Quick and Easy Ham Glaze Recipes
Adding a glaze to a Christmas Ham will help you deliver something special and unique for your special festive meal.
I like to keep things simple, as you may have noticed, and we are already busy with preparing what is going on to the table for our Christmas meal, so why add a difficult glaze recipe into the mix!
The glaze recipes in my article are some that I have tried myself that can be quickly wiped up with ready to find ingredients anywhere. You can find 1000s of other tasty recipes on the net if you have time to scour for that special something you may want to try.
Before we get to them, watch the video of Mitch showing the preparation of the ham for glazing. This is the exact technique I would prepare the ham for customers when I worked in the butcher shop. Peeling the rind was just an added service we provided. The ham would be ready and all our customers had to do was add the glaze and pop it into their oven.
Just a note on where Mitch mentions baking the ham for 2 1/2 hours, I personally never bake for this long. The ham is already cooked and we are just cooking the glaze to get that beautiful crusty caramelised sheen appearance with a specific sweet, tangy or spicy flavour from our chosen glaze.
Here’s my baking method:
- Preheat oven 175°C/ 350°F
- Glaze your prepared ham by brushing as you pour the glaze. Make sure you try to get the liquid into the scored crevices with the brushing and ensure you save some glaze for further basting.
- Turn oven up to 220- 230°C/450°F and add the ham.
- I bake for a maximum of 1-1 1/2 hours, basting or adding glaze each 20 minutes or so (you can even do it every 10-15 mins if you like) as this is ample time. Over baking can dry out the ham and we definitely want to avoid this.
- Remove ham, cover with foil and let rest for about 15 minutes before carving.
Enjoy the video…
Now to those Simple, Tasty and Short Time Glaze Recipes…
Brown Sugar Mustard Glaze
INGREDIENTS
- 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
- 3 tablespoons honey
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon pineapple juice
DIRECTIONS
- In a small bowl, mix all ingredients with whisk until well blended
- Brush some of the glaze over ham and baste every 15-20 minutes during the baking as per my method above.
Easy Pineapple Ginger Glaze
INGREDIENTS
- 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
- 1/2 cup pineapple juice
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
DIRECTIONS
- In a small bowl, mix all ingredients with whisk until well blended
- Brush some of the glaze over ham and baste every 15-20 minutes during the baking as per my method above.
Maple Mustard Rosemary Glaze
INGREDIENTS
- 1/2 cup real maple syrup
- 2 tablespoons packed brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons whole grain mustard
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh rosemary
DIRECTIONS
- In a small bowl, mix all ingredients with whisk until well blended
- Brush some of the glaze over ham and baste every 15-20 minutes during the baking as per my method above.
Orange and Soy Glaze
INGREDIENTS
- Juice of an orange, about 1/2 cup
- 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon Soy Sauce
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
DIRECTIONS
- In a small bowl, mix all ingredients with whisk until well blended
- Brush some of the glaze over ham and baste every 15-20 minutes during the baking as per my method above.
Cajun Glaze Ham
INGREDIENTS
1 cup brown sugar - 4 jalapenos, seeded and chopped finely (you may use less)
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
- 2 tablespoons whole grain mustard
- 1 tablespoon paprika
- 1⁄2 teaspoon cayenne or 1⁄2 teaspoon hot red pepper sauce
- 1⁄2 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1⁄2 teaspoon dried oregano
DIRECTIONS
- In a small bowl combine brown sugar, jalapenos, garlic, vinegar, mustard, paprika, pepper, cayenne, thyme and oregano and mix well.
- Brush some of the glaze over ham and baste every 15-20 minutes during the baking as per my method above.
Classic Marmalade Glaze
INGREDIENTS
- 1 cup orange marmalade (you can use any marmalade/jam you like)
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1/2 cup orange juice
- whole cloves for studding
DIRECTIONS
- Place the marmalade, honey and orange juice in a saucepan over high heat and whisk to combine bringing to the boil and cook for 5–7 minutes or until thickened slightly. Set aside to cool slightly.
- Push a cloves into each diamond scoured on the prepared ham and brush with some of the glaze over ham and baste every 15-20 minutes during the baking as per my method above.
These are some simple and tasty quick glazes that will turn your ham into a scrumptious Christmas surprise for your family and friends. Feel free to experiment with some other gourmet marmalade’s and spicy them up with a little heat if you like that pang in your mouth. Certainly might get a conversation starter with a chilli glaze.
For more hints and tips, see my article on choosing that right ham or carving your ham to take the worry out of celebrating your Christmas Festival with family and friends.
Enjoy
John
