Glazed Holiday Ham

Holiday main courses usually take a lot of time and effort. Did the turkey just come to mind? A gorgeous glazed ham is probably the easiest and most fuss-free meal you could make. The ham is already cooked, as a matter of fact, you just need to reheat it. Just like most of us like to dress up in something special on the holidays , the delicious glaze gives the ham a beautiful shine and an extraordinary flavor boost.

Seriously, it’s SO easy to make this, you should make it for a regular Monday night dinner, and serve it lots of different ways the rest of the week – in sandwiches, Breakfast Burritos, Breakfast Quesadillas, omelets, casseroles, etc.

For an extra special Easter dinner, serve this ham with luscious and creamy Scalloped Potatoes. That was my pick, anyway:). What is on your menu for Easter?

Recipe from America’s Test Kitchen – my go to source for just about everything.

Ingredients:

1 bone in ham, 7-10 lbs, shank end, natural juices, spiral sliced

1 large oven bag

Glaze:

1/2 cup maple syrup

1/4 cup honey

1/2 cup orange marmalade

2 Tablespoons butter

1 Tablespoon Dijon mustard

1 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

When choosing a ham, look for the shank end, it has one bone going straight down and is easier to carve later when you’re serving it at the table. You can certainly use the butt/sirloin end too, it will just be a little more challenging to cut. Spiral sliced ham is easier to slice too, since it’s already partly sliced for you. Another thing to watch out for is not to buy ham that has “water added” or is a “ham and water product”. These hams will have a spongy and wet texture.

Place the wrapped ham, still in the original packaging, in a large container and fill it to the top with hot tap water. Let is stand for 45 minutes. Drain off the water. Fill it up with hot tap water again and let it stand for another 45 minutes.

Since the ham is already cooked, all we have to do is re-heat it. If we put it in cold into the oven, it will take longer to re-heat, which means that the ham will be dried out and leathery. What we want is juicy, moist meat, so we are giving our ham a bath first, and letting it get warm all the way through.

Preheat the oven to 250 degrees.

When the ham has warmed through, place it in a large roasting pan, or a glass casserole dish (if it’s large enough) inside a large oven bag.

You can find these oven bags sold in most stores. Usually they are in the same aisle as the aluminum foil.

Close the bag tightly around the ham, kind of like tying a ponytail.  Cut off the extra plastic at the top. Poke some holes in the top of the bag, 3-5 holes, to prevent the bag from exploding.

Cooking the ham in the oven bag will also prevent the meat from drying out and help it cook faster, since it steams as it’s cooking, and all the juices from the ham stay in the bag too.

Meanwhile, combine all the ingredients for the glaze in a small saucepan. Bring it to a boil and set aside.

Bake the ham in the oven for 1-1 1/2 hours, approximately 10 minutes per pound, until the ham reaches 100 degrees on an instant read thermometer. Increase the heat to 350 degrees.

Cut open the oven bag and roll it down around the bottom of the ham.

Brush the glaze over the ham. If the glaze has become cold and thick, reheat it on the stove again. Bake the ham for another 15 minutes, with the glaze on. Take it out of the oven and let it rest for about 15 minutes before serving. A neat trick to transferring the ham from the roasting pan to the serving dish is to use two large spatulas.

Add 4-6 Tablespoons of ham juices with the remaining glaze and cook on high heat, until the glaze thickens, about 5 minutes. Serve with the ham.

Even if your ham has some “bald spots” where it got sliced a little too much by the machine, it will still be just as tasty!