All of our important national and religious holidays are associated with traditional meals, many featuring our favorite family recipes.
Turkey at Thanksgiving with our favorite stuffing recipes and sides, Roast Beef (or even Goose?) at Christmas, Corned Beef on St. Patrick’s Day, and Hot Dogs, Burgers and Steaks on Memorial Day, Labor Day, 4th of July and Father’s Day.
On Easter, the 2 meal favorites are Lamb, and Ham.
The 2 most popular ham choices are purchasing one of the popular brands of Honey Glazed Spiral Sliced Hams, or, a whole (bone-in or boneless) cured and or cured and smoked spiral sliced or unsliced hams, in which case, you can apply your own, special glaze instead.
Both ham types are fully cooked, and if you choose to serve them hot, only need to be reheated in your oven to an internal temperature of 140 F before serving.
The typical Honey Glazed Ham comes wrapped in foil to make reheating simple. And most brands have easy to follow instructions to do so.
Baking a self-glazed ham is also rather simple.
If your ham is unsliced, score the ham ¼” deep, in a diagonal crisscross pattern across the top and sides. This will help the glaze to have a place to stick and add that special flavor to your ham.
Place the ham on a roasting rack nested in a roasting pan, place a small amount of water in the bottom of the roasting pan (or help create some steam), then cover the pan with aluminum foil and place in a 350 F to 375 F oven for about 1 ½ to 2 hours (depending on the size of your ham).
When the ham reaches an internal temperature of 120 F is when you remove the foil, and begin a series of bastings, spaced about 20 minutes apart, using about 1/3 of a cup of sauce each basting.
Continue basting until the ham reaches 140 F internal temperature.
At this point, you can either remove your ham from the oven and ready it for serving OR, leave it in the oven a moment longer while you turn on your broiler setting and give your glaze one last basting while it caramelizes just a bit.
*Caution. Be sure your broiler element is at LEAST 6 inches or more above the top of you ham to prevent the glaze from instantly burning.
Below, we have 3 the most popular Ham Glazes styles. Just combine each recipe’s ingredients in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer while stirring. Once all the ingredients are dissolved together and thoroughly mixed, remove it from the heat and set it aside until you’re ready to baste.
Sweet & Sour Pineapple
¾ cup Light Brown Sugar
1/3 cup Canned Pineapple Juice
¼ Cup Smooth Dijon Mustard
1 tablespoon Maraschino Cherry Juice (Or Grenadine Syrup)
1 teaspoon Grated Fresh Garlic
1 teaspoon Minced Fresh Ginger
Maple Bourbon with Sweet Spices
1 cup Pure Maple Syrup (Pure…is essential)
½ cup Light Brown Sugar
1 tablespoon Unsulfured Molasses
½ cup Bourbon or Whiskey
½ teaspoon Grated Fresh Ginger
¼ teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
Honey Mustard
½ cup Whole Grain Mustard
¼ cup Yellow Salad Mustard
1/3 cup Honey
1/3 cup Light Brown Sugar
1/4 cup Apple Juice or even better Apple Cider
2 tablespoons Balsamic Vinegar
¼ teaspoon Ground Black Pepper
