Maple Glazed Ham
Maple Glazed Ham is an easy holiday ham recipe made in the oven, dripping with the flavors of orange marmalade, pure maple syrup, and butter.
I love simple ham recipes like this one. A few others I make regularly are Instant Pot Spiral Ham and a Honey Baked Boneless Ham.
This easy oven baked ham has a sweet, caramelized, and sticky outside and is tender and moist on the inside.
The ham glaze, made with orange marmalade and maple syrup, makes this ham perfect for your Thanksgiving, Christmas, or Easter dinner. Serve it beside our Lemon Roasted Asparagus and our Crockpot Mashed Potatoes for a meal everyone will love.
Ingredients and Substitutions
- Half ham: I used a fully cooked hardwood smoked Smithfield half ham (you can use any brand), also known as a half-ham. The label noted it is called a shank portion with a bone. You can substitute a spiral-sliced ham if preferred.
- Orange marmalade: Marmalade is a thick, flavorful jam that has pieces of orange peel throughout. I have substituted peach jam and apricot jam in place of the orange marmalade and either makes a delicious glaze.
- Pure maple syrup: Not to be confused with pancake syrup, maple syrup is a pure single ingredient that is rich and flavorful, harvested from maple trees; a little goes a long way.
- Butter: I prefer cooking with unsalted butter, but you can use what you have on hand in this recipe.
- Chopped pecans: pecans are completely optional, but very delicious as part of the maple glaze since they add some crunch and texture.
How to Make Maple Glazed Ham
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Remove all packaging material from the ham, discarding the glaze packet that is usually included.
Step 2: Lay out two very long sheets of extra-wide, heavy-duty aluminum foil, crisscrossing them to form an X. Place the ham, flat side down, in the center of the crisscross.
Step 3: Wrap the ham very tightly in foil, using more foil if needed to completely cover it. Place the wrapped ham into a roasting pan, flat-side down.
Step 4: Bake the ham at 15 minutes per pound of ham until the ham is hot throughout and has reached an internal temperature of 145 degrees F. As an example, an 8 pound ham will take about 2 hours to fully cook.
Step 5: Meanwhile, prepare the glaze by combining the orange marmalade and maple syrup in a saucepan over medium high heat.
Step 6: Bring the glaze to a boil, then remove it from the heat. Add the butter and whisk until melted; reserve the glaze, keeping it warm. If you want to include pecans, stir them into the glaze now.
Step 7: Two-thirds of the way through the baking process, remove the ham from the oven. Unwrap the ham, folding the foil back and away from the ham. Make sure to keep the foil in tact around the base of the ham to hold in the ham juices that have accumulated in the bottom of the foil.
Step 8: Using a silicone basting brush or a small spoon, liberally slather the ham with half of the prepared maple glaze.
Keep the remaining glaze warm to serve with the sliced ham, as desired.
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Step 9: Continue to bake the ham, uncovered, for the remaining time until it reaches 145 degrees F. internal temperature at the center when tested with an instant-read meat thermometer. The ham should be nicely caramelized and sticky all over the exterior.
Step 10: Remove it from the oven once the ham is hot at the center and the exterior is shiny and caramelized.
Step 11: Transfer the ham to a cutting board and let it rest for 10-15 minutes, leaving the ham juices in the bottom of the foil. You can use these later, if desired.
My Recipe Tips
- Use a lot of foil when making this ham. It helps keep the ham moist as it cooks and also makes for pan easier clean up since the ham juices and the glaze stay contained in the foil.
- If you cook the ham ahead of time to reheat later, I like to reserve some of the ham juices that accumulate during the cooking process. Lay the slices into your baking dish, then pour some of the ham juices over the ham; cover and refrigerate. The ham juices will keep the ham moist when you reheat before serving.
Maple Glazed Ham FAQ’s
Whole bone-in hams usually weigh around 10-18 lbs. and feed 20-36 people.
Half bone-in hams usually weigh around 5-10 lbs. and feed 10-20 people.
When serving boneless ham, plan to purchase 1/3 -1/2 lb. per person.
You’ll need more ham per person when there is a bone as a part of the ham.
I always buy on the higher side per person to ensure I have ham leftovers.
