Glazed Baked Ham with Brown Sugar and Grainy Mustard

This gorgeous sticky baked glazed ham will sit beautifully on your Easter Dinner Table this year. It's coated with a sauce made of brown sugar, molasses, and grainy mustard. A touch of cinnamon, cloves, and fresh ginger enhance it as well. Not only does this main course dish give an impressive presentation, but the aroma emanating from your kitchen will also most definitely cause friends and family to congregate there.

Why I love this Glazed Ham from Scratch:

1. The flavor of the glaze is "out of this world" good. I'm really not just saying that because it's mine. The combination of ingredients that make up the sugary coating is a perfect balance of tastes.

2. It's one of the easiest main courses to prepare. Because the ham is already cooked, basically all you have to do is warm it up before you caramelize the glaze. All in all, it takes about 1 hour and 55 minutes to cook with very little involvement.

3. It can feed a crowd. Depending on the size of ham you choose, this ham could be served at a small intimate dinner party or a holiday celebration with the grandparents and all the cousins.

4. This ham is so impressive that it will "steal the show" as it sits on your table. The glaze when it caramelizes gives such a gorgeous brown glisten to the ham itself. You'll not want to slice into it because it's so pretty. But you will, because everyone around will be begging you to.

Ingredients for This Glazed Baked Ham

• Bone-In Shank or Butt Ham
• Dark Brown Sugar
• Mild Molasses
• Brandy
• Coarse Grainy Mustard
• Cinnamon
• Ground Cloves
• Garlic Cloves, minced
• Fresh Ginger, grated

How to Choose a perfect ham

When shopping for a ham consider how many guests you will be serving. One-half pound per person is what you are looking for. So if you are planning for 20 people, you will need a 10-pound ham. But if you want leftovers, which I can't imagine you won't, you'll want to go just a bit larger.

I chose a bone-in shank ham because it has so much flavor and is much easier to carve. Next time I may try a butt ham because they're a little more tender. The butt ham is from the upper part of the leg which gets less exercise.

I know many people go with a spiral ham, but my experience with a spiral ham is that it tends to be drier because it is already sliced when you purchase it. 

• Linger's Expert Tip: If you want a lot of flavors, go with a bone-in cut of meat. When the bone is heated the marrow (rich in fat and other amazing flavors) penetrates into the meat which creates a juicy and tasty end product.

Scoring the Ham

Scoring means making shallow crisscross cuts in the outer fatty portion of the ham to allow the glaze to penetrate the meat.

Start at the top of one side of the ham, using your knife, and cut diagonally down to the end of the other side. The cuts should be ⅓ to ½ inches deep. Continue cutting diagonal lines about one inch apart across the whole ham.

Next, using diagonal lines again with one inch apart, cut from the other direction. This gives a diamond-shaped pattern across the whole surface. It's not only for flavor but for a stunning presentation as well.

• Linger's Expert Tip: Use a sharp paring knife when scoring the ham. If your knife is dull, it will tear the ham and not give you the pretty diamond shape pattern that you're looking for.

How to Make a Glazed Baked Ham

Warming and "not" cooking is the Key

When you purchase this ham it's already fully cooked. Therefore the ease of preparing and warming it is incredibly simple. The main reason it goes into the oven is just to warm it. 

The following gives heating instructions on how long to cook this ham in the oven.

• Preheat the oven to 300°F. Place the cut side of the ham down into a shallow roasting pan (the fatty side up). You can add a little bit of water (maybe ¼ cup) but I didn't even do that because the juices of the fat kept the meat plenty moist.
• Cover the ham tightly with foil at this beginning warming stage. This helps prevent the meat from drying out.  It creates its own steam within the foil. Cook at this low temperature for about 10 minutes per pound. I had a nine-pound ham and I cooked it for 90 minutes.

Not to brag ... okay, maybe I will. I cooked mine just like I spelled it out above. Listen, it turned out absolutely perfect, tender, and juicy.

• Linger's Expert Tip: Be careful not to cook the ham too long or at too high a temperature - 300°F and 10 minutes per pound. This helps ensure the ham will not dry out.

How to Prepare the Glaze for this Baked Ham Recipe

The glaze, in my opinion, is what produces the enticing flavor and stunning presentation of this ham. The pungent flavor of the mustard, the sweetness from the sugar, the richness of molasses, the spicy tones of cinnamon and cloves, and the sweet but warm aspect of the ginger, all contribute to the depth of flavor in the glaze.

I've had a lot of hams with a lot of glazes in my lifetime, and this one tops all of them! 

An easy and quick glaze for this Baked Glazed Ham

There is nothing complicated about this glaze. Basically, you throw everything in a small pan, bring it to a low boil and simmer it for about 3 minutes. I told you this whole dish is so dang easy and with very little participation.

Please resist the temptation to tear open and use the glaze packet that comes with so many hams these days. There is really no comparison. 

At some point in the middle of cooking the ham, prepare the glaze. You want it to sit for some time, cooling a bit before it goes on the ham. It needs to be warm and runny enough to spread on the ham, but not too cool that it's hard to smooth out.

To begin with, spread ⅓ of the glaze over all of the ham. This will be the first round of glazing.

Turn the oven temperature up to 450°F. There's no need to cover the ham with foil again because what we want now is the glaze to caramelize. With the first round of glaze on the ham, cook it uncovered for 10 minutes. Pull it out of the oven and spread it with another third of the glaze. Back into the oven for another 10 minutes. Then the remaining glaze for another 10 minutes. This is a total of three glaze applications and 30 minutes.

• Linger's Expert Tip: Be careful when spreading the glaze on the baked glazed ham so that you don't tear up the meat. It's best if the glaze is still warm when applying it.

What Sides to Serve with This Glazed Baked Ham

My family's traditional side to serve with ham is either Scalloped Potatoes or Mashed Potatoes. Both of these are worthy to sit beside this holiday ham. Green Beans or even these Brussel Sprouts are such a nice complement of color to this amazing and yummy baked ham. 

What to do with Leftover Ham

Everybody loves leftover ham sandwiches. I have the perfect recipe for you. These Ham and Cheese Crescent Rolls.  Or my Chicken Cordon Bleu which is "out of this world" good. Other great leftovers ideas are ham and cheese omelets, ham salad, ham and bean soup, ham and egg breakfast sandwiches, ham pot pie, etc. The ideas are really endless. 

How to Reheat Ham so it doesn't dry out

Place the leftover ham in an oven-safe baking dish and cover it loosely with foil. Then place it in a 275°F preheated oven and reheat until it is warmed throughout. 

Succulent, delectable, sweet, and mustardy - this main course dish is over the top delicious!! I know everybody says, "you gotta try my recipe," but REALLY - you gotta try my recipe. With this as the centerpiece of your Easter dinner, it will for sure be a talking point among your family for weeks to come.

If you're looking for more Easter Main Course Recipes, check out the following:

Roasted Racks of Lamb with Apricot Mustard Glaze

Roasted Leg of Lamb with Tomatoes and Kalamata Olives

Fruit Stuffed Pork Loin with Peach Glaze

Herbed Crown Roast of Pork

Apricot Glazed Stuffed Cornish Hens

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