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Brown Sugar Ham Glaze Recipe

Looking for a ham glaze that's the sticky balance between sweet and spices like cloves? If so, you'll want to give our brown sugar ham glaze recipe a try!

A good ham is usually seen on Easter, sometimes Thanksgiving, and Christmas.

I personally love having a big ham several times a year because they are affordable, easy to make, and you can do a ton with the leftovers.

I originally made this ham with brown sugar glaze back during Easter. Pretty much every year we'll have a nice spiral ham dinner with colcannon and homemade yeast rolls.

But, I think ham is awesome enough to have year-round instead of just at Easter and the holidays.

It's even wonderful grilled using this Brown Sugar Ham Glaze recipe!

Brown Sugar Ham Glaze Recipe | Whether it's for Easter brunch, Thanksgiving lunch or Christmas dinner, this ham glaze recipe is full of sticky flavor that you can enjoy all year long. Not only is this brown sugar ham glaze delicious, but it also gives your ham a beautiful sheen to really impress your guests.

 The skin on this glazed ham shank was so good we were practically fighting over it!

I love being able to get spiral hams and ham shanks at such great prices around Easter and the holidays.

I will often get an extra one or 2 to stick in the freezer as they are certainly cheaper than the ready-made ones you can buy at places like HoneyBaked Hams, as tasty as they may be.

I have to say, though, with a good ham glaze a home-cooked ham can be just as good, if not better!

Brown Sugar Ham Glaze Recipe | Whether it's for Easter brunch, Thanksgiving lunch or Christmas dinner, this ham glaze recipe is full of sticky flavor that you can enjoy all year long. Not only is this brown sugar ham glaze delicious, but it also gives your ham a beautiful sheen to really impress your guests.

I know many like to go to the trouble of all the cloves or pineapple with cherries bells and whistles, which certainly look beautiful. I just like a simple glaze that's slightly sweet and spiced.

Even though many hams now come with a glaze packet, I like making my own.

Another benefit I have found to ham glazes is that they can really help for those times we inevitably overcook at least part of the ham.

Just store any dry parts wrapped up in the leftover glaze, then, when ready to reheat, transfer the ham with glaze into a baking dish, adding just a touch of water if it's really thick, cover with foil, and bake.

This essentially fuses the wonderful glaze flavors into the ham while the steam will provide a moisture buff, resulting in delicious leftover ham that you'd never realize was originally dry!

Not that I would know from experience or anything... ;)

Brown Sugar Ham Glaze Recipe | Whether it's for Easter brunch, Thanksgiving lunch or Christmas dinner, this ham glaze recipe is full of sticky flavor that you can enjoy all year long. Not only is this brown sugar ham glaze delicious, but it also gives your ham a beautiful sheen to really impress your guests.

Scoring an unsliced ham will help the glaze flavor the meat and the skin to crisp up a bit.

This is our favorite brown sugar ham glaze recipe.

It's sticky and sweet from the brown sugar and honey while the vinegar provides a bit of tang and the flavor notes end with a slight spice.

While you can also cover the ham with the glaze and whole cloves or pineapples and cherries, I think the sheen from the glaze itself makes the ham look gorgeous.

This ham glaze recipe would be great on all sorts of ham types, but we usually get a spiral cut and make sure to get the glaze down in between the slices of the ham.

large ham partially sliced covered in the ham glaze and placed on a white platter

We've also recently really enjoyed getting a smoked shank cut, but they aren't usually sliced, so I suggest at least scoring it a bit so the glaze can seep down and really help flavor the meat.

If your shank has a nice portion of skin, the glaze will also help it turn into pig candy that's even better than using bacon.

It was so good Mr. Savvy and I were practically fighting over it. I've also made up the brown sugar ham glaze and thickened it slightly over low heat when cooking ham steaks for dinner.

Here's how to put it together.

Brown Sugar Ham Glaze Recipe | Whether it's for Easter brunch, Thanksgiving lunch or Christmas dinner, this ham glaze recipe is full of sticky flavor that you can enjoy all year long. Not only is this brown sugar ham glaze delicious, but it also gives your ham a beautiful sheen to really impress your guests.

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  • A whisk as this recipe takes some whisking to come together properly. I like this one because you can also use it in non-stick pans.
  • A roasting pan with rack. As you can see from the pictures I do often use a disposable pan because this glaze can get super sticky and I hate doing dishes. You can use a reusable roasting pan and line it with some foil for easier cleanup, too. I like using a rack either way so the ham isn't boiling in juices the whole time.
  • A basting or pastry brush. This glaze works best if you baste the ham at least a couple of times.
  • A good knife for slicing. Even if you use a spiral ham, you'll still need to do some slicing. Yes, this knife is inexpensive but does hold up very well.