Voila! Ham slices ready to serve.
Yes, chop up leftover Maple Glazed Ham and freeze it in 2 cup portions in freezer bags to store in the freezer.
This seems to be a good amount for most recipes.
Also, pulling the ham out of the freezer feels so good when I need to get dinner on the table.
I usually allow 4-5 hours of refrigeration thawing for every pound of boneless ham.
I allow 6-8 hours for every pound of bone-in ham since the bone at the center makes thawing take a bit longer.
Defrosting time depends on the size of the ham.
For example, a 10-pound boneless ham will take approximately 40 hours (almost 2 full days) to fully thaw in the refrigerator.
A 10 lb. bone-in ham will take approximately 80 hours (about 3 1/2 days) to fully thaw in the refrigerator.
Always allow yourself a little extra thawing time to be on the safe side.
A fully thawed and unopened ham can safely stay in the refrigerator for 3-4 days after it’s thawed.
Glaze your ham about 2/3 of the way through cooking. Once partially cooked and glazed, return the ham to the oven, uncovered, to allow the glaze to caramelize. This makes the syrup nicely sticky and visually beautiful. I think it’s easiest to use a silicone basting brush to glaze a ham, since the bristles can reach into every nook and cranny of its exterior. Or, you can use a spoon to pour the glaze over the ham.
I love having leftover ham for sandwiches, ham and broccoli quiche, quesadillas, and skillet tortellini.…oh man! We also love Ham and White Cheddar Crepes or Ham and Bacon Pastry Ring or Grandma Lucille’s Old-Fashioned Ham Salad.
Other Easy Ham Recipes
Ham recipes are at the heart of our dinner table and this blog. One of our most popular recipes is this Easy Ham in a Electric Roaster Oven. We also love this Ham and Scalloped Potatoes in the Crock Pot.
Maple Glazed Ham
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Ingredients
- 1 8-10 lb. bone-in, cured or smoked half ham, shank portion or butt portion (either one works fine for this recipe)
- 2/3 cup orange marmalade
- 1/2 cup pure maple syrup
- 2 Tbs. butter
- 1/3 cup chopped, toasted pecans completely optional
Instructions
Cook the Ham
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Remove all packaging material from the ham, discarding the glaze packet that is usually included.
- Lay out two very long sheets of extra-wide heavy-duty aluminum foil, crisscrossing them over each other to create an X. Place the ham, flat side down, onto the center of where the foil crisscrosses.
- Wrap the ham very tightly in the foil, using more foil if needed to cover the ham completely. Place the wrapped ham into a roasting pan, flat-side-down.
- Bake the ham at 15 minutes per pound of ham until the ham is hot throughout and has reached an internal temperature of 145 degrees F. **As an example, an 8 pound ham will take about 2 hours to fully cook. At this point of the baking process, the ham will look pretty unimpressive but don't worry! The next step of glazing the ham is when all the magic happens.
Make the Maple Glaze
- Meanwhile, prepare the glaze by combining the orange marmalade and maple syrup in a saucepan over medium high heat; bring the glaze to a boil, then remove it from the heat. Add the butter, whisking until melted; reserve the glaze keeping it warm. **If you want to include the pecans, stir them into the glaze in at this point.
Glaze the Ham
- Two thirds of the way through the baking process, remove the ham from the oven. Unwrap the ham, folding the foil back and away from the ham, yet keeping it in tact to hold the ham juices that have accumulated in the bottom of the foil. Keep the remaining glaze warm to drizzle over the pieces of ham to be served.
- Using a silicone basting brush or a spoon, liberally slather the ham with half of the prepared maple glaze. **Keep the remaining glaze warm to serve with the sliced ham, as desired.
- Continue to bake the ham, uncovered, for the remaining time until it reaches 145 degrees F. internal temperature at the center when tested with an instant-read meat thermometer. **The ham should be nicely caramelized and sticky all over the exterior.
Serve the Ham
- Once the ham is hot at the center and the exterior is caramelized, remove it from the oven. Transfer the ham to a cutting board and let it rest for 10-15 minutes. Slice the ham into thick slices and serve with more maple glaze on the side, as desired.