Maple Glazed Ham: This is the ham glaze you use when you want to add a special twist to your festive baked ham, but still keep it easy! The most amazing sticky icing with the subtle maple fragrance and a hint of Christmas spices, this is THE Christmas ham recipe I make to give and take to meetings year after year.
New to glazed ham? Start here -> How to make glazed ham. No maple syrup or honey? Make this show stop the brown sugar ham glaze instead!
Maple Glazed Ham There’s no reason to beintimidated by the idea of making a
glazed ham
! It’s pretty straightforward if you have someone to show you how.
(PS That “someone” is me!😂)
Here’s why this maple glazed ham is my centerpiece for Christmas menus
: It’s the
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most wonderful and majestic centerpiece: a great reward for the effort
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This maple ham glaze has a special touch that people love, but it’s 100% easy.
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It’s low risk and forgive doing
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preparation ahead or in advance (days and days ahead!)
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Economical: it is cut into thin slices, a little goes a long way and the leftovers last centuries and years
.
the
When it comes to ham,
there’s nothing in the ham icing recipe, it’s literally mixing some ingredients. The part that is not an everyday step is peeling the skin, but don’t worry, the visual steps and recipe video below will guide you through it. It’s not a big deal, the skin WANTS to peel off!
What you
need for ham glaze
This is what you need for maple ham glaze. So few ingredients, it’s magical how it transforms once baked! It is the combination of the frosting, the caramelization of the fat on the surface of the ham and the salt in the ham itself (that’s why I don’t use any salt in the glaze).
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Maple syrup is what gives this ham glaze a special touch. No one can put their finger on the sore, they only know that it has something magical! Sub with honey in the blink of an eye! No maple or honey? Prepare this ham glaze with brown sugar!
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The brown sugar adds to the caramelized flavor of the frosting;
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Dijon mustard is a thickener for ham glaze AND adds a much-needed touch of flavor to a sweet frosting;
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Cinnamon and all spices for a touch of festive spices;
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Oranges: for a little liquid in the pan which is more interesting than just using water, plus a touch of extra natural sweetness. You can’t taste oranges in the final result once cooked. Orange juice has more flavor than just using water, which increases the flavor of the frosting and also the sauce made with the drops from the pan;
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Nail – optional, for studding! I can’t really prove it, so I do it only for visual/traditional purposes. Also, they’re a bit impractical: you can’t bathe them freely, as you have to rub around the nails (otherwise, brush them) and you also have to remove them before carving them. No one wants to bite a nail!
How to make glazed ham Making
glazed
ham
is a 3-step process:
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Remove the crust (skin) from the ham;
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maple glaze and then bake for 2 hours, drizzling with more frosting every 20 to 30 minutes;
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Loads of Baste after taking them out of the oven – the trick to thick, golden enamel!
Spread with
1. How to remove the rind of the ham
If this is the part that worries you, don’t do it! The skin is thick, resistant and WANTS to peel off, so it peels off with little effort, mostly in one piece!
Here’s how to remove the rind from the ham. The recipe video below also provides a visual tutorial, and if you’re new to making glazed ham, start here: > Guide: How to Make Glazed Ham.
2. Suffice and bake
This part couldn’t be easier: simply brush or place the maple ham glaze all over the ham, squeeze over the orange juice and then put it in the oven for baking, spooning over the reserved frosting every 20 minutes or so!
3. Enough, enough, enough before serving!!
Now here’s the trick to an amazing frosting on your ham – enough LOADS after it comes out of the oven using the syrupy sauce on the baking sheet! As that syrupy sauce cools, it will thicken and darken slightly in color, so when brushed or spooned over the ham, it creates an amazing thick frosting to die for!
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Ham sauce
While the ham itself is well seasoned enough that it can be eaten on its own, no one ever says no to sauce!
I used to serve ham with sauces like cranberry sauce, mustard, caramelized onion jam and even chutney. But one day I realized: everyone’s favorite part is enamel. Why not simply use the drops from the pan, which is just the excess frosting dripping down the ham in the pan? Combined with ham juices and orange juice, it transforms into a fantastic sauce to drizzle on ham!
How to
serve ham
This is how I serve ham, in fact, how I served it on the weekend at a Christmas party I attended for my mother! (The only “catering work” I do every year, because I can’t say no to you 😂)
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Wrap the parchment/baking paper around the “handle”, and tie with a ribbon (handy to hold for carving + looks good);
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Cover the plate/serving board with green fluff of some kind. Whatever is good value for money in stores on the day;
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Place the ham in the green fluff and place oranges cut into quarters around it (to give it color). In the past, I have also used cherries, it just depends on what the best value is in the day (oranges are usually a good value!);
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Once the shiny ham has been admired enough (yes, I’m really that immature 😂), I start carving!
The leftover ham will keep for a week in the fridge or 3 months in the freezer. See How to Store Leftover Ham for instructions.
What to do with leftover ham I
always get a lot more ham than I need (budget 1kg/2lb for 6 to 8 people) because Christmas is as much about leftovers as it is about the big party of the day. Here are some recipes I consider worthy of making with
leftover ham!
Recipes worthy of your leftover ham
And don’t forget the bone! SO MUCH TASTE in the bone 🙌. Here are my
ham bone recipes:
Ham bone recipes There’s
something so iconic, so sentimental about a bright, shiny maple glazed ham that it features prominently in the center of a festive table. It’s completely incomparable to the slices of ham beaten between the sandwich bread you get over the deli counters. I even know people who hate delicatessen ham who go crazy about glazed ham.
Also, as I said from the beginning, this is easy, easy, easy! Also prepared in advance or prepared in advance, it is fabulous served hot OR at room temperature. Oh, and wait until you watch the VIDEO!!! ⬇⬇⬇ – Nagi x
New to glazed ham? Start here -> Guide: How to make glazed ham.
See how to do it
Recipe was originally published December 2016. Updated and revised every year or so to improve with things like better photos, recipe videos, writing edits. Unmodified recipe – I wouldn’t dare, people love it as is!
Surely
you already know
Dozer well enough to know that there is only one reason why he would not be muzzling a giant piece of flesh …
….. food on the Christmas tree, of course!!
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