Brown Sugar Glazed Ham (An Easy Holiday Showstopper!)

Are you searching for the ultimate, stress-free holiday showstopper? A magnificent, jaw-dropping centerpiece for your Christmas or Thanksgiving table that is as impressive to behold as it is unbelievably delicious and easy to make? This incredible, 3-ingredient Classic Brown Sugar Glazed Ham is that perfect recipe. We’re talking an impossibly juicy and tender ham, with a beautiful, deep diamond-scored crust, all lacquered in a luscious, sticky, and perfectly simple glaze of rich brown sugar and sweet honey.

This isn’t just another holiday ham recipe; it’s your definitive guide to creating a truly unforgettable feast with minimal effort. We’ll show you the simple but crucial secrets to mastering this iconic centerpiece, from a flawless, multi-layered glaze to the perfect internal temperature for the juiciest ham of your life. This is a satisfying, soulful, and deeply impressive meal that is destined to become your new family tradition.

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Recipe Overview: The Ultimate Festive & Easy Holiday Main

What makes this Glazed Ham so spectacularly delicious is its incredible depth of flavor and its stunning, jewel-like presentation, all achieved with just a handful of ingredients. This recipe is a masterpiece of classic, festive cooking. The star of the show is a magnificent, fully-cooked, bone-in ham. The real magic happens with the luscious, from-scratch brown sugar-honey glaze. The ham is gently heated through and then lacquered in multiple stages with this beautiful glaze until it’s sticky, caramelized, and completely irresistible.

Metric	Time / Level
Total Time	4 hours (includes resting)
Active Prep Time	20 minutes
Difficulty Level	Easy
Servings	12-16

The Holiday Pantry: The Essential Ingredients

This iconic dish uses a handful of high-quality, classic ingredients to create its signature rich and savory-sweet flavor.

• The Ham (The Star of the Show!):
  • Fully-Cooked, Bone-in Ham: For the easiest preparation and the most flavorful, juicy result, it is essential to use a fully-cooked, bone-in “city” ham. This is the classic, brined ham you find in the refrigerated case at your grocery store. The bone adds incredible flavor and helps the meat stay wonderfully moist.
• The Glaze (The Sweet Secret!): A simple but perfect combination of sweet flavors.
  • Light Brown Sugar: The molasses in brown sugar provides a deep, rich, and caramel-like sweetness that is the heart of our glaze.
  • Honey: A classic clover honey adds a beautiful, floral sweetness and helps to create a wonderfully glossy, sticky crust.

The Glazing Masterclass: The Secret to a Perfect, Lacquered Crust

This recipe uses a simple but brilliant “three-stage” glazing process. Here’s why each step is so important:

1. Scoring is Key: The number one secret to a ham that is flavorful through and through is to score the fat cap. By cutting a beautiful diamond pattern into the fat, you are not only creating a stunning presentation but also dozens of channels for your delicious glaze to seep into, seasoning the meat from the inside out.
2. The “Low and Slow” Start: The initial, long bake at a low temperature ($350^{\circ}F$) while the ham is covered with foil is designed to gently and evenly heat your fully-cooked ham all the way through to the bone without drying it out.
3. Multiple Coats are Key: By brushing the glaze on in multiple, thin layers during the final stage of cooking, you are allowing each layer to caramelize and set. This is the secret that builds up that beautiful, thick, glossy, and deeply flavorful, lacquered crust without burning.
4. Rest, Rest, Rest!: You must let your finished ham rest for at least 15 minutes before you slice into it. This crucial, patient step allows the hot, delicious juices to relax and redistribute throughout the entire roast.

Step-by-Step to the Perfect Brown Sugar Glazed Ham

This elegant, festive meal is a joy to prepare.

Part 1: Prepare the Glaze and the Ham

Step 1: First, let your 10-pound ham sit at room temperature for about 1 hour. Preheat your oven to 350°F ($175^{\circ}C$). Place a shallow roasting rack inside a large roasting pan.

Step 2: Unwrap your ham and rinse it under cold water. Use a sharp knife to score the fat on the ham in a diamond pattern. Place the ham, cut-side down, on the rack in your roasting pan.

Step 3: To make the glaze, in a small saucepan, combine your 1 1/2 cups of packed light brown sugar and 1/2 cup of honey. Cook over a medium heat, stirring, until the sugar has dissolved and the glaze is smooth.

Part 2: The Low and Slow Bake and the Final Glaze

Step 1: Cover the ham with foil and bake for 1 hour and 40 minutes.

Step 2: After 1 hour and 40 minutes, pour your prepared brown sugar glaze over the ham. Continue to roast the ham, uncovered, for another 1 hour and 40 minutes, basting it at least twice with the delicious drippings that collect in the bottom of the roaster.

Step 3: You will know the ham is perfectly done when the glaze is shiny and the ham is heated through. For the juiciest ham, an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the meat (avoiding the bone) should register $140^{\circ}F$.

Step 4 (The Most Important Step!): Transfer the ham to a cutting board and let it rest for at least 15 minutes before you carve it.

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Storage and Leftover Ideas

• Storage: Store any leftover ham, well-wrapped, in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
• The Best Leftovers: Leftover glazed ham is a true holiday treasure! It makes the absolute best sandwiches, is fantastic diced up in an omelet or a frittata, and you can use the ham bone to make an incredible, flavorful split pea or a bean soup.

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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)