The Best Baked Ham (Rum, Pineapple, Brown Sugar Glaze)
Make this delicious Rum Glazed Ham recipe for your next family gathering! This rum ham is roasted and glazed with a delicious brown sugar rum glaze.
Baked ham is a holiday meal staple! It’s easy to make since it’s pre-cooked. You’re effectively just warming it up, so making a Christmas ham is pretty low stress.
The thing I like best about roasting a ham is getting creative with the glaze! You can brag to everyone at your holiday dinner table about your homemade glaze
For this ham recipe, I made a simple brown sugar, rum, pineapple juice and Dijon mustard glaze. I added two spices to the mix: ground cloves and cinnamon. Both of these spices are commonly found in spiced rum and blend perfectly with the brown sugar, rum and pineapple juice! I like to use whole grain mustard when possible, but feel free to use what you have on hand.
The technique for roasting this juicy ham is simple. First, the ham is roasted at a lower temperature in a covered roasting pan with some chicken broth, to keep it moist.
When the ham is close to being done, you will increase the oven temperature, add the glaze and finish roasting the ham uncovered. This will caramelize the surface of the ham and make a beautiful golden brown color.
Now, you don’t have to decorate the ham with pineapple rings and maraschino cherry, but it looks so special! If you have the extra time, I recommend doing it.
Recipe Substitutions
You can use whiskey or bourbon instead of rum with similar results.
Substitute orange juice for the pineapple juice.
If you don’t have chicken broth to put in the pan, just use a cup of water!
Serving Suggestions
I like to serve this rum glazed ham recipe with scalloped potatoes, Sauteed Green Beans, Green Pea Salad or Smoked Mac and Cheese.
For dessert, the flavors of this baked ham recipe pair perfectly with my Pineapple Dump Cake or these beautiful Mini Pineapple Upside Down Rum Cakes!
Storing Leftovers
Leftover ham should be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 7 days. To reheat, remove from the fridge and reheat in the oven wrapped in aluminum foil to keep the ham moist.
So, what if you have leftover ham? I love it when this happens, because I truly think ham is better the next day! Not only is it good on sandwiches, but it’s also amazing diced up and added to eggs, pasta dishes or ham soup! Even simple dishes like Pinto Beans and Ham are delicious ways to use your leftovers.
And I usually save the shank bone to make ham stock! If you’ve never had ham stock, you’re in for a treat.
I hope you love this Rum Glazed Ham recipe! If you make it, let me know how it went in the comments below.
Rum Glazed Ham
Ingredients
- 10 pounds bone-in ham, spiral sliced
- 1 cup chicken broth, or chicken stock
- 2 cinnamon sticks, whole
Rum glaze ingredients:
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 cup dark rum, or light rum
- 1/4 cup pineapple juice
- 3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
- 1/8 tsp cinnamon, ground
- 1/8 tsp cloves, ground
Garnish (optional):
- 20 ounce can of pineapple rings, reserve the juice
- 1 jar marachino cherries
- cloves, whole
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.Allow ham to rest on the counter for at least 20 minutes to bring it closer to room temperature.
- Prepare Roasting Pan: Line your large roasting pan with heavy duty foil, then nestle a wire rack in the roasting pan. Add 1 cup of chicken stock or chicken broth and cinnamon sticks to the pan. This will add additional fragrance and moisture to the ham while roasting.
- Prepare Ham: Using a small sharp knife, score the ham gently across the top by making crisscross patterns (or a diamond pattern) about 1/2 inch into the ham.
- Place ham in the large roasting pan on a wire rack to allow it to rest above the liquid. If you are garnishing the ham, arrange the pineapple slices, cherries and cloves into the surface of the ham with toothpicks. Cover ham with aluminum foil.
- Place in preheated oven and roast for 12-15 minutes per pound.
- Make the glaze mixture: In a small saucepan, combine the the rum and pineapple juice. Heat over medium-low heat in a small pan until it just begins to simmer. Whisk the brown sugar into the rum mixture until it is melted, and the glaze just starts to bubble. Add spices, stir again and remove from heat.
- To glaze the ham, remove from oven 20 minutes before cook time is done. Using a pastry brush or basting brush, brush the glaze on top of the ham. Save remaining glaze.
- Increase the oven temperature to 425 degrees. Return ham to the oven for the final 15-20 minutes to bake uncovered. The glaze will darken in color.
- Remove from oven when the ham has reached an internal temperature of at least 145 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Brush with any additional glaze on top of ham, then allow to rest for at least 15 minutes before carving.
- Slice and serve warm on a serving platter, drizzled with any extra glaze.
Notes
