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Epicurious

Holiday Ham, Three Ways

Sliced glazed ham with diamond scoring pattern on a platter.
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, prop styling by Brian Heiser, food styling by Rhoda Boone

Here's a foolproof base recipe and three delicious ways to dress up your holiday ham. Don't forget to save the bone for a fabulous soup! And remember, if you're not feeding a huge crowd, you can easily halve this recipe for a smaller ham. If this is your first time making ham (or you need a refresher) see our guide to cooking ham for the holidays.

Recipe information

  • Total Time

    2 hours

  • Yield

    Serves 16-20

Ingredients

For the ham:

One 12-14-pound cured and smoked bone-in ham, preferably with a layer of fat

Choose Tangy Peach Mustard:

1

1/2 cups peach preserves

1

cup Dijon mustard (preferably country Dijon)

1

/2 cup cider vinegar

1

tablespoon fresh thyme leaves

4

medium shallots, finely chopped (about 1 1/3 cups)

Or choose Sweet and Spicy Jerk:

1

1/2 cups hot pepper jelly

3

/4 cup orange juice

3

tablespoons finely grated garlic

3

tablespoons finely grated ginger

3

tablespoons whole allspice, crushed

1

tablespoon cayenne pepper

Or choose Smoky BBQ Maple:

1

cup pure maple syrup

1

/4 cup smoked paprika

2

tablespoons ground cinnamon

2

tablespoons ground cumin

2

tablespoons garlic powder

2

tablespoons onion powder

2

tablespoons coarsely ground black pepper

For serving:

Biscuits or soft dinner rolls

Spicy Honey Mustard

Pickles

Special Equipment:

A roasting pan with rack

Need to make a substitution?

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Preheat oven to 350°F, with the rack in the lower third of oven. If your ham has a layer of fat, use a sharp paring knife to score the fat in a diamond crosshatch pattern, about 1 inch wide and 1/2 inch deep.

  2. For Tangy Peach Mustard Ham or Sweet and Spicy Jerk Ham:

    Step 2

    In a medium bowl, mix together the glaze ingredients of your choice. Brush all over ham (reserving some glaze for basting while cooking).

  3. For Smoky BBQ Ham:

    Step 3

    Brush the ham with maple syrup (reserving some syrup for basting while cooking). Combine the rest of the ingredients in a medium bowl, then rub all over ham, pressing into syrup to adhere.

  4. Step 4

    Position roasting rack in roasting pan; pour 2 cups water into pan and place prepared ham on rack. Cover pan with foil and bake 1 hour. Remove pan from oven, remove foil, and brush ham with reserved glaze or maple syrup. Increase the oven temperature to 400°F.

    Step 5

    Return ham to oven uncovered. Bake until glaze has caramelized and the ham's internal temp reads 135°F when an instant-read thermometer is inserted in the middle of the ham (avoiding bone), brushing with more glaze or syrup if desired, 40 minutes to 1 hour more.

    Step 6

    Let rest 10 minutes before carving. Serve with biscuits or rolls, mustard, and pickles.

  5. Do Ahead

    Step 7

    Glazes can be made up to 3 days in advance and refrigerated. Rub (without maple syrup) can be made up to 1 month in advance and kept at room temperature.

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