Baked Ham with Bourbon Orange Glaze

Elevate your holiday Baked Ham by adding an easy ham glaze that involves bourbon and orange. Perfect for Easter, Christmas dinner and any occasion when you're feeding a lot of mouths, this baked ham recipe looks fancy but is easy to make.

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 3 15

Additional Time 15

Total Time 3 50

Servings (¾ lb. servings)

Calories 177kcal

Ingredients

11 ⅓ lb. Bone-In Spiral Sliced Ham

Bourbon Orange Glaze

1 cup orange juice
6 tablespoons honey
¼ cup honey Dijon mustard
¼ cup stone ground mustard
¼ cup unsalted butter
½ cup bourbon
Zest of 2 navel oranges
1 ½ teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Line a large rimmed sheet pan with three layers of aluminum foil. You will use these to wrap the ham in.
Remove the ham from its packaging, and remove the plastic from the bone end of the ham. Place the ham face down on the prepared, lined baking sheet.
Cover loosely, but completely with the foil. Make sure the foil ends are crimped so juices don’t leak out of the foil.
Once the ham is ready, bake for 100 minutes. (The packaging’s instructions say to bake the ham 7-10 minutes per pound, and that the internal temperature needs to reach 120°F, so if you have a smaller ham, please calculate your time accordingly.)
When the ham is almost done with its first bake, make the glaze in a saucepan. Combine the orange juice, honey, mustards, butter, bourbon, orange zest and Worcestershire sauce. Whisk until smooth.
Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, for 20-25 minutes, or until thick and bubbly. (Stirring constantly will ensure that it doesn’t burn, because if you’re not careful, it will.)
When the ham has finished its first bake, remove from the oven and remove any pieces from the top of the ham. Roll them down, crimping near the bottom, so that the ham is exposed, but the foil still covers the bottom of the ham.
Turn up the oven to 425°F.
Brush the glaze over the uncovered ham, and place in the oven to bake for an additional hour (to 1.25 hours). Every 15 minutes, remove the ham from the oven and liberally coat the ham in glaze.
After brushing with the last of the glaze, bake an additional 30 minutes, or until the ham is caramelized. If any parts of the ham look like they’re at risk to burn, cover loosely with foil.
Remove the ham from the oven, and let cool for 15 minutes.
Carve and serve warm!

Notes

How to estimate how much ham to purchase: If you’re making a bone-in ham, estimate about ½ to ¾ lb. per person. With a boneless ham, estimate ¼ and ½ lb. per person. This, obviously, depends on your group, but this is a good guide. When in doubt, purchase the larger ham.

Differing ham sizes: Depending on your ham’s size, the cook time will change. You should cook the ham for 7-10 minutes per pound, so do the math. Also, the ham’s internal temperature needs to reach 120°F before it’s safe to eat, so use your kitchen thermometer.

Boneless vs. bone-in ham: I used a bone-in ham, but you can certainly make this recipe with a boneless one. Be aware that your cook time will probably change, and the amount of ham you need per person will change, too.

Don’t like alcohol? If you’re not drinking or have guests who don’t, leave the bourbon out of the glaze. Don’t replace it with anything. It should be OK and still absolutely delicious, just without the mild bourbon flavor.

Storage options: Store your cooked ham in the fridge, wrapped securely in foil, for up to a week. You can also vacuum seal it once you’ve removed it from the bone, and freeze for up to a few months.

Nutrition