How To Make A Honey Orange Ham Glaze (2024)

Honey baked hams are delicious and are super popular at the holidays like Christmas, Easter, Thanksgiving and other special occasions and this honey orange ham glaze is always a hit. A large ham makes a big feast on a holiday table, and will practically cook itself freeing you up to make your favorite sides.

I never was one to be excited when a ham was placed on the table for Easter dinner as a kid. I was always staring down the sides!

But now that I’ve learned as an adult how to give a ham the right sticky glaze? The whole family is excited when we make baked ham at home.

Hams make for an impressive feast for any holiday or celebration. Don’t be intimidated by all the choices, making an easy ham isn’t too hard overall. They are already cooked so we are just heating our ham and adding a glaze.

The trick is planning your cooking time by weight so your ham is juicy but doesn’t dry out.

But the glaze… that delicious sauce is where it’s really at! Don’t skip the glaze, it’s one of the best ways to make a ham! It’s worth the extra effort to make a juicy ham.

Ingredients For The Ham Glaze

Here are the ingredients you need to make your ham glaze and a super tasty holiday ham!

• Ham, I like a spiral cutbone in ham, but see below to pick the right ham for your family.
• Brown Sugar–needed for that brown sugar glaze taste, white sugar doesn’t taste the same.
• Honey– I used a darker honey for my honey ham glaze because it gives it more molasses type flavor, but any honey works
• Orange Juice
• Ground Cinnamon
• Ground Cloves– These areoptional but does balance the sweetness in the glaze a bit, see my tips below of other spices you can also substitute, and more details about studding your ham with cloves.
• Water

A good roasting pan is really handy, especially one with a rack. Lining the bottom of the pan with aluminum foil helps a lot with cleanup as the glaze can become quite hard on the pan after cooking your honey glazed ham.

Should I Buy A Ham With Or Without The Bone?

A bone-in ham will always be more flavorful than a ham without the bone. That bone just helps the ham to be juicier and packed full of flavor. But a bone-in ham can also be harder to carve because of the bone.

You can make this recipe with a bone in, bone out ham steaks or spiral cut ham.

I usually opt for a spiral cut ham. It has the fresh flavor of a bone in ham, but with the spiral cut is much easier to slice.

What is a spiral ham?

A spiral ham is a ham that is cut by the butcher in a spiral shape into very thin slices, making it really easy to serve. Spiral hams can sometimes be boneless, but usually are hams that have the bone still inside that gives the ham an extra flavor after curing.

The butcher cuts the ham ahead of time into the spiral shape, which gives you clear cutting lines when you’re carving and serving. This makes it much easier to serve a spiral cut ham than a regular bone-in ham because most of the cutting is done by the butcher.

How To Pick A Ham? How Much Ham Do I Need?

When picking a ham, I usually count on a pound of ham feeding two people. So expect an 8-pound ham will easily feed 16 people or more assuming you are making other sides too.

I also try to look for hams that on the ingredients just say ham. If water or other additives are included in your ham, it will affect the flavor.

If you’re still not sure what kind of ham to buy for your table, check out this guide to buying a holiday ham.

How Long Do I Cook A Ham

The amount of time you need to cook your ham will depend on how big of a ham you have, and if it is bone-in or out.

How Long To Cook A Bone In Or Spiral Ham

Expect to cook the ham for 12-15 minutes per pound. Most larger hams weigh between 8-11 pounds. The ham needs to be cooked until it is about 145 degrees inside.

• 8 pounds- Between 1 hour 36 minutes and 2 hours
• 9 pounds– Between 1 hour 48 minutes and 2 hours 15 minutes
• 10 pounds– Between 2 hours and 2 hours 30 minutes
• 11 pounds– Between 2 hours 12 minutes and 2 hours 45 minutes

You can remove the ham from the oven when the inside reaches 140 degrees as the ham will continue to cook while resting. Rest the ham for at least 20 minutes before serving.

I recommend checking your ham at the lower time first to avoid drying out the meat. You can also check when basting your ham.

How Long To Cook A Boneless Ham

Expect to cook a boneless ham for about 20 minutes per pound whether you are cooking a full boneless ham or ham steaks. Most boneless hams are 6-8 pounds.

Can I Use Ham Steaks?

Ham Steaks Glaze

For 2-4 ham steaks I use:

• 2 tablespoons water
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons orange juice
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon cloves

Are Hams Fully Cooked?

Yes, fully cooked hams are what is sold in the stores. Cooking, smoking and preserving the ham is part of the process that the butcher takes care of. Warming a large ham does take a little more care than reheating your leftovers from dinner last night.

