Hard to believe Easter is less than three weeks away. I think my brain has gone into a deep freeze with this past winter. But spring has sprung and Easter is not far behind. Our Easter celebration has always included ham, along with many other offerings. Sometimes leg of lamb, sometimes turkey and in recent years lasagna. I love it all. But for whatever reason, ham is “the traditional” entree of Easter. Now, I’ve always been more of a “Honey Baked Ham” kind of girl. I grew up on it – and when I say “it” I mean the Honey Baked Ham Company spiral sliced kind of Honey Baked Ham. I still absolutely love the original…no Costco or copy-cat versions for me.
There are those times though, where I don’t want spend the gazillion dollars a pound for said ham, or I just want something different. I’ve failed numerous times over the years with my own concoctions, but this particular glaze was great – and easy on top of that! Five ingredients, whisked to perfection and poured over a prepared ham. Easy peasy. Baste away to make sure the flavors hug that ham – and voila – a mere 2-3 hours later, dinner is served. Delicious…
Baked Ham Glaze
Ingredients:
1 cup honey
½ cup molasses
½ cup orange juice
¼ cup bourbon
2 Tablespoons Dijon mustard
Note: If you don’t want to use bourbon, simply increase the amount of orange juice to ¾ cups.
Directions:
•Microwave honey and molasses in a 1 quart glass dish at high 1 minute. Whisk to blend. Whisk in juice, bourbon and mustard.
•Remove the skin and fat from the ham. Place ham in a lightly greased 13×9 inch roasting pan. Make ¼ inch deep cuts in ham in a diamond pattern. Pour glaze over ham.
•Bake on the lower oven rack at 350°F for 2 to 2 1/2 hours or until a meat thermometer inserted into thickest portion registers 140°F; baste every 15 minutes or so.
•Remove ham from pan, tent with foil and allow to stand. Remove and discard fat from the drippings. Transfer drippings to a small saucepan and bring to a boil; reduce by about 1/3. It will thicken slightly. Serve warm with the sliced ham.
Recipe adapted from All Recipes.
Omg Nancy, that Easter glazed ham is a star….I must cook something from your blog…I love the foods you make!
Thank you Liz! It turned out well…classic flavors and holiday ready… oh, and easy! I tend to gravitate to foods that are simple to prepare, yet pack a punch of flavor 🙂
Your glaze sounds like a winner and those pics are mouth-watering good. I can almost smell the ham in the oven. I cook with bourbon like I do wine. A little for the pot, a little more for me. I’ve never had a bad meal following that principle — that I can remember, anyway. I bake one ham each year and it’s at Easter. I really don’t care much for that dinner, it’s the sandwiches after that I crave. After they’re gone, there’s split pea soup. A baked bone-in ham is the gift that keeps on giving.
Hahhah John! Love your philosophy of cooking with bourbon or wine! It is our duty as chef to make sure what we put in the pot is up to par after all 😉 I have to say, I agree with you about the preferences of ham sandwiches or a nice pot of soup over a baked ham meal. Or one of my favorites, scalloped potatoes with slices of ham hidden in the layers and baked to perfection! Mmm mmm…comfort food!
I now have a rather serious craving for ham!
Lol, sorry Nell!
Mmm, glazed ham! I love leftover ham because then I get to make ham sandwiches. This looks so yummy, Nancy!
Thank you Patty:)
Your ham looks perfectly glazed and browned. 🙂
Thanks…it was picture perfect and delicious!
What a festive looking dish! Love the flavors of the glaze and the crispy skin… 🙂
Thank you Ronit… The frequent basting really allowed the flavors to enhance the meat.
Looks so delicious. I got to find bourbon in my friend’s stash of wines. Thank you!
Thank you! If you can’t find bourbon, increasing the orange juice will work too. Either way it turns out great!
I love how perfectly brown and glazed that looks. It’s so shiny! I don’t cook many “big” meats like this but I’ve always wanted to give it a try.
Thank you…I was very happy with the “beauty” of the ham. The frequent basting really did its job. This is one of the easiest big hunks of meat you can make – just need a lot of big appetites to share it with!