glaze.
- Rest the ham: Let the ham rest for at least 20 minutes before carving and serving to retain juices.
Notes
- Bake a pre-cooked spiral-sliced, bone-in ham for 10 minutes per pound.
- For smoked, pre-cooked whole bone-in hams weighing 10-14 pounds, bake for 15-18 minutes per pound.
- For fresh, uncooked whole bone-in hams weighing 12-16 pounds, bake for 22-26 minutes per pound.
- Boneless hams should be cooked for 10-15 minutes per pound.
- Discard any glaze packet that comes with the ham and use this homemade glaze for best results.
- Scoring is optional for spiral-sliced hams because they are pre-sliced.
- Flour can be substituted for cornstarch, but it may cause clumping, so it is not recommended here.
- Whole cloves can be used instead of ground cloves by securing them on the ham with toothpicks.
- Bringing the ham to room temperature before baking prevents temperature shock and ensures even cooking.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 slice (about 150 g)
- Calories: 350 kcal
- Sugar: 18 g
- Sodium: 900 mg
- Fat: 12 g
- Saturated Fat: 4 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 7 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 28 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 22 g
- Cholesterol: 65 mg