Side Dishes to Serve With Ham

Glazed ham on a rack in a baking pan.

Brown Sugar Ham Glaze

Yield: Glaze for One Large Ham
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 5 minutes

This brown sugar ham glaze will turn any ham from drab to fab!

Ingredients

  • 1 cup (packed) brown sugar - you can use light or dark. I like dark because it's a bit deeper in flavor
  • 2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • ½ teaspoon yellow mustard (powdered or prepared)
  • ⅛ teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • ⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • ⅛ teaspoon ground cloves (skip if you're putting on whole cloves)
  • 3 Tablespoons white vinegar
  • ¼ cup honey
  • 1-3+ Tablespoons water (optional)

Instructions

  1. Whisk together the brown sugar, flour, mustard, spices, vinegar, and honey until thoroughly combined.
    If the glaze is too thick to brush on, thin it out with a tablespoon of water at a time until it is the desired consistency. If you thin it out too much, you can pour it into a pot over medium to medium-high heat and reduce until it thickens, stirring often, or add a bit more honey.
  2. *Spread or brush the glaze over the ham before putting it into the oven, being sure to get the glaze in between the slices or scores. I like to put the glaze on the ham, cover the pan with the ham in it loosely in foil so it won't burn, and then take the foil off the last 20 minutes or so, so the glaze can get nicely caramelized, basting with more glaze as needed.
  3. *See notes section below on cooking your ham.

Notes

I am often asked how long to cook the ham with this recipe, but the exact cooking time will depend on the type of ham and how large it is. The packaging for your ham will usually tell you how long your ham needs to cook, but for pre-cooked hams, it is usually at 325°F for 15 - 20 minutes per pound. I have never cooked a ham that wasn't pre-cooked so I have no advice there.

If I'm cooking a ham that will take 3 hours or more, I generally let the ham start baking for about an hour without the glaze, but covered in foil. After the first hour, I'll glaze the ham and cover in foil again, then baste with more glaze every 30 minutes. The last 20 - 30 minutes of baking time, I'll take off the foil so the glaze can caramelize a bit.

If your ham will take less than 3 hours, you can put the glaze on at the beginning, but still make sure to cover the ham in foil as this glaze will start burning if exposed to direct heat more than about 45 minutes - 1 hour.

Covering in foil also makes for a moist ham.

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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 1 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 343Total Fat: 0gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 0gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 34mgCarbohydrates: 87gFiber: 1gSugar: 74gProtein: 2g

Nutrition information may not be accurate. Nutrition information is calculated automatically by and provided by Nutritionix. Exact nutrition information depends on the specific ingredients, brands, and amounts you use.

Did you make this recipe?

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Don't forget to save your ham bone for some delicious split pea soup and check out these 15 ways to use leftover ham.

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Nancy Myers

Monday 5th of April 2021

Made this glaze for our ham, it was DELICIOUS!! I baked our ham in our convection oven, it was amazingly moist and had the right amount of carmelized glaze.

Michelle - Smart Savvy Living

Monday 5th of April 2021

@Nancy Myers, so glad you enjoyed it! Thanks so much for sharing how it turned out.

Melissa

Monday 31st of December 2018

I am not someone who usually cooks any holiday meals. Not because I don’t want to but because I’m not a very good cook. So when my mom said she wanted ham for New Years, that’s what we both set out to do. Long story short, I followed your entire post to a T and the ham was the most juiciest and most flavorful ham I’ve ever had. So thank you so much!!

Christinna

Thursday 21st of December 2017

Have you done this recipe with apple cider vinegar instead of white? I'm assuming it would just add to the sweet fruity flavor?

Smart Savvy Living

Saturday 23rd of December 2017

Hey Christinna,

Thanks for stopping by. I have not made this recipe with apple cider vinegar but I think it would be fine to use. Let me know how it turns out if you give it a try!

Carla

Thursday 24th of November 2016

Mrs. Savvy,

You are amazing! Thank you ever so much for sharing this recipe. I used it for my Thanksgiving ham today and it was a total success! My mom couldn't stop picking up pieces of ham every time she'd walk by the stove. My family raved about it! Even my cat was wowed! Thank you so much once again. This will be my go to ham glaze from now on. Please keep sharing your recipes.

Smart Savvy Living

Monday 28th of November 2016

Hi Carla,

Awesome! I'm so glad your family enjoyed it and thanks so much for coming back to let me know how it turned out.

Beth Jones

Tuesday 22nd of November 2016

Has anyone made it substituting corn starch for the flour to make it gluten-free?

Smart Savvy Living

Tuesday 22nd of November 2016

Hi Beth, thanks for stopping by. While I have not tried using corn starch before, I do think it would work. I do think you would have to heat it up on the stove before applying to the ham to get it to thicken properly, though. Let me know how it goes if you try it!

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