17 Best Ham Recipes for a Roasted, Glazed, and Spiral-Sliced Holiday
If you’re looking for the best ham recipes, you’ve come to the right place. There are many reasons to make a baked ham the centerpiece of your holiday table. Although an impressive and beautifully glazed bone-in ham might seem intimidating to prepare, it’s easy to make and often large enough to feed a whole family—not just for your holiday dinner, but for the whole week after too. (Pro tip: Make a majestic ham, then use the leftovers in sandwiches, pasta dinners, or even eggs Benedict for brunch. Check out our gallery of leftover ham recipes for more ideas.)
With just a little prep time, you can turn any ham—boneless or bone-in—into a showstopping meal. A sweet-tangy glaze will help cut through some of the pork’s saltiness. Although pineapple glazes are popular, a honey mustard or brown sugar glaze is delicious too. Below you’ll find Epi’s best ham recipes and our favorite glaze recipes, along with some tips and tricks on buying and baking hams.
With the exception of fresh ham, which is available at butchers, ham is typically cured with a dry rub or a wet brine, which preserves the meat and helps it develop more flavor as it sits. In the United Kingdom, gammon refers to ham that’s been cured like bacon but is uncooked. In the United States, there are city hams and country hams.
City hams are cured with a wet brine, usually smoked, and sold ready to eat. They are typically sold bone-in, although boneless options are available. Country hams are hand-rubbed with salt and hung to dry, and, like gammon, sold raw.
Whole hams—the entire hind leg of a pig—are available for purchase; however, a half-ham can easily feed up to 14 people. To help you determine what size ham to cook, consider these basic guidelines: For bone-in hams, count on serving two to three people per pound; for boneless, four to five people per pound.
Preparing ham is an easy and straightforward process, and you probably have everything you need to make a holiday ham. We recommend using a heavy-duty roasting pan, preferably one with sturdy handles for safe maneuvering in and out of the oven. You’ll also need a meat thermometer to check the internal temperature of the ham and a brush to apply the glaze. Last but not least, a sharp knife and cutting board are essential for carving a baked ham.
According to Pamela Johnson, director of consumer communications for the National Pork Board, most hams are “fairly well trimmed,” so it’s unlikely you’ll need to do any serious butchering. You want a ⅛- to ¼-inch-thick layer of fat, but if your ham has excess fat and a tough rind, you should use a sharp knife to remove it.
For the most flavorful ham, score the fat in a diamond pattern, which allows glaze and seasonings to better penetrate the ham. To keep your ham from drying out, cook it with the cut side down in the roasting pan. Most recipes also call for adding at least a small amount of water to the bottom of the pan to prevent the juices or any glaze from burning when it hits the hot pan.
If you’ve purchased a fully cooked ham that’s ready to eat, you could serve it cold. But glazing and warming it will greatly improve the flavor. A fully cooked ham should have an internal temperature of 140ºF when reheated. If you’re using fresh ham and looking for a medium-rare interior, you’ll want a temperature of 145ºF. If you’d like it to be more medium, allow the interior to reach a temperature of 160ºF.
As with all large cuts, it’s important to give the meat a brief rest so that the juices can redistribute. The National Pork Board advises a minimum three-minute rest before carving and recommends slicing as you need it so the meat doesn’t dry out.
Ham is great for feeding the whole family the week after the holidays. Turn your leftover ham into a breakfast casserole the next day or an easy weeknight dinner like ham salad, cheesy ham toast, or pasta. If you still have ham after that, you can always freeze the pork and turn it into comforting ham soup or chowder.
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Prop Styling by Beatrice Chastka, Food Styling by Anna Billingskog1/17Brown Sugar–Mustard Glazed Ham
For an easy main dish that's perfect for the holidays, score the fat of your ham in a diamond pattern, then brush it with a simple glaze made with Dijon mustard, brown sugar, honey, and apple cider. Whether you're making it as a Christmas ham or an Easter ham, it's one of our best ham recipes and will surely impress everyone.
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Photo by Alex Lau, Prop Styling by Kalen Kaminski, Food Styling by Rebecca Jurkevich4/17Pineapple-Glazed Ham
If you're looking for a holiday ham with classic flavors and a retro vibe, this glazed ham recipe is perfect for you. Brushed with a glaze of brown sugar, pineapple juice, apple cider vinegar, and hot sauce, this baked ham is sweet, tangy, and just a little spicy. For the best results, allow your ham to rest for 30 minutes to an hour.
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5/17Smoked Ham with Sweet Country Mustard Sauce
No time to cook a main dish this year? Not to worry. Purchase a cooked smoked ham, and serve it with a simple Dijon mustard and brown sugar sauce. Pair it with scalloped potatoes or mashed potatoes; you can't go wrong with either.
Photo by Johnny Miller6/17Spiral Ham in the Slow Cooker or Crockpot
If your oven is occupied with scalloped potatoes, roast veggies, or holiday baking, then the slow cooker is your answer. After a few hours in the slow cooker, this spiral ham becomes incredibly tender and practically falls off the bone. Maple syrup, brown sugar, and cider vinegar come together for a tangy sauce that goes wonderfully with root vegetables.
Lara Ferroni9/17Glazed Ham
For a ham recipe that feels like a party, make a ham glaze with orange juice, bourbon, brown sugar, and apple jelly that's spiced with cloves, allspice, and ginger. If you don't have apple jelly, apricot jam can be used in a pinch. The leftovers make for an excellent breakfast casserole, not to mention ham sandwiches.
Cedric Angeles10/17Holiday Ham with Riesling and Mustard
Open a bottle of wine, pour yourself a glass, then use the rest to make this festive holiday ham, which calls for a cured and smoked bone-in ham. For an incredibly flavorful glazed ham, blend sautéed shallots, thyme, Riesling, whole-grain mustard, and honey together. Reserve the juices left in the roasting pan for serving alongside the ham and side dishes.
Photo by Chris Court, Benjamin Dearnley, William Meppem, Con Poulos, Anson Smart11/17Spiced Pomegranate and Orange Glazed Ham
To make this stunning and delicious holiday ham, arrange thinly sliced oranges over a bone-in ham hock, then brush it with spiced glaze made with cinnamon, star anise, orange juice, light brown sugar, pomegranate molasses, and honey. Ask your butcher for a pre-cooked ham, which will take just 40 minutes to heat up in the oven.
Sivan Lewin13/17Honey-and-Rye-Glazed Ham
This flavorful ham glaze is made with rye whiskey, honey, molasses, and crushed red pepper, but the recipe also offers three variations. You could go for the Holiday Spirit, which is made with orange marmalade, rum, and spiced with cloves; the Hot and Tangy, which gets sweetness from maple syrup, apple cider vinegar, and spice from prepared hot mustard; or the Sweet and Spiced, which has apricot jam, orange juice, and herbaceous fennel seeds.
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, prop styling by Brian Heiser, food styling by Rhoda Boone16/17Holiday Ham, Three Ways
Ditte Isager17/17Roasted Fresh Ham with Citrus and Rye
For a fun holiday project, buy a fresh ham and cure it with salt, sage, orange zest, and red pepper flakes. Let it sit for four days, then cook it low and slow until it becomes tender. Towards the end of cooking, increase your oven temperature for crispy cracklings. It's one of our best ham recipes, and sure to be a hit.
