Honey Bake Ham
User Reviews
5
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Prep Time
15 mins
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Cook Time
2 hrs 20 mins
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Total Time
2 hrs 35 mins
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Servings
15
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Calories
631 kcal
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Course
Main Course
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Cuisine
American
Honey Bake Ham
Description
The Honey Bake Ham recipe centers on a fully cooked, smoked bone-in spiral ham, which is essential for depth of flavor. The glaze combines melted butter, Dijon mustard, and honey, providing a syrupy coating that enhances the ham's natural savoriness. A dry rub of granulated sugar and aromatic spices including nutmeg, cloves, cinnamon, paprika, ginger, and allspice is applied to create a caramelized, spiced crust during baking. The oven temperature is moderate to ensure even heating without drying out the ham.
This cooking method preserves the ham's moisture and highlights its smoky, sweet character. Alternatively, the ham can be cooked slowly in a Crock-Pot with the butter and honey mixture massaged in, then finished with the sugaring and torching step, which adds a crisp, flavorful surface. The process lends itself well to holiday meals and gatherings where the ham can be the centerpiece.
Using a roasting rack prevents the ham from sitting in juices, helping maintain texture. The glaze and dry rub work together to produce a balance of sweetness and warm spices. This method encourages a delicious crust with tender slices inside. The glaze ingredients are minimal yet impactful, allowing the ham's flavor to shine.
Following the slow cooker instructions will require heating the ham to about 140°F internally. After slow cooking, applying the dry rub with sugar before torching adds a final burst of flavor and texture. The ham can then be kept warm in the oven until serving.
Ingredients
- 1 ham 7-8 pounds, half spiral cut
- 2 tablespoons butter melted
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 1/3 cup honey
For dry rub
- 1 & 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon cloves
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon paprika
- 1/4 teaspoon ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon allspice
Instructions
- First start off by choosing a really high quality ham. I love to use a bone-in spiral ham; the bone provides tons of flavor that a boneless ham just can't compete with. You want a ham that is fully cooked and labeled as smoked.
- Preheat your oven to 325 degrees and place the oven rack in the lower 1/3 of the oven.
- Unwrap your beautiful ham and remove all the netting and shrink wrap. Often they have a little ham glaze packet sealed inside. Toss it in the trash with gusto, we have bigger plans for this ham. Sometimes there is a little plastic cap over the bone, take it off.
- Place your ham flat-side down on the roasting rack in your roasting pan. (If you don’t have a roasting pan, set a metal cooling rack over a rimmed baking sheet.) You don’t want your ham getting all soggy sitting in those juices.
- Make the honey glaze. In a small bowl, melt 2 tablespoons butter. Add 1 tablespoon dijon mustard. Add in 1/3 cup honey. Stir it together until it's deliciously syrupy.
- Use your hands to massage the honey mixture into the ham all over, top to bottom, side to side. Work it in between the spiral cuts. It's okay if some of the mixture drips into the bottom of your pan. Scoop it up and slap it back on the ham as best you can.
- Add about a cup of water to the bottom of your roasting pan. Cover your ham and the pan completely with foil.
- Bake at 325 for about 2 hours and 20 minutes, or about 20 minutes per pound of ham. (You can also slow cook it! See recipe notes for details.) The internal temperature should be about 140 degrees F. Remember, your ham is already cooked, so this measurement is just to make sure it's heated all the way through.
- Let your ham cool outside of the oven for about 15-20 minutes. Leave the foil on the ham so it doesn't dry out.
- Make the dry rub. In a bowl, combine 1 and 1/2 cups granulated sugar and the spices: 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg, 1/2 teaspoon cloves, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon paprika, 1/4 teaspoon ginger, 1/4 teaspoon allspice.
- Pour half of the sugar mixture (about 3/4 cup) into a rimmed baking sheet.
- Add the other half to a small saucepan and set aside.
- Uncover your ham. If the edges of the ham are not very moist, brush with pan juices. Use hot pads to transfer the ham to the pan with the sugar. Roll the ham (not the flat side) in the sugar, using your hands to pat on more sugar as necessary. Continue rolling and coating the ham until the sugar has created a crunchy exterior all over the ham.
- Torch. Now it’s time to light up the kitchen torch! Place the flame about an inch away from the ham. Keep the torch moving continually. The flame should not stay in the same spot for any period of time. Move in small circles until the area you're working on has transformed from little grains of sugar into bubbly bits of lava. Once it's bubbly, move on to the next area. Within a minute or two, the liquid will harden into a shiny crackly shell. Continue until the entire ham has a beautiful hardened sugar coating.
- You can serve the ham right away or place it back in the oven on the "keep warm setting" (about 170 degrees F) until you are ready to serve. Cover with foil so it doesn't dry out if it's going to be more than a couple minutes.
- Meanwhile, make the serving glaze. Add the remaining 3/4 cup sugar mixture to a small saucepan. If there are enough drippings in the pan, add it to a fat separator. Once the fat has risen to the top, pour about 1/3 cup ham drippings into the saucepan. (You can use 1/3 cup water if you don't have enough drippings or don't want to deal with separating fat.)
- Stir together and bring to a boil over medium heat. Let the mixture boil for about 2-5 minutes, until it has thickened into a gaze consistency. Remove from heat. Serve with the ham. This mixture will eventually start to harden and caramelize; just stick it in the microwave or heat the pot on low until it has melted again.
Notes
- Choose a high quality bone-in spiral ham labeled smoked and fully cooked for best flavor.
- Use a roasting rack to keep the ham elevated and prevent sogginess during baking.
- The dry rub of spices with sugar is applied after glazing to create a caramelized crust.
- Slow cooker method heats the ham thoroughly before sugaring and torching to finish the glaze.
- Let the ham rest slightly after cooking before continuing with the sugaring and torching process.
Nutrition Information
Show DetailsNutrition Facts
Serving: 15Serving
Amount Per Serving
Calories 631 kcal
% Daily Value*
| Serving | 1serving | |
| Calories | 631kcal | 32% |
| Carbohydrates | 27g | 9% |
| Protein | 46g | 92% |
| Fat | 37g | 57% |
| Saturated Fat | 14g | 70% |
| Polyunsaturated Fat | 4g | 24% |
| Monounsaturated Fat | 17g | 85% |
| Trans Fat | 1g | 50% |
| Cholesterol | 135mg | 45% |
| Potassium | 612mg | 13% |
| Fiber | 1g | 4% |
| Sugar | 26g | 52% |
| Vitamin A | 64IU | 1% |
| Vitamin C | 1mg | 1% |
| Calcium | 17mg | 2% |
| Iron | 2mg | 11% |
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.
User Reviews
Overall Rating
5
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