Brushing a glaze on the outside of ham before and during cooking adds moisture and flavor to the crust. Whatever you choose to coat your ham caramelizes for sticky sweetness to complement the juicy meat inside. Our ham glaze recipes call for sugar, spices, and liquids, from chicken stock or cider to cola, Madeira, red wine, or stout. Brown sugar shines here as well as bourbon, honey, and mustard. Identify the ideal mixture to make your centerpiece worthy of a holiday or special occasion with these ham glaze recipes for inspiration.
Saba-and-Dijon-Glazed Ham
Chef Sarah Grueneberg swaps sugar for saba, a sweet and slightly acidic syrup made from cooked-down grape must (similar to aged balsamic), in this glaze with Dijon and salt.
Madeira-Glazed Ham
This holiday ham glistens in a spiced Madeira and honey glaze, served on a bed of greens and citrus.
Guinness-Glazed Ham
A simple glaze of dark stout and brown sugar develops a malty, caramel-like bittersweetness in the oven. Irish ham is a bit less salty than American ham and has a thin layer of fat, which absorbs the flavors of the glaze.
Apple Cider Glazed Ham
Brown sugar, honey, mustard, and apple cider give spiral-cut ham a spectacular transformation.
Honey-Bourbon-Glazed Ham
The sweet, sticky glaze for this juicy ham is subtly spiced with fennel, coriander, and star anise.
Pomegranate-Jalapeño-Glazed Ham
This sweet-and-spicy glaze for ham uses housemade pomegranate-jalapeño jelly, or you can add pomegranate juice to store-bought jalapeño jelly.
Clove-and-Cider-Glazed Ham
Chef Carla Hall glazes a spiral-cut ham with apple cider, brown sugar, mustard, bourbon, and sweet spices.
Dr Pepper-Glazed Ham with Prunes
Meat expert Bruce Aidells glazes a pre-roasted ham with a mixture of Dr. Pepper, simmered prunes, mustard, brown sugar, and cider vinegar, which he combines with the pan drippings for a sauce to serve it with.
Lemon-and-Pickled-Pepper-Glazed Ham
Former F&W editor Grace Parisi combines a lemon-lime marmalade with pickled peppers, mustard, lemon juice, and bourbon into a coarse puree for this glaze.
Smoky Glazed Ham with Red Pepper Jelly
Chef Jonathon Sawyer boils chicken stock, water, cola, dry red wine, sugar, honey, vinegar, onion, ginger, carrot, and chiles to simmer with coriander, fennel seeds, and peppercorns, then strains for a glaze.
DIY Honey-Baked Ham
Anna Painter's ham is glazed with a sweet-spicy mix of brown sugar, honey, honey mustard, black pepper, and cayenne.