Brown Sugar Glazed Ham Recipe

4.67 from 36 votes

A whole ham, baked and brushed with the sweetest, tangiest glaze, makes this juicy, tender, and delicious ham your family craves for the holidays.

Cook Time2 30

Total Time2 30

Course: Dinner

Cuisine: American

Servings: people

Preheat oven to 325°F.
Place the ham on a cutting board. Score the ham by using a sharp knife to cut parallel lines about ½-inch deep and 1 inch apart across the entire ham. Turn the ham, and then repeat this process, cutting lines across the previous lines to create small diamond shapes.
14-16 lb. bone-in ham
Place the ham, flat side down, in a roasting pan. Pour 3 cups of water into the pan. Cover with foil. The ham should cook for about 12 minutes per pound.
3 cups water
After 1 hour, prepare the glaze. Add the brown sugar, honey, dijon mustard, butter, apple cider vinegar, garlic, cinnamon, and ginger to a saucepan over medium heat. Once it starts bubbling, turn down the heat to low and continue cooking for a couple more minutes. The glaze may seem runny at first, but that’s okay. It will thicken up as it sits.
1 cup brown sugar, ½ cup honey, ⅓ cup Dijon mustard, ¼ cup unsalted butter, ¼ cup apple cider vinegar, 3 cloves garlic, ¼ tsp ground cinnamon, ¼ tsp ground ginger
Remove the ham from the oven and spread ⅓ of the glaze over the ham and return to the oven without the foil. Continue cooking for another hour.
Remove the ham from the oven again, and spread another ⅓ of the glaze over the ham. Cook for the remaining time based the weight of your ham.
Remove the ham from the oven and spread the remaining glaze over the ham.
Let the ham rest for at least 15 minutes before carving.

A whole ham (10–16 pounds) is ideal for large gatherings; half hams work great for smaller families.
Boneless or pre-cooked hams may need slightly different cook times—check your label or a ham cooking guide for accuracy.
The glaze will look thin while simmering, but don’t worry—it thickens as it cools and coats the ham perfectly.
Add a splash of orange juice or apple cider to the glaze for a hint of brightness.
If the glaze darkens too quickly near the end, loosely tent the ham with foil to prevent burning.