Ingredients
Scale
- 1 (9 to 11-pound) fully cooked (ready-to-eat) bone-in ham
For the Sweet Hot Honey Mustard Glaze:
- 3 tablespoons of honey mustard, or brown mustard with honey
- 2 tablespoons of brown sugar
- About 50 cloves
For the Honey Thyme Glaze:
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- 2 tablespoons of fresh thyme, or 2 teaspoons of the dry form
- 1/4 cup cider vinegar
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
Instructions
- Remove the ham from the refrigerator a few hours before you plan to cook it (still wrapped) to allow it to get to room temperature. It will warm up more evenly as a result of this.
- Preheat your oven to 325°F.
- Place the ham in a foil-lined roasting pan, fat side up.
- With a sharp knife, score a diamond pattern in the fat, about 1/4-inch to 1/2-inch deep, with parallel lines about 1 1/2-inches apart. (If you’re using a spiral cut ham, you won’t need to do this.)
- Only score the fat and any skin, not the meat itself. You can score the fat all the way down to the point where it touches the meat. You can remove any remaining skin from the ham if you wish to, but it isn’t necessary.
- If you’re using cloves with the Sweet Honey Mustard Glaze, you can add them before or after the glaze. They look better if you apply them afterward, but putting them in first allows you to see the lines in the ham as a guide for placement.
- To make a lovely pattern around the top and sides of the ham, place the cloves in the middle of the diamonds (or along the edges of some of the precut slices if using spiral cut).
- In a separate bowl, combine the mustard and brown sugar if using the sweet honey mustard glaze.
- If using the honey thyme glaze, combine the thyme and hot melted butter in a small bowl and let aside for a few minutes. Reduce the cider vinegar from 1/4 cup to 1 tablespoon in a small saucepan over high heat, then remove from heat. Combine the butter and thyme in a mixing bowl. Combine the honey, brown sugar, and Worcestershire sauce in a mixing bowl.
- Brush the ham with the glaze of your choice using a pastry brush. Only approximately a third of it is used (reserve the rest for later in cooking). Work the glaze into the scored lines as much as possible.
- Place the ham in the oven. (If using a spiral cut ham, cover it securely with aluminum foil before cooking so it doesn’t dry out.)
- Cook for 1 to 1 1/2 hours (check after 1 hour; it will take longer if the ham is not at room temperature to begin with), or about 10 minutes per pound, until a meat thermometer reads 110°-120°. (Keep in mind that the ham is already cooked when you buy it; all you’re doing is reheating it for consumption.)
- If you’re using a non-spiral cut ham, baste it with the glaze a few times while it’s cooking.
- Baste the ham once more after it has reached the right temperature. (Open up the foil to uncover the ham before basting, if using a spiral cut ham)
- Place the ham in the broiler for a few minutes, regardless of which ham you’re using, to get some good browning on the top. Remove the pan from the oven and brush the ham with the pan juices all over. Before serving, cover with aluminum foil and set aside for 15 minutes.
- To slice a bone-in ham, start by cutting around the bone. Then chop off sections surrounding the bone with a long, sharp knife.
Notes
Another approach to slice the ham is to start with a wide slice to create a level surface. Then, starting at the wide end, stand the ham upright and cut slices down the side, moving around the bone.
If you need more recipe ideas on how to cook an 11lb ham, then you should check out this video recipe.