One of my favorite meals is this Baked Ham with Bourbon-Chili Glaze. Succulent, a bit smoky, and lightly sweet, this is a more delicious version of a spiral cut ham at a better price. What’s not to love!
When I was growing up, my mother’s favorite meal to make for company was baked ham and it was our standard Easter dinner every year until I left home. We would roast it in the oven for hours, basting it with brown sugar and studding the top with pineapple rings, Maraschino cherries, and whole cloves. The house would fill with the aroma and we couldn’t wait for dinner!
This year I wanted to recreate that memory for my family’s Easter dinner, but to put my own creative spin on it. I decided to cook it with a sweet bourbon-chile glaze. It turned out a little like a honey-glazed ham, but oh so much better!
My half ham ready for the oven!
You don’t have to buy an expensive piece of meat to feed a crowd. You can buy a reasonably priced ham at your local grocery or warehouse store and make a meal that I would gladly serve to anyone. Full of incredible flavor, moist and tender, this is great for large parties or if you really love leftovers.
The beauty of making a ham is that you spend a little bit of time up front prepping it and then it roasts slowly, becoming tender and perfectly glazed. And once you’ve served your main meal, the leftovers are fantastic. I love ham and eggs at breakfast, ham sandwiches for lunch or dinner, and ham used in casseroles. My mom would feed our whole family for an entire weekend with one large ham.
Bowl of the bourbon-chile glaze
While the ease of carving a boneless ham may be appealing, whenever possible buy bone-in meats. The bones give a tremendous amount of flavor to anything you are making and can be used afterwards to create soups, other dishes or stock for future meals. And when you wrap it with the double layer of foil for roasting, clean up is a snap!
I love this glaze. Whatever you don’t use to brush on the ham while baking, put in a saucepan and boil to reduce. Then you can use it for a sauce to drizzle over the ham slices at the table. You can also use it to help keep carved ham moist – I always store any cooked meats with the pan juices. It really helps when you are reheating meals for the next day. It actually does triple duty … as a glaze during baking, as a sauce for serving, and keeping leftovers moist. Talk about a winner!
Glaze on ham
If you are only serving a couple of people, you can use the same glaze on thick slices of boneless ham. Make half the recipe for the glaze, put it in a saucepan over medium-low heat and reduce to about half the original volume, stirring often, until it coats the back of a spoon. Then place the ham slices in a single layer in a baking pan and pour the glaze over the top. Seal the pan with aluminum foil or a tight fitting lid and bake in a 350°F oven for about 20 minutes until heated through. You can do this a day in advance, leave the ham slices in the glazing liquid, refrigerate, covered, overnight and reheat gently the following day.
When this was roasting in the oven, The Artist kept coming downstairs from his home office, asking when the ham was going to be done – this went on for hours, LOL! Finally, I was able to tell him, yes, we can carve it and have dinner. The smile on his face was worth the wait!
If you are looking to make a ham for your Easter dinner or like my mom, for visiting weekend guests, give this Baked Ham with Bourbon-Chile Glaze a try. All the components come together quickly and can be made the day before if needed. The oven does most of the work for you, giving you time to focus on preparing the rest of your meal.
Have a fabulous celebration – Cheers!
Key Ingredients for Baked Ham with Bourbon-Chili Glaze:
- Bone-in ham, onion powder, minced garlic, red chile flakes
- Rosemary, paprika black pepper, olive oil, brown sugar
- Pineapple juice, orange juice, honey, bourbon, honey mustard,
- Red chile flakes, garlic, kosher salt
How do I carve a ham?
If you buy your ham from a butcher you can ask them for directions on how to carve it off the bone. If you buy yours from the grocers, here is a link to a site that can help you. Use your largest, sharpest chef’s knife for the best results and let the bones guide your cuts. If you prefer to watch a video, look here.
PRO Tip:
Thoroughly lining your baking pan with foil makes clean-up much easier! If you make the pieces long enough, you can use them to partially wrap the ham.
How to make Baked Ham with Bourbon-Chili Glaze:
- Pat ham dry and place in foil-lined baking pan; combine the seasoning ingredients and rub the paste over entire ham
- Wrap ham in foil and leave at room temperature 1 hour to warm up
- Make the glaze by whisking all the ingredients in a small saucepan, use a little of the glaze with the brown sugar to create a paste that pours like honey
- Cook the ham for 1 hour at 275°F; uncover and baste with a little of the remaining glaze, recover with foil and cook 20 minutes per pound basting lightly every half hour
- When a thermometer hits 120°F to 125°F brush the top and sides of the ham with the reserved brown sugar mixture; return to the oven, uncovered, and cook to 130°F to 140°F
- Remove from the oven and set aside to rest for at least 30 minutes; carve into slices and serve with reduced glaze
Recommended Tools (affiliate links; no extra cost to you):
- Chef’s knife
- Large cutting board
- Small saucepan
- Basting brush
- Instant read thermometer
- Large kitchen forks
- Carving knife
Gluten-Free Tips:
Many hams are injected with liquids to help keep them moist or come with a glaze packet. You need to be careful that there are no gluten-ingredients in either, especially in the treatment of less expensive hams. Spiral cut hams may be more likely to have extra injections or glazes. Here is an article with more information on how to find a gluten-free ham.
