Get ready to impress your guests this holiday season with my show stopping Apricot Glazed Ham! This stunner is tender, juicy, smoky, sweet and tangy and almost too good for words. It’s so delicious that I wouldn't be surprised if you and your guests help yourselves to seconds (or thirds)!
Roasting a ham may seem daunting but I’m here to help by making holiday prep easy and stress free. The secret here is using a boneless smoked ham. It’s fully cooked and really takes the guesswork and time out of cooking pork. But, what makes this ham truly magical is the flavourful and aromatic Apricot Glaze. My glaze is made using apricot jam, orange juice, brown sugar, Dijon mustard and spices reminiscent of the holiday season. The smoked ham is then given the love that it deserves when it’s periodically basted in this sweet, tangy and fragrant sauce. As the glaze cooks, it caramelizes and creates the most beautiful sticky and candied crust. Yum! I’m getting hungry just telling you about it!
My Easy Apricot Glazed Ham requires 8 simple ingredients, 10 minutes of prep time and an oven that will do all the heavy lifting. Doesn’t that sound divine? I’ve been making this dish for years and it’s become one of my most requested recipes. It feeds a crowd and then some! So, when selecting a boneless ham, size matters! You’ll want to consider your overall guest count and the volume and extent of the side dishes you expect to serve. But, a general rule of thumb is to aim for 1/3 - 1/2 pound of ham per person. And, if you’re lucky enough to have leftovers, this ham is great the next day!
Wondering what to pair with this dish? My Butternut Squash Soup, Creamy Mashed Potatoes or Mashed Sweet Potatoes, Stuffed Mushrooms, Maple Roasted Acorn Squash, Miso Butter Green Beans, Roasted Carrots with Herb Yoghurt Sauce and Big Chopped Salad or Roasted Delicata Squash and Kale Salad with Pear & Cranberries all pair beautifully with this glazed ham.
If you’re looking for a quick and easy protein to serve at your next holiday get together, then you’ll have to give this recipe a go! It’s a keeper! So, let me show you how it’s done. Grab a spoon and come and cook with me! Happy holidays!
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour 45 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 55 minutes
Serves: 12 - 16
Ingredients:
7 1/2 lbs (3 1/2 kgs) smoked ham, boneless and fully cooked (See Notes below)
3/4 cup apricot jam
1/2 cup freshly squeezed orange juice (approx. 2 medium oranges) (See Notes below)
1/4 cup brown sugar, packed
2 Tbsp Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp allspice
1/4 tsp ground ginger
Instructions:
To promote a more even cook, start by removing your smoked ham from the refrigerator and let it rest at room temperature for at least 1 hour before baking.
Preheat the oven to 350F and set aside a 9” x 13” baking dish or roaster.
Preparing the Ham: Place the ham in the baking pan, cut-side down. Using a pairing knife, score the skin on the diagonal at 1 inch intervals. Rotate the pan and repeat the process to create a diamond or criss-cross pattern.
Cooking the Ham: Cover the baking dish with aluminum foil and bake for 1 hour.
Making the Apricot Glaze: To a medium bowl, add the apricot jam, orange juice, brown sugar, mustard, garlic powder, allspice and ground ginger and whisk until fully incorporated. Reserve 1/3 cup of glaze and set aside.
Baste Away: Remove the ham from the oven and discard the aluminum foil. Baste the ham with a 1/3 of the glaze and return it to the oven to bake for 15 minutes. Baste with the remaining 2/3 of glaze every 15 minutes.
The Final Touch: Remove the ham from the oven and let it rest for 10 - 15 minutes before slicing. Slice the ham into desired slices. Drizzle the reserved 1/3 cup of glaze over top and serve and enjoy!
Notes:
Freshly Squeezed: I love using freshly squeezed orange juice in this recipe. But, if you don’t have any oranges handy, you can simply substitute it with store-bought orange juice. Just be sure to use 100% pure orange juice. Some brands contain added sugars and using them in this recipe will result in an overly sweet glaze.
Cook Times May Vary: Cooking times may vary depending on the type of ham purchased (bone-in versus boneless) and it’s overall size and weight. This recipe calls for a fully cooked boneless ham. Therefore, for this cut, you typically want to allocate 15 minutes of cook time per pound. You know your ham is done when it reaches an internal temperature of 140F - 150F. But, for best results, follow the cooking instructions enclosed with your smoked ham.
