Bourbon-glazed ham is the show-stopper your holiday table needs! You don’t need to pay for an overpriced ham when you can make your own. It’s easy and so delicious! We use brown sugar, honey, Dijon mustard, bourbon, and some secret ingredients that take this baked ham from ho-hum to outstanding. Give it a try, and you’ll never go back to store-bought ham!
This is a keeper! Very good and my kids raved about it!
jordan
There is rarely an occasion in my family that doesn’t include a baked ham on the table: Easter, Christmas, Thanksgiving, or somebody’s birthday means we’re having this kid-favorite sticky-sweet-salty bourbon glazed ham — and that means plenty of leftovers for sandwiches all week!
Bourbon glaze for ham
Don’t be thrown off by the bourbon. The alcohol cooks off and leaves just a little of the smoky bourbon flavor. It’s subtle and blends right in with the brown sugar and Dijon. The bourbon helps keep the glaze from being overwhelmingly sweet.
Even my sister-in-law, who is a non-drinker, declared this ham to be the “best ham I’ve ever had!”
This oven-baked ham is perfect for Easter dinner or even a Sunday dinner when you want leftovers all week. It freezes well, too!
Serving suggestions
If you’re serving this bourbon-glazed ham for Easter dinner, there’s no shortage of sides that can accompany it: Southern Deviled Eggs are a must, along with Creamy Macaroni and Cheese or Mashed Potatoes with Sour Cream.
If you’re having a simple Sunday dinner so you can have ham leftovers for sandwiches, then we’d suggest Classic Baked Beans or this easy Pineapple Jalapeno Coleslaw.
Note – we use a large roasting pan with a rack like this one. If you don’t have one, you can make a rack in your roasting pan or baking dish using a coil of tin foil. Just tear off a large piece of foil and roll it up, then form a coil that the ham can rest on.
I hope you make this recipe. I think you’ll love it!
Ingredient notes for bourbon glazed ham
Baking a ham at home is much more economical than picking up a store-bought honey-glazed ham. You need minimal ingredients, and there’s nothing fancy about them. You likely have most of these ingredients already. Here are just a few things to note:
➡️➡️➡️ The full ingredient amounts and instructions are listed below on the printable recipe card. Scroll below the recipe card for frequently asked questions and tips for success.
The ham: We tested this recipe with a spiral-sliced ham and a bone-in shank ham, and our tasters preferred the bone-in ham. The spiral-sliced ham tends to dry out too quickly.
Bourbon: You don’t need a rare, expensive bourbon for this recipe, but you also don’t want the cheapest that you can find. If the bourbon doesn’t taste good, then the ham won’t taste good. We use Maker’s Mark when we need bourbon in a recipe. It’s a consistent well-made bourbon that works in an Old-fashioned or a baked ham glaze.
Orange juice: We played around with the amount of orange juice and zest to give the glaze just the right touch of citrus. While you can use bottled orange juice, our testers found that fresh juice combined with the orange zest gave the best presentation and flavor.
How to bake a ham
We’ve got you covered with step-by-step directions for making this delicious bourbon-glazed ham. It’s so easy even a kid can do it!
Prep the oven and the ham.
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Discard any glaze packet that may have come with your ham. If your ham has a rind, use a sharp knife to remove it. You want to bake the ham fat side up, and use a knife to cut the fat back to one-quarter to one-half an inch. Then score the fat in a diamond pattern. You can stud the ham with whole cloves if you want.
Wrap the ham.
We use a large roasting pan with a rack to bake the ham. Lay two large pieces of tin foil perpendicular to each other across the rack. Place the ham with the flat side down on the top piece of foil and insert your meat thermometer into the ham. Be sure the thermometer is not touching the bone. Then fold the foil over the ham and seal. Fold the other piece of foil over the ham and seal. The ham should be fully covered and tightly wrapped.
Add a little water or apple juice to the bottom of the pan so that it doesn’t dry out. Place the roasting pan in the oven and set the thermometer to 120 degrees F. You can also time it to bake 15 minutes per pound.
Make the bourbon glaze.
While the ham is baking, make the glaze. In a medium saucepan, whisk together brown sugar, honey, Dijon mustard, bourbon, cloves, and orange juice and zest until well blended. Bring to a boil, then turn down to a high simmer and cook until the glaze has thickened and reduced slightly. Stir frequently while the glaze is cooking.
