Ham Glaze Recipe

This sweet and sticky ham glaze recipe adds so much flavor to your favorite ham steak or roasted ham recipe.

This ham glaze recipe is quick and easy to put together, but will make all the difference to your cooked ham. A good glaze gives ham a wonderful color and lots of lovely flavor, contrasting a delicious sweetness with the saltiness of the meat.  

How to Glaze a Ham

If you've ever coated your ham in its glaze at the start of the cooking time, you've probably already realized that it burns very quickly!

This is due to its high sugar content. Whilst you do want it to caramelize - which intensifies both the color and flavor - you certainly don't want it to burn, which will make it taste bitter.

The secret is to glaze the ham towards the end of the cooking time, not the beginning, although the actual length of time depends on the temperature at which you're cooking the meat.

Ready to eat hams (which are actually already cooked and are technically being reheated) can be 'cooked' at around 350 degrees F, which is low enough not to burn the glaze if you add it up to an hour before you take the ham out of the oven.

To apply the glaze to the hot ham midway through the cooking process you can use a heat-proof spatula.

A pastry brush is another option, although it is more suitable for runny glazes rather than those which are thick and sticky.

Instead of putting it all on in one go, a good tip is to apply half of the glaze at first, then apply the rest after 30 minutes.

This ham glaze recipe contains ground cloves. Cloves bring a wonderful flavor to ham and no good glaze should be without them.

The more traditional way of using cloves would be to stud the ham with whole cloves (which basically means pushing them into the flesh).

This gives the cooked ham a very attractive appearance - but you have to be very careful to make sure you remove all the whole cloves before serving.

It is very unpleasant to bite into a whole clove - and not so great for your teeth, either!

Why Ham with the Bone is Better

If you are torn between deboned or bone-in ham, we recommend buying the bone-in option every time!

For one thing, it helps you get an accurate internal temperature reading to see if it's ready to serve.

Insert your thermometer until it is near the bone and remove the ham from the oven when it reaches 135 to 140 degrees.

But the other good thing about having the bone is that you can then add it to your next batch of soup to provide a rich, deep flavor.

Try this ham bone soup recipe and see for yourself!

How to Carve Ham

Ham is the same as any other meat - it needs to sit for a while before you carve it.

This gives the muscle fibers in the meat time to relax, which helps redistribute all the juices and guarantees you lovely, tender slices of ham.

More Ham Recipes to Try

Craving a great comfort food soup? This Slow Cooker Ham Soup can't be beat!

Looking for the simplest way to roast a ham? Thry this Crock Pot Ham instead of traditional roasting.

For a delicous breakfast, these Baked Ham and Cheese Egg Muffins are a must-try.