Honey glazed ham is a show-stopping centrepiece during Christmas, is it because of its glistening glaze? or is it because it is is Instagram worthy or is it because it’s the only time, we can justify eating so much ham. Whatever the reason is, ham is definitely a must-have on Christmas day.
Easy honey glazed ham
As a kid growing up, we always had a Sri Lankan Christmas feast. Ok what the hell is a Sri Lankan Christmas feast, so basically we will have festive rice and curry along with all the roasts such as ham, turkey, lamb, beef. That is what a typical Sri Lankan Christmas feast looks like back home.
Honestly, we never cooked our own ham or turkey, we get it all catered through Hilton hotel in Sri Lanka, as you all know by now, my dad was the executive chef in Hilton, therefore, we had food privileges hahaha.
Moving to different countries I always went back home for Christmas, but there have been a couple of Christmas that I have spent here in Australia. I certainly continued our roast tradition and I would always cook the turkey and ham at home. I don’t have Hilton privileges here in Australia hahaha
What goes in honey glaze
Making a ham is easy and making the honey glaze is so easy as well.
A few recipes just call out the products to be simply mixed, but I am a traditional cook and love it when the glaze is thick and have a depth of flavour, so after mixing the ingredients, we will cook the glaze slightly to thicken it. What is important in the ingredient portfolio is the mix of sweet, acid and spices. so if you want to replace honey with a marmalade, you can do it. if you want to replace the vinegar with lemon juice go for it, there is no hard and fast rule. you can add any spices as you wish as well.
Ingredients for glazed ham
With the ham, here in Australia, you can get the smoked ham which is cooked and rarely you can find the uncooked ham called gammon which is very popular in the UK. We will be using the smoked cooked ham because this eliminated the step of us cooking it and honestly we need quick dishes during Christmas and not too much to do. I will also be studding it with cloves for presentation and also a little flavour, so if you want to have it without cloves go for it.
Honey glazed ham with cloves
Always buy the ham with the rind on, and you need to take the rind off, score the fat and stud it with cloves, it sounds like a lot of work, trust me once you get the hang of it, it is easy.
The essential equipments needed to honey glazed ham
How to make honey glazed ham
Oven settings for honey glazed ham
The purpose of cooking it in the oven has 2 factors. One is to heat it through. The other is to have a sticky and slightly burnt glaze.
So to heat it through you will first need to cook it at 160C so we don’t burn the glaze, then turn up the heat to 200c to have a well caramelised sticky glaze. If you see the glaze burning towards the end of the time, then reduce the oven temperature back to 160C
What to serve with honey glazed ham
- Roasted baby carrots
- Roasted Vegetables
- Salad
- Chutney
- Creamed spinach
- Roast potato
How to store honey glazed ham
Ham should be cooked just before serving or on the day of serving, It is ok to serve ham cold or hot, I like to serve mine hot.
Ham should be stored in the fridge. Leave in the packaging until it is required before glazing and cooking
After cooking and storing leftover ham cover loosely with tin foil or a clean damp tea towel, or use a ham bag. If you are going to use a tea towel or a ham bag make sure you change them daily. Store in your refrigerator. Consume within two weeks of opening. It is always not easy to find space in the fridge to store a big ham, so carve the meat off the bone and store it covered tightly in cling wrap or freezer bags
How to reheat honey glazed ham
Simply place carved ham or pieces of ham on a plate, cover with a cling film and reheat in the microwave. Do not heat in the microwave without cling wrapping, as the fat will burst inside the microwave. You also cannot reheat it in the oven because it will dry out. Or you can simply eat it cold
How to carve ham
- Place the ham on a cutting board Remove a slice at the top.
- Cut thin slices in the direction of the bone
- Continue carving along the same surface area carving around the bone.
- Remove final piece from the bone and continue to carve on the same surface.
Carving ham
What to do with leftover ham
ham and cheese toast
Ham soup
ham in a charcuterie board
ham fried rice
You can also check my other recipes here.
Step by step guide on how to make honey glazed ham
Equipment
- Oven
Ingredients
- 100 g Brown sugar
- 125 g Honey
- 50 ml Apple cider vinegar
- 1/2 tsp Mix spice
Ham
- 4 kg Ham rind on
- Cloves
Instructions
- Place all ingredients in a small saucepan and place it on a low fire for 2-3 minutes until slightly thickened
Scoring and preparing the ham
- Take ham out of the fridge 1 hour prior.Preheat oven to 160°C Arrange the lower shelf so the ham will be sitting in the centre of the oven (rather than on top of the oven)
- Run a small knife around the bone handle, cutting through the rind.
- Run the knife between the fat and the skin
- Slide fingers under the rind of the ham, and run them back and forth to loosen so you can get your fingers under.
- Start pulling the rind back with your hands while continuing to slide fingers back and forth. The rind comes off easily. (See video)
- Cut the fat (not all the way through) at an angle, so there is a diamond design on the fatDon't cut through deeply, just small insertions
- Insert a clove in the intersection of the cross of each diamond on the surface (this step is optional).
Glazing and baking
- Place the ham on a large baking tray
- Spoon the glaze all over the surface of the ham. Place in the oven.If the glaze has got thicken then heat it slightly on medium fire to loosen it
- Bake for 30 mins at 160C. Take it out baste it and then increase the oven temperature to 200c and continue basting very generously every 30 minutes with the glaze and juices in the pan, or until sticky and golden.Basting is the most important step here, the more you glaze, the more sticky and glazy it will become
- Allow resting for at least 20 minutes before serving. Baste before serving