Raise the oven temperature and glaze the ham.
Once the ham has reached an internal temperature of 120 degrees F, it’s ready for the glaze. Increase the oven temperature to 425 degrees F. Remove the roasting pan from the oven and fold the foil down so that the ham is uncovered. Don’t remove the foil because you may need to tent the foil if the ham starts getting too brown. If there is a lot of liquid in the pan, you can pour out some of it.
Brush glaze all over the ham, getting down in the cracks of fat that you scored earlier. Bake another 30-45 minutes, basting every 10 minutes with additional glaze. Be sure not to let the pan dry out underneath the rack. If the ham starts to burn or get too dark, bring the foil back up to make a loose tent.
Remove the baked ham and carve.
Once the ham is golden brown and you’ve basted it with all the glaze, remove it from the oven and place it on a cutting board. Save the pan drippings to serve with the ham. Allow the ham to rest for 15-30 minutes, then carve it into slices and serve.
Serve with the leftover glaze on the side. So easy and so delicious!
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Bourbon Glazed Ham
Ingredients
- 1 8-10 lb. ham (fully cooked)
- 1 ½ cups light brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons honey
- ¼ cup Dijon mustard
- ¼ cup bourbon
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- zest and juice from 1 orange or 1/2 cup orange juice
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325. Line the bottom of a large roasting pan with foil for easier cleanup.
- Insert a meat thermometer in the ham, wrap it securely in tin foil and place on a rack in a roasting pan. (See notes for detailed instructions on wrapping the ham.) Add apple juice or water to bottom of pan to keep it from dryin out. Bake the ham to an internal temperature of 120 degrees F (or calculate about 15 minutes per pound.)
- In a medium saucepan, whisk together 1 1/2 cups light brown sugar, 2 tablespoons honey, 1/4 cup Dijon mustard, 1/4 cup bourbon, 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves, and zest and juice from 1 orange or 1/2 cup orange juice until well blended. Bring to a boil, then turn down to a high simmer and cook until the glaze has thickened and reduced slightly. Stir frequently while the glaze is cooking.
- When the ham reaches 120 degrees F, increase the oven temperature to 425 degrees F. Remove the roasting pan from the oven and fold the foil down so that the ham is uncovered. Don't remove the foil because you may need to tent the foil if the ham starts getting too brown. If there is a lot of liquid in the pan, you can pour out some of it.
- Brush glaze all over the ham, getting down in the cracks of fat that you scored earlier. Bake another 30-45 minutes, basting every 10 minutes with additional glaze. Be sure you do not let the pan dry out underneath the rack. If the ham starts to burn or get too dark, bring the foil back up to make a loose tent.
- When the ham is golden brown and the glaze is set, remove the ham from the oven and place it on a cutting board. Save the pan drippings to serve with the hame. Allow the ham to rest for 15-30 minutes then carve into slices and serve.
- Serve with leftover pan drippings on the side.
Notes
Nutrition
Update Notes: This post was originally published on October 3, 2012, and was updated on October 8, 2018, with one or more of the following: step-by-step photos, video, updated recipe, or new tips.
Tips and questions for baked ham
- Choose a bone-in ham for best results. It will stay more juicy and tender than a spiral-sliced ham.
- If you choose a ham larger than ten pounds, we suggest doubling the glaze recipe. You won’t need all of it for basting but you can serve the leftovers on the side.
- Line the bottom of your roasting pan with foil for easier cleanup.
The baked ham leftovers will keep for several days. Our testing has found that leaving the ham unsliced is the preferred way to store it because this retains more moisture. However, if you need to go ahead and slice it due to space constraints, store the slices in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
This is a great make-ahead recipe. You can freeze slices of ham in portions for weekly sandwiches. And don’t forget to save the bone! You can freeze it too and use it when you’re ready to make soup, like our reader-favorite Navy Bean and Ham Soup.
You’ll find most grocery stores tend to have the shank end of ham more so than the butt. Either is fine to use. The butt portion (which is not actually the pig’s butt) may be a little meatier but it’s also more challenging to carve due to the shape of the bone.
The shank cut is the more traditional ham that you’re used to seeing and is easier to carve.
