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Ham may be one of the most nostalgic main dishes at special occasion meals. A good ham should be simple, but oftentimes, it seems like they can end up dry, tough, and lacking in flavor, other than strong, smoky notes. I love a good ham and find that they make preparing a main dish a breeze when prepared correctly. The underlying flavor from the curing process is already there, so all a ham needs is a little attention for a showing stopping meal!
Traditionally, hams are cured and smoked or baked to fully cook them. When you purchase a cured ham, the meat is ready to eat and simply needs to be warmed up to 140°F before serving. Oftentimes, this is the benefit of ham: there’s virtually no guesswork that needs to go into the preparation.
I used to have visions of slicing meat at the table, with guests oohing and ahhing at the beauty of it all. Even though it looks good in a painting, I don’t think Norman Rockwell ever sliced meat in front of his guests. If so, he would have known that it never ends up looking graceful. But say hello to the spiral cut! With a spiral cut ham, the meat is presliced, making it quicker and easier to cut once baked.
Hams can be served as is without alterations. But at Christmas and special occasions, I love to glaze a ham. What could be better than combining sweet, salty, and sour flavors to complement the smoky ham? Plus, the strong flavors of ham can stand up to some added spice.
Ham’s strong flavors need an equally strong-flavored glaze to be noticed. Most glazes go heavy on brown sugar, which adds a good sweetness but doesn’t actually add much flavor. Instead, I start with butter and maple syrup. Both add a rich flavor along with some sweetness from the maple.
To ensure there isn’t too much sweetness, I like to add in Dijon mustard. This provides just the right about of tanginess without tarnishing the desired sweetness. Finally, to make it more seasonal, cinnamon and cloves add the warmth of spice.
Large celebratory meals often become heavy, with flavors that drown each other out. This is exactly when I crave something acidic to wake everything up and provide excitement. For this ham, I love to serve it paired with a cranberry chutney as a sauce. Fresh cranberries, dried apricots, pear, and spices are simmered together to create a perfect side to the ham. There’s a reason we serve cranberry sauce with turkey, and I’m convinced this chutney is even better with ham!
As a main dish, this glazed ham is festive, easy, and delicious! Try it out this Christmas, and let me know what you think!
Watch how to make this glazed ham recipe:
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Glazed Ham with Cranberry Chutney
Ingredients
- 6-8 lb bone-in ham
For the glaze
- ⅓ cup unsalted butter
- ¼ cup honey
- 2 tbsp Dijon mustard
- ¼ tsp ground cloves
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp dried garlic powder
For the cranberry chutney
- 12 oz fresh or frozen cranberries
- ½ cup chopped dried apricots
- 1 pear diced
- ½ cup cranberry juice
- ½ cup apple cider vinegar
- ¾ cup maple syrup
- 2 tbsp light brown sugar
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- ¼ tsp ground cloves
- ½ tsp kosher salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325°F. Remove ham from the refrigerator 1 ½ hours before baking to take the chill off. Place the ham in a roasting pan (cut side down, if using a partial ham). Pour ⅓ cup water into the bottom of the roasting pan and cover tightly with foil. Place in oven to roast. While the ham is roasting, prepare the glaze and chutney.6-8 lb bone-in ham
- For the glaze: In a small saucepan, combine the butter, honey, Dijon mustard, cloves, cinnamon, and garlic. Melt and stir together over low heat.⅓ cup unsalted butter, ¼ cup honey, 2 tbsp Dijon mustard, ¼ tsp ground cloves, ½ tsp ground cinnamon, 1 tsp dried garlic powder
- For the chutney: In a 3-quart saucepan, combine the cranberries, apricots, pear, cranberry juice, apple cider vinegar, maple syrup, brown sugar, cinnamon sticks, cloves, and salt. Bring to a boil, cover, and reduce to a simmer until thickened, 25-30 minutes.12 oz fresh or frozen cranberries, ½ cup chopped dried apricots, 1 pear, ½ cup cranberry juice, ½ cup apple cider vinegar, ¾ cup maple syrup, 2 tbsp light brown sugar, 2 cinnamon sticks, ¼ tsp ground cloves, ½ tsp kosher salt
- When the ham is close to 120°F, remove foil and begin glazing every 10-15 minutes until a crust starts to form and the ham reaches 140°F, 30-40 minutes. In the last few minutes, turn the broiler on to create a deeper crust.
- When the ham reaches 140°F, remove from oven and let ham rest for 15 minutes before serving.
Dear Kaleb,
I’m so glad I came across your videos! It’s so much fun to watch you and to see you create these special treats for the holidays! Thank you for sharing with us!
Merry Christmas!🎄🌲🎄
Thank you for sharing this recipe. I made it for Christmas dinner and it was a huge success. Merry Christmas.
Thank you for sharing this recipe. I made it for Christmas and everyone enjoyed it. The chutney was a hit.
Substituted the dried apricots with dried and fresh mangos. Will surely be making this again.
I did this recipe last Christmas, it was a success! I had also roasted pork and this ham was the star of the dinner. The chutney was perfect and days after, I used it on different sandwiches and it was marvelous.
Thank you, Kaleb!
Wow! Best ham I’ve ever made thanks to this recipe. And I’m absolutely in love with the cranberry chutney.
Can you can cranberry chutney
Kaleb, I have to tell you a fun story. Last week I popped the top on a jar of your marinara that I made this summer. My dad rarely comments on the meal, but he complimented over and over the pasta dish and asked where I came up with the recipe. I explained that the sauce for the pasta belongs to Kaleb. He knows your name well, trust me. He said in fun, “You need to marry him. He needs to be in the family.” I laughed and explained you were young enough to be my son (you are a year older than my daughter.) I put this chutney together to serve over some chicken cranberry jalapeno meatballs over wild rice. Before dad could get the first bite down he was asking where… my reply, “My kids and I. My meatballs, Courtney’s idea to use cranberry chutney and Kaleb came up with the recipe.” I sent Courtney a DM, Your brother’s done it again! So. I thought I would tell you we love your chutney recipe and that you’ve been adopted. LOL w/a heart full of love and admiration. Safe to say the entire family adores you.
Thanks for sharing all your wonderful recipes and your garden info.
I love ham so i will make this for New Year’s eve ,
I made this for Christmas dinner. The glaze and chutney were amazing. The cut of ham that we purchased…was not. Will definitely make this again with a better ham!
I’m making your glaze ham merry Christmas 🎄😄 love you 💓
Caleb, I made this ham and the chutney on New Years Eve and it was the best ham ever!!!!
What an amazing way to welcome 2023!
I am obsessed with your recipes & love your perfect instructions.
Happy, healthy New Year to you and your family and thanks again.
I bought one of your cookbooks… I love watching your videos and getting great food ideas …Thank you for sharing your beautiful home. Also also great ideas.