Bourbon Glazed Ham

This Orange Marmalade and Bourbon Glazed Ham is not only delicious but easy too! With just a few ingredients this glazed ham is the perfect centerpiece for any special occasion like Christmas, Easter, or Family Gathering.

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Orange Bourbon Glaze for Ham

Ham is by far the easiest of the holiday meals to prepare. So if you are a first timer looking for something easy to make when you host you are in the right place.

What makes ham so easy is that the ham is already pre-cooked, all you are really doing is warming it up and adding a glaze to the outside! Totally takes the stress out of it being fully cooked right!?

The glaze I am sharing with you is just as easy and so delicious. So throw out that gross packet that comes with the ham and make this one instead!

With bourbon and orange marmalade being the base of the glaze you know you can’t go wrong! The flavors work so well together! Along with maple syrup, dijon mustard, and cloves it is ham perfection that everyone will love!

Ingredients

• Bone-in Spiral Cut Ham – For this recipe you can use any size that works best for you. Down below in the questions section you can see about serving sizes if you are wondering about how big of ham you will need.
• Orange Marmalade – You will want to make sure it is actually marmalade that has all the zested peel in it, not just jelly!
• Bourbon – If you are looking at this recipe chances are the world bourbon caught your eye, in that case you know your bourbons so use which one you would like. I do suggest, if it isn’t obvious no need to use top of the shelf here. If you are unfamiliar with bourbons I suggest using Makers Mark or a similarly priced one. I used Markers on my hams and it came out beautifully.
• Maple Syrup – You will want to make sure you use real maple syrup here not any of the fake substitutes.
• Dijon Mustard – Just a little to take away from the sweetness of the glaze to even out the flavors.
• Ground Cloves – A very little amount to just a bit of spice to the glaze.

For a complete detailed list of the ingredients continue towards the bottom of the page.

Instructions

Move the oven rack to the bottom of the oven, ensure there is enough room for the ham to be situated in the center of the oven and not too close to the top. Preheat the oven to 325º F.

Add the orange marmalade, bourbon, maple syrup, dijon mustard, and cloves to a bowl. Whisk to combine.

Place a wire rack in a sheet pan, or use a shallowing roasting dish with an insert to keep if off the bottom. 

Remove the ham from packaging and transfer bone side up to the wire rack. Pat dry with paper towels if needed.

Using a very small amount of the glaze use a brush to just moisten the outside of the ham and in between some of the slices with the glaze. Just enough to dampen some of the ham but not so much the the glaze runs down the side, less is more here definitely applies. Most of the glaze will be used at the end. Using too much glaze right away might cause the sugars to burn so being on the cautious side is okay. Loosely cover the ham in tin foil.

Transfer to the oven. Cook in the oven at 325º F for 15 minutes per pound, so example a 7 pound ham would be 1 hour 45 minutes while a 10 pound ham would be 2 hours 30 minutes.

Once the ham has hit its time and is fully warm remove the ham from the oven. Turn the oven to 450 Fº.

Uncover the ham, glaze generously with a brush. Transfer back to the oven and cook 3 minutes. Repeat the glazing and 3 minute cooks two more times until all the glaze has been used. Keep watch on the ham during this last step to make sure it doesn’t burn. 

Once the glaze is all cooked on the ham, let it rest a few minutes before carving.

To carve transfer to a cutting board and run a knife down near the bone in each section of the ham releasing the pre-sliced sections.

Tips,Tricks, & Questions

How much ham do I need per person?

About 3/4 pound of bone-in ham per person. So a 7 pound ham should feed about 9 people and a 9 pound ham should feed 12. However, if you are hosting a hungrier crowd, you can increase it to 1 pound so you have plenty of leftovers (Plus leftover ham keeps so well in the freezer).

How to store baked ham?

Baked ham can be stored in an airtight container for 3-4 days in the refrigerator.

Ham also freezes really well and can keep for up to 2 months, giving you plenty of time to make more meals out of the leftovers.

What to serve with Bourbon Glazed Ham:

• Homemade Au Gratin Potatoes
• The BEST Classic Mashed Potatoes
• Green Bean Casserole from Scratch (with bacon)
• Simple Spinach Side Salad
• Roasted Carrots with Dill
• Orange-Spiced Carrot Cake

Leftover recipes for Ham:

• Easy Pressure Cooker Split Pea Soup with Ham (Save the ham bone)
• Leftover Ham Fried Rice with Pineapple

You might also like:

• Crockpot Ham with Pineapple and Brown Sugar
• Roasted Boneless Leg of Lamb
• Dry Brined Turkey
• Slow Cooker Pot Roast with Red Wine

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