Updated on October 15th, 2022
Although honey-baked hams are the ideal Thanksgiving dish, there’s no need to wait for a special occasion to savor these delectable treats. Honey-baked hams can provide a special touch to any weekend dinner or Sunday brunch. Sandwiches can be made with the leftovers, and the ham can be used in various other recipes.
If you’re reading this article and wondering, “how can I cook a honey-baked ham?” Well, let’s just say this piece was written just for you. You’ll find a lot of helpful tips to make the perfect honey-baked ham, especially how long to cook it for the best results.
Honey Nutrition Facts
Tips for Cooking a Honey Baked Ham
When making a honey baked ham recipe, your best bet is to stick to the following tips and instructions we have provided below:
Always go for a spiral cut – This makes serving your honey-glazed ham a breeze. Furthermore, the honey glaze permeates into the slices, penetrating the flesh.
The best way to cook a honey-baked ham – A honey-baked ham is best cooked in the oven. While it bakes, make the glaze in just a few minutes. After it has cooked for a bit at 250°F, remove it from the oven and glaze it with the ham glaze prepared (follow your preferred recipe), then increase the oven temperature to 400°F and bake it for another 15 to 20 minutes until it has a golden brown tint.
Cook slowly, on a low heat setting – Because spiral cut hams are fully cooked, keep the temperature low to avoid drying them out.
Cover your ham or not – It’s fine if you wish to cover your ham. Many methods allow you to bake it low and slow, which prevents it from drying out if left uncovered.
Heating the ham – Preheat the oven to 250 degrees Fahrenheit before placing the spiral ham inside. Depending on the weight of the ham, it will take roughly 2 hours. You can then glaze it and cook it at a higher temperature until it turns golden.
How to keep the ham moist – When cooking ham in the oven, stick to the baking time in this spiral ham recipe and remove it when it reaches the sweet spot internal temperature of 135F. After that, glaze it and return it to the oven for a brief while at a higher temperature before allowing it to rest, and it will keep its moisture.
Allow it to rest – Refrain from cutting your honey glazed ham up after it has finished baking with the glaze on. If you let it sit for 15 minutes before serving, it will keep nice and moist.
Ham glaze ideas – Combine honey, brown sugar, melted butter, crushed cloves, garlic powder, and Dijon mustard in a brown sugar glaze for ham for a sweet and spicy coating that will make your ham appealing.
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Cooking Time for a Honey Baked Ham
The timing guidelines in the table below generally work for honey baked ham recipes:
| Cooking temperature | Cooking time |
| 250 F | 15 minutes per pound until ham reaches an internal temperature of 135 F |
| 350 F | If baking at 350 F, bake for 1 hour and 40 minutes in total |
| 400 F | Once the internal temperature reaches 135 F, heat the oven to 400 F and bake for an additional 15 to 20 minutes. |
Honey Baked Ham (25 Servings)
Ingredients
- 8–10 pounds (4–5 kg) of a bone-in (or boneless) fully cooked ham
- ⅓ cup of pineapple juice
- 1 cup of honey
- ¼ cup of brown sugar
- ¼ cup of unsalted butter
- ¼ cup of whole cloves
Instructions
- To begin, preheat your oven to 300 F (150 C), then place a rack in the lower third portion of the oven. Remove the ham’s plastic wrapping and netting. Remove and discard the rind. Let the ham sit at room temperature for about 1-2 hours.
- Line a baking tray or dish with several sheets of parchment paper or aluminum foil (if preferred, this will make sure that cleaning up is a lot easier)
- Remove the ham’s rind or skin, but leave the fat on. Score diamond patterns across the whole ham using a sharp knife (ensure not to cut more than 1/4 inch deep). Put a clove in the middle of each diamond-shaped pattern.
- Put the ham on the oven tray, pour pineapple juice into the bottom of the pan, then bake for 15 minutes, while the ham is covered with two sheets of foil or parchment paper.
- Simultaneously, melt the butter over medium heat in a small pot or saucepan until golden brown. Whisk in the honey and brown sugar until the brown sugar dissolves completely, then remove from the heat (after about 2 minutes).
- Reduce the heat to a low setting and allow it to thicken slightly before setting aside to cool to a lukewarm setting (the glaze should possess the feel of room-temperature honey).
- Take out the ham from the oven with care after 15 minutes of baking, then raise the oven’s temperature to 425°F | 220°C. Take off the foil or parchment paper from the ham and drizzle 1/3 of the glaze over it, ensuring to brush in between the cuts for even coating. Return the ham to the oven and allow it to bake for another 15 minutes, uncovered.
- Remove the ham from the oven, brush it with the remaining third of the glaze and some pan juices, then bake for 15 minutes extra, or until a dark golden-brown crust forms (about 30 minutes in total). Mix some of the juices from the ham with the glaze in the saucepan for extra flavor depths. This will also help to maintain the glaze in a liquid enough form for brushing.
- If the crust is still pink after baking for the recommended time, put it on your broiler (or oven grill) and broil for 2-5 minutes, keeping a watch on it so the sugar doesn’t make it burn.
- Give the ham 10-15 minutes to rest before you slice into it.
Notes
This honey-baked ham recipe is juicy and delicious on the outside, with crispy, burnt, sticky edges. For your dinner table, this is definitely the perfect baked ham recipe and we recommend trying it out.
If you’d like more recipe ideas for honey baked ham, then you should see this video recipe.
