Ham Roast With Brown Sugar Glaze

This Ham Roast With Brown Sugar Glaze is always a family favorite! Baked with juicy pineapple rings and cherries, it’s the perfect meal for holiday entertaining or just a simple Sunday dinner.

If you’ve ever had a Honey Baked Ham, you know exactly what the fuss is about because they are scrumptious! They’re the main attraction on most holiday dinner tables, but have you checked out those prices lately!? No worries, with this super easy recipe, you can skip the long lines and insane prices and have a homemade glazed ham that is even better than the ones you can buy!

Pineapple juice, honey and brown sugar all work together to create that signature glaze you’re looking for. The glaze is brushed over the juicy ham as it bakes, basting it the with most wonderful, sweet and tangy flavors. The end result is an out of this world delicious ham everyone will rave over! Plus baking it in our own kitchen makes the house smell absolutely divine!

Ham is such a versatile main course that you can serve it just about any simple dish. From maple glazed carrots to something as easy as sauteed green beans, you just can’t go wrong. Around the winter holidays, we love to serve it with a simple side of Roasted Potatoes and Veggies and these amazing Roasted Sweet Potato Slices.

Recommended Tools

• Large shallow roasting pan
• Serving platter
• Basting brush
• Saucepan
• Measuring cup

What Needed to Make this Glazed Ham Recipe

• 4-6 pound ham (we used a shank end spiral cut ham)
• Pineapple rings
• Maraschino cherries
• Honey
• Brown sugar
• Reserved pineapple juice

How to Make the Best Ham with Sweet Glaze

Step 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Step 2. On a cutting board, cover the surface of the ham with pineapple slices using toothpicks to secure.

Step 3. Add cherries to middle of slices.

Step 4. Place ham in a baking dish or rimmed roasting tray with 1 cup water.

Step 5. Cover with aluminum foil and place in oven for 45 minutes.

Step 6. In a medium saucepan, combine the brown sugar, honey and pineapple juice.

Step 7. Cook over medium heat until the sugar dissolves and mixture thickens a little.

Step 8. After 45 minutes in the oven, uncover it and begin basting the out layer with brown sugar ham glaze. Brush over the outside of the ham.

Step 9. Cook for another 10 minutes and repeat 3 times or until the pineapple begins to brown and the internal temperature of the ham is 145 degrees.

Step 10. Once satisfied, remove ham from the oven, brush the top of the ham with the honey glaze again then let sit for 10 minutes, transfer to a serving platter and serve hot.

How Much Baked Ham Do I Need Per Person?

When feeding a crowd, you’ll need to take into consideration the size of the ham you’ll need. For boneless, you should figure that each person will eat about 1/3-1/2 pound of ham.

If you’re cooking a bone-in ham, you’ll need to account for the large bone that’s making up a good bit of weight in the total you see printed on the label. As a general rule, you’ll pick a ham that is based on 3/4 to 1 pound of ham per person.

What Type of Ham Can I Use?

One of the things you may notice is there are a lot of choices when deciding on the kind of types of ham to buy.

The great news about this recipe is that because it’s so versatile, you can use just about any cut of ham you can find on sale. The most popular choice is a spiral-cut ham shank end roast, but you can also use a whole ham or half ham. Keep in mind the cooking time will depend on the weight, which is about 10-12 minutes per pound.

You can also choose from a bone-in or boneless ham. If you use a bone-in ham, be sure and save the ham bone to add to your soup and stew recipes.

Storing and Reheating Baked Ham FAQs

How Long Cooked Ham Last the Fridge?

To make sure the ham keeps its moisture, keep it wrapped well in foil when not serving it. Once it has reached room temperature, place leftovers in the fridge for up to 3-4 days.

Can I Freeze Baked Ham?

Absolutely! Let the cooked ham cool until it’s room temperature. The best way to freeze ham without risking freezer burn is to wrap the ham in a double layer of plastic wrap then a layer of foil before placing it in the freezer.  For best results, frozen ham should be reheated and eaten within a couple of months.

How to I Reheat Ham Without it Drying Out?

To reheat thawed or refrigerated ham in the microwave, place damp paper towels on top of it and reheat on medium level just until warmed through.

To reheat larger portions in the oven, just make sure there is liquid in the baking dish and that you cover the dish well with foil. Reheat in 350 degrees F until it’s nice and warm.

What’s the Difference in City Ham and Country Ham?

If you have every ordered ham off a menu at a restaurant, you may see it referred to as “city ham” or country ham.” Believe it not, there is quite a bit of difference in the way they are prepared.

City hams are wet-cured and are usually what you will see in the grocery store. City hams are typically smoked so all you have to do is cook it with medium to low heat until it is warmed up all the way through.

Country hams are dry-cured with a very salty taste and drier texture. Because they are preserved and require no cooking you can just slice some off and eat it the way it is.

Can I Make Glazed Ham in the Slow Cooker?

You sure can, though it cooks true to its name…slow! If time is not a factor, then all you have to do it stud the ham with pineapple slices and cherries, just like you do a traditional ham, brush with a little of the glaze and cook it for about 4 hours on slow. Leave the lid on it until about 30 minutes before it’s done, then lift it and give the ham another brush with the glaze.

Variations and Add-ins

• Tanginess: For the tangy flavor in the glaze, next time, try using orange juice instead of pineapple juice.
• Sweetness: Instead of honey, you can use sweet and sticky maple syrup. I would not recommend omitting the brown sugar. It’s just hard to replace it with anything else.
• Other Flavors: If you want a bit more of a savory flavor to the glaze, add about tablespoon of Dijon mustard to the other glaze ingredients. It goes really well with the flavors in the natural juices of the ham. For even more extra flavor, you can add a little dash of cinnamon and ground cloves to the glaze.

Another alternative is to try this recipe with a little ham gravy on the side!

Looking for more holiday dinner ideas? Try this delicious Smoked Prime Rib or Easy Homemade Lasagna.

Want More Delicious Recipes for Dinner?

• Shake and Bake Pork Chops
• Grilled Chicken Kabobs
• Bacon Wrapped Meatloaf
• Honey Garlic Chicken
• Parmesan Crusted Chicken with Mayo