Honey Glaze for Ham Recipe
This easy Honey Glaze for Ham with brown sugar, dijon mustard, and fresh orange juice is the perfect balance of sweet and tangy to compliment a spiral ham. It has subtle notes of warm spices, like cinnamon and cloves. Perfect for the holidays!
Servings: 1 large ham
Ingredients
- 1 (8-10 pound) ham
- 4 Tablespoons unsalted butter*
- 3/4 cup brown sugar
- 3/4 cup honey*
- 2 Tablespoons dijon mustard
- 1/3 cup fresh orange juice, plus the zest from 1 orange*
- 5 cloves garlic, smashed
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
Instructions
- Once the ham is almost done baking covered, melt the butter over medium low heat in a medium frying pan. (I recommend about 10 minutes per pound at 300 degrees covered for a fully cooked ham since it will cook more uncovered with the glaze.)
- Stir in the brown sugar until combined.
- Stir in the honey until combined.
- Add the mustard, orange juice, garlic, paprika, cinnamon, and ground cloves.
- Whisk vigorously until combined. The mixture might look separated at first but it will combine as you whisk.
- Bring to a boil and stir continuously for 3-4 minutes.
- Remove from the heat and stir in the orange zest. The glaze will thicken as it cools.
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees and remove the ham. Uncover the ham and brush generously with the glaze. Be sure to cover the whole exterior and get in between the slices if using a sliced ham.
- Bake for another 30-45 minutes, basting 3-4 more times with the glaze while it bakes. Brush with more glaze when it comes out of the oven if desired. The ham should have an internal temperature of about 140 degrees.
Notes
- Butter: Salted butter will work fine too, but since ham is already very salty, I prefer unsalted.
- Honey: Substitute for maple syrup.
- Orange Juice: Freshly squeezed juice and zest have a better flavor than store bought. In a pinch, store bought will work and you can omit the zest. You can swap the orange juice for apple cider vinegar, pineapple, cranberry, or cherry juice.
- Use pre-cooked ham. Most hams are already cooked so you are just reheating it in the oven and that is why an internal temperature of about 140 degrees is recommended.
- Whisk. The mustard might seem like it will not stir into the mixture, but if you keep whisking it will combine completely. Just keep whisking!
- Do not overcook the glaze. The glaze just needs to be boiled for a few minutes. It might seem thin, but it thickens a ton as it cools. It will also continue to caramelize in the oven.
- Baste the ham multiple times. This recipe makes plenty of glaze to coat the ham multiple times. This adds tons of flavor.
Nutrition
Calories: 1887kcal | Carbohydrates: 388g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 47g | Saturated Fat: 29g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 13g | Trans Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 121mg | Sodium: 410mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 376g