How to Glaze a Ham

A glaze is not a requirement when cooking a ham, however, a wonderfully crafted glaze can certainly add extra flavor and dimension to your holiday dinner centerpiece. Glazes can consist of prepared mixtures such as fruit spreads, jams and chutneys or items already in your pantry or refrigerator such as honey, mustard, fruit juices or maple syrup. One of the Jones family’s go-to glazes is brown sugar and whole grain mustard.

Follow these four simple steps to glaze a ham:

1. Begin glaze preparation before heating the ham or while it is in its preliminary stages of heating.
2. Thoroughly mix the glaze before applying to easily spread on ham or let stand for a thicker textured glaze that can be poured onto the ham.
3. Using a sharp kitchen knife, score the ham in a diagonal pattern along the top, creating thin cuts to allow the glaze to seep deep into the ham. Scoring also creates a nice, crisp crust.
4. To keep from burning, add the glaze at the end of cooking, in the last 30 minutes. Use a pastry brush to generously apply the glaze and return ham to the oven. Repeat the process if desired.

Easy method to moisten ham and give flavor without a glaze:

1. Thirty minutes prior to the end of the heating time, score the fat, insert cloves and rub with brown sugar. 
2. Moisten ham with water, ginger ale or sherry so it doesn’t get dried out. Accompany with a sauce or chutney on the side when serving.

Here are a few of our favorite ham glaze recipes:

• Balsamic and Dijon Glazed Ham
• Pineapple Bourbon Glazed Ham
• Orange Honey Glazed Ham

Jones makes a variety of naturally smoked, fully cooked hams including:

• All Natural Hickory Smoked Heritage Uncured Ham
• Hickory Smoked Whole Bone-in Ham
• Hickory Smoked Semi-Boneless Ham

Find our hams near you through our Product Finder.