I find a spiral ham at the holidays can be a great crowd-pleasing option. Spiral hams are also great for new cooks who may be worried that a large turkey or roasted pork loin may not cook all the way through in time for the feast.

How Long Should A Ham Sit On The Counter Before Cooking It?

Your ham should sit on the counter at room temperature for about 2 hours for larger bone-in hams, and closer to 1 hour for boneless hams.

If you take the ham straight from the refrigerator to the warm oven, the temperature difference can be a bit of a shock and cause the ham to cook unevenly. Allowing the ham to sit on the counter for a little while helps to ensure it is cooked evenly.

Why To Use A Ham Glaze

There are two main reasons to add a glaze to a large holiday ham.

• The glaze helps keep the meat juicy– The glaze will add moisture to your ham, helping it to stay juicy while it warms in the oven. The thin pre-cut slices of a spiral cut ham can easily dry out without a glaze.
• The flavor of the glaze does enhance the flavor of the ham– That sticky glaze tastes so good on a ham, and just makes the flavor taste amazing! Sticky, slightly sweet, and cozy, a glaze makes your ham feel and taste extra special. It’s one of the reasons why Honeybaked Hams are so popular at the holidays!

If you prefer the glaze on the ham to be crispier on the outside instead of just sticky and sweet, try this. Raise the temperature on the oven to 400 degrees for the last fifteen to twenty minutes and cook the ham in the oven uncovered.

What Can I Use Instead of Cloves For This Ham Sauce Recipe?

If you need a substitution for cloves try swapping in nutmeg or allspice to give you a similar cozy flavor and complement the cinnamon.

You can also leave the cloves out entirely, but it will leave your glaze slightly sweeter tasting with less of that cozy holiday taste.

Cloves are a common ingredient when making a glazed ham that gives it a super aromatic taste that a lot of people associated with warmth and holiday recipes.

How Do I Score My Ham?

Scoring is slicing the outside of the ham just a little to help the glaze drip inside. Scoring is done with both boneless and bone-in ham, but is not necessary for a spiral cut ham. Here is a great tutorial on how to score a ham and stud it with cloves.

What About Using Whole Cloves For Ham?

Some recipes call for using whole cloves and studding the hand with them like a checkerboard. This is usually done for hams at the same time as scoring because the scoring can hold the cloves in. Most sprial hams simply use ground cloves in the glaze, the whole cloves won’t stud the ham as easily.

You can stud the ham with cloves to use with my honey baked glazed ham recipe. You’ll need to carefully remove the whole close pieces before serving. Whole cloves even after being cooked have a very strong taste if bitten that can be a little too intense.

What do you serve with ham?

Holiday spiral ham is a feast all by itself! Would it be a true feast without a few sides? You can serve this ham with traditional mashed potatoes, or my favorite mashed sweet potatoes. My family always is excited when I make these broccoli cheese twice-baked stuffed potatoes, and this fresh green bean casserole is always a hit! These deliciously tender and sweet baked candied yams are a great holiday side dish choice and our infamous stuffing with Italian sausage is a family secret recipe.

Greenbeans, roasted broccoli, or a nice green salad are delicious. My family also especially loves honey-roasted carrots with an Easter ham in the spring.

We also like these mini cornbread muffins at the holidays, or make a whole pan of soft and tender southern-style buttermilk cornbread.

If you’re having a big feast with a lot of people, try my crockpot pork loin alongside your ham or roast a pork loin in the oven. It’s an easy crowd-pleaser recipe that’s pretty hands-off while still looking impressive on a table. You can serve it as is, or with my pork gravy that makes a sauce easily from the drippings.

Don’t forget dessert! Try these mini pecan chocolate pies for the perfect bite-sized dessert to share.

How Long Is Ham Still Good?

After cooking your ham, it will typically last for about a week in the fridge. Store ham in an airtight container. It really lasts a long time since it has been cured or smoked.

Plan for ham sandwiches, serving as a thick ham slice, adding it to soup, or even putting it in your eggs, yum. Ham is so good the next day, especially on a fluffy roll with a little dijon or yellow mustard.

I like to dice extra ham from the holidays and store it in quart-sized zip-top freezer bags in the freezer for other meals.

What Can I Make With Ham Leftovers?

My favorite ham recipes to make with leftovers is this cozy ham and potato soup. I also like to sautee this ham for quick omelets or add it to egg cup muffins in place of sausage. My ham and cheese sliders are another delicious way to use ham and can be made in the air fryer or oven-baked. Or try dicing bits of ham in this creamy mac and cheese recipe, delicious!

The honey-baked ham glaze does add a little sweetness to recipes but the leftover ham will still taste delicious in savory recipes.