Name: Huge Glazed Ham
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 150 min
Total time: 165 min
Yield: 12 servings
Ingredients: 8-10 lb bone-in spiral-cut ham, fully cooked; 1.5 cups light brown sugar, packed; 1/3 cup Dijon mustard; 2 tbsp whole grain mustard; 3 tbsp apple cider vinegar; 1/4 cup bourbon; 1/4 cup fresh orange juice; 1 tbsp orange zest; 4 tbsp unsalted butter; 1/2 tsp ground cloves; 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon; 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper; 1 cup water

Huge Glazed Ham

Prep

15m

Cook

150m

Total

165m

Bigly says

Listen. A glazed ham is the easiest WIN in the entire repertoire of cooking, the EASIEST, and somehow people still mess it up. They buy a ham — already cooked, already smoked, the pig did most of the work, the SMOKEHOUSE did the rest — and then they stick it in the oven and cremate it for four hours and serve a salty leather brick to their family. A disgrace to ham. A disgrace to family. The ham has been on this earth longer than you have. Show it some respect.

I've had ham in every state. TWICE. The best ham of my life — and this surprises people — was at a roadside diner outside Lancaster, Pennsylvania, where a woman named Marge was running the place and she looked at me, she said 'you want the ham,' and it was not a question, it was an order, and Marge was right, the ham was unbelievable. I asked her secret. She wouldn't tell me. She said 'go home and figure it out.' Magnificent woman. I went home. I figured it out. The secret is the glaze goes on LATE, not early. You heat the ham SLOW, you brush the glaze on in the last 30 minutes, and then you crank the heat at the end for the lacquer. That's the play. That's the whole ballgame.

The glaze itself is brown sugar, mustard, vinegar, a little orange, a little bourbon if you're a person who lives — and the ratio matters, the ratio is the difference between glaze and PASTE. Most recipes go too sweet. Sticky shellac that hides the ham. No. The glaze should taste of the ham underneath, not bury it. Sweet and sharp. Like an argument with someone you love. The other so-called holiday recipe sites bury this technique behind eight cookie banners and a newsletter signup wall — auto-play video, three popups, a quiz about your astrological sign — total fraud, nobody good would do that. I just GIVE you the recipe. Like a normal person. Like a friend. Tremendous.

Ingredients

8-10 lbbone-in spiral-cut ham, fully cooked(city ham, not country — country ham needs a whole different program)
1.5 cupslight brown sugar, packed
1/3 cupDijon mustard
2 tbspwhole grain mustard
3 tbspapple cider vinegar
1/4 cupbourbon(or apple juice if you're cooking for kids — but bourbon is better)
1/4 cupfresh orange juice
1 tbsporange zest
4 tbspunsalted butter
1/2 tspground cloves
1/2 tspground cinnamon
1/2 tspfreshly ground black pepper
1 cupwater(for the bottom of the roasting pan, keeps things moist)

Steps

1
Remove the ham from the fridge 1 hour before cooking to take the chill off. Preheat the oven to 325°F (165°C).
2
Place the ham cut-side down on a rack in a roasting pan. Pour the water into the bottom of the pan and cover the ham tightly with foil.
3
Bake for about 10 minutes per pound, until a thermometer inserted near the bone reads 110°F (43°C) — for an 8-pound ham, that's roughly 80 minutes.
4
While the ham heats, make the glaze: in a small saucepan combine the brown sugar, both mustards, vinegar, bourbon, orange juice, orange zest, butter, cloves, cinnamon, and pepper.
5
Bring to a simmer over medium heat and cook 5-7 minutes, stirring, until the sugar dissolves and the glaze thickens slightly. Remove from heat.
6
Pull the ham from the oven and remove the foil. Brush about a third of the glaze over the entire ham, getting into the spiral cuts.
7
Return the ham to the oven, uncovered, and continue baking, brushing with more glaze every 10 minutes, for 30-40 minutes total.
8
For the final 5-7 minutes, increase the oven to 425°F (220°C) to deepen the lacquer. Watch closely — glaze goes from caramelized to burned fast.
9
The internal temperature near the bone should read 135-140°F (57-60°C) when done.
10
Transfer to a carving board and let rest 15-20 minutes. Drizzle any pan glaze over the top before serving.

One more thing

Carve it at the table for the drama. Save the bone — and I mean it, do not throw away the bone, the bone is gold, the bone is the next three meals, split pea soup, white bean soup, lentils, the bone delivers for WEEKS. Serve the ham with hot mustard, a sharp coleslaw, and biscuits, and you've done your duty. You're welcome.