Baked Ham with Bourbon-Chile Glaze (GF)
One of my favorite meals is this Baked Ham with Bourbon-Chile Glaze. Succulent, a bit smoky, and lightly sweetened, this is a more delicious version of a spiral cut ham at a better price.
Ingredients
Ham
- 7 to 9 lb pre-cooked bone-in ham (be careful to get one that is gluten-free if needed)
- 2 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp minced garlic
- 1 tsp red chili flakes, optional
- 1 tsp dried rosemary leaves
- 2 tsp paprika
- 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 cup (200 g) firmly packed brown sugar
Glaze
- 1/2 cup pineapple juice
- 1/2 cup orange juice
- 2 tbsp honey
- 1/4 cup bourbon (or more juice for alcohol-free) see *Note for gluten-free option
- 2 tbsp honey mustard
- 2 tsp red chili flakes, optional
- 1 tsp minced garlic
- Kosher or sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Prepare the Ham: Line the bottom of a large roasting pan with heavy-duty aluminum foil. I like to set one long sheet lengthwise and then two long sheets overlapping going the opposite direction. This covers my pan completely and gives me plenty of foil to pull up over the ham. Remove ham from the refrigerator, pat dry with paper towels and set cut side down (if a half ham) in the foil-lined roasting pan. Alternately, you can use an oven bag specifically designed for roasting meats in place of the foil. Both methods make clean up much easier.
- In a small bowl combine the onion powder, garlic, chili flakes, rosemary, paprika, salt, pepper, brown sugar and olive oil. Whisk until you have a smooth paste. Rub the paste over the entire ham. Wrap the foil around the ham to hold in the steam. This protects the ham and keeps it moist. If the foil doesn’t completely cover the ham, you can drape another piece of foil over the top, pressing the foil around the ham. Leave ham at room temperature for 1 hour to come to room temperature.
- Make the Glaze: In a small saucepan, combine all the glaze ingredients, whisking until smooth. Heat over medium-low heat, stirring often, until mixture is warmed through and blended. Reduce heat to lowest setting; stir occasionally.
- Place the brown sugar in a bowl and add 3 to 4 tbsp of the glaze. Whisk until sugar has been dissolved. Add just enough liquid to make a paste about the consistency of honey. Set aside.
- Cook the Ham: Set a rack in the lower third of the oven (make sure there is enough room to comfortably hold the ham) and preheat to 275°F. Place the ham in the oven and cook for 1 hour.
- Uncover the ham and baste with a little of the glaze (3 to 4 tbsp). Close the lid/cover with foil and cook for 20 minutes per pound or about 1 to 2 more hours, basting lightly with glaze (3 to 4 tbsp each time) about every 20 to 30 minutes. My 9 lb ham took nearly 3 hours total baking time.
- When an instant read thermometer inserted deep in the ham without touching the bone registers 120°F to 125°F, brush the brown sugar mixture over top of ham, covering most of it. Leaving the ham uncovered, place back in the oven and cook until it reaches an internal temperature of 130°F to 140°F, creating a sweet crust on the outside.
- Remove from the oven and let sit for at least 30 minutes before removing from the roasting pan and carving.
- To Carve: Using two very strong kitchen forks, carefully move the ham to a cutting board, flat-side down and tent with foil to rest. If the ham is round with no straight edge, cut a couple of slices off one side to create a flat surface before carving.
- Transfer the liquids from the baking pan to a container. Pour half of the pan juices into a small saucepan and heat over medium heat until reduced enough to coat the back of a spoon. Keep warm until ready for serving.
- Carve the ham into slices, following these directions, working your way around the bone. Pour some of the reduced glaze over the ham slices and serve.
- Store any leftover ham in the reserved pan juices, covered, in the refrigerator or freezer. Store the bone separately and use it to make soup or stock.
Notes
*NOTE: While distilled alcohols are gluten-free, some people may react to darker spirits, often colored with caramel coloring that may have gluten in it. If you are cooking for someone who is highly reactive or has celiac, use 1/4 cup potato vodka plus 1 tbsp brown sugar to approximate the flavor of bourbon.
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cheri
I don’t usually use any type of glaze on ham but after seeing this, I think it’s time to reconsider. Love the combination!
Jane Bonacci
Hey Cheri – I hope you do give this a try. Such a great combination of flavors and the balance of sweet and salty is perfect!