This is by far the easiest ham glaze recipe you’ll ever make. It only takes three ingredients and 5 minutes and can be made in different flavors.
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Table of Contents
What is ham glaze?
Ham glaze is an optional sweet mixture that is brushed onto ham as it cooks to add sweetness, moisture and shine.
Ham glazes always include some sort of sugar or sweetener. They can also be spicy or savory and can contain added ingredients like mustard, bourbon or even cooked bacon or pecans.
What’s in the glaze packet that comes with ham?
Many precooked hams that you’ll find at the grocery store will come with a packet of glaze mix. The ingredients vary, depending on the flavor profile listed on the ham.
Generally, the glaze packet contains different sweeteners like white sugar, brown sugar, fructose, honey, maple syrup and/or molasses.
They also include spices like cloves, ground cinnamon, nutmeg, onion powder, and garlic powder, and additives to prevent caking.
To make the glaze, you open the packet and pour the ingredients in a saucepan. You add water or another liquid like juice or broth and bring it to a boil.
Then, you brush it on during the last 30 minutes of reheating your ham.
Ingredients
- Jam, Jelly or Preserves: Choose any jar of fruit jam, jelly or preserves. You can even mix and match and use multiple flavors at once.
- Mustard: I like using Dijon mustard, but you can also use yellow mustard or spicy mustard.
- Soy Sauce: This is the key ingredient for balancing out the sweetness and adding umami and salt.
See the full recipe card below for servings and a full list of ingredients.
What makes this the best ham glaze?
To me, the best recipes are the ones that you can customize and make your own, which is why this recipe is so great.
The main ingredient is the jam or jelly. The recipe calls for 1/2 cup. You can use 1/2 cup of one flavor or a mixture of flavors. Here are flavors that go really well with ham:
- Cherry preserves
- Orange marmalade
- Apricot preserves
- Peach preserves
- Pineapple preserves
- Grape jam
- Apple jelly
- Red plum jam
- Red pepper jelly
- Jalapeno jelly
I love mixing orange marmalade with red pepper jelly or cherry preserves with jalapeno jelly.
Flavors like strawberry, raspberry and boysenberry aren’t quite as good, especially if they have seeds.
Another advantage of using jelly over the glaze packet is that you can control the sugar, depending on which fruit spread you buy. Nowadays, you can find low sugar jelly and no sugar jams made with SPLENDA.
Or as an added bonus, you can make your own jelly from your harvest.
How to prepare the ham glaze
Preparing this ham glaze recipe is so easy, all you have to do is heat all of the ingredients together so they are melted and liquified.
- STEP ONE: Place the jam or jelly, mustard and soy sauce in a saucepan or a microwave-safe bowl.
- STEP TWO: If heating on the stovetop, place the pan over medium-low heat and cook for about 5 minutes, until it starts to simmer. If heating in the microwave, heat in 30-second intervals, stirring in between.
How to use ham glaze
Once your ham glaze is ready, you can leave it on the counter while your ham bakes or smokes.
Then, during the last 30 minutes of the cook, use a basting brush or mop to brush the glaze all over the ham.
For the best results, baste the ham every 5-10 minutes to help build up layers of flavor. I also like to dunk my basting mop in the pan drippings as I baste on the glaze.
If you have leftover glaze, pour it over the cooked ham slices.
Storage
Ham glaze can be made up to a week in advance. Combine the ingredients. Heat them as described above. Then, store the glaze in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
When you’re ready to cook the ham, microwave the glaze for 30-60 seconds to soften.
I don’t recommend freezing ham glaze.
GCG Pro Pitmaster Tips
- Choose a jam or jelly that complements pork and ham
- Heat your ham glaze to create the best spreadable texture
- Brush your ham glaze on multiple times to layer the flavors
Frequently Asked Questions
Most Easter hams and Christmas hams are actually cooked when you buy them from the store. When you take them home, you’ll reheat them in the oven or on a grill or smoker.
It’s best to add the glaze during the last 30 minutes. If you add it at the beginning it could burn because it contains sugar.
Absolutely, I always use precooked smoked hams. I reheat them on a grill or smoker and add glaze during the last 30 minutes.
Jams, jellies and preserves are all forms of fruit spreads that are made with fruit that is preserved, usually with sugar.
Jams and preserves contain pieces of fruit. The pieces are usually smaller in jams compared to preserves. Jelly is usually smooth with no fruit pieces.
This recipe makes about 3/4 cup of ham glaze, which is plenty for a 10-12-pound bone-in ham.
Glazed ham recipes
Side dishes to serve with ham
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3-Ingredient Ham Glaze
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup fruit jam, jelly or preserves
- 1/4 cup Dijon mustard
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
Instructions
- Mix: Place all of the ingredients in a saucepan or microwave-safe bowl and mix well.
- Heat: If heating on the stovetop, place the pan over medium-low heat. Cook for about 5 minutes, until it starts to simmer. If heating in the microwave, heat in 30-second intervals, stirring in between.
- Baste: Baste on your ham during the last 30 minutes of the cook. See above for more details.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
