Bourbon Maple Glazed Ham

This Bourbon Maple Glazed Ham is the perfect balance of sweet and smoky, featuring a rich glaze made with bourbon, maple syrup, and a touch of Dijon mustard. Roasted to caramelized perfection, it’s a show-stopping centerpiece for any holiday or special occasion.

Why This Recipe Works

Perfect Scoring Technique: The scoring technique in this bourbon maple glazed ham recipe makes a diamond pattern that allows the glaze to penetrate deeper into the meat, ensuring flavor in every bite! Additionally, as the ham bakes, these scored edges become slightly crispy, creating a delicious textural contrast with the tender meat beneath.

Flavorful Glaze: The carefully balanced maple bourbon glaze combines multiple layers of sweetness with complex flavors from bourbon and warm spices. The Dijon mustard and apple cider vinegar provide essential acidity that cuts through the richness and balances the sweetness!

Feed a Crowd: This maple bourbon glazed ham recipe is perfect for Christmas, Easter, or any special occasion where you need to feed a crowd and have a gorgeous centerpiece. Not to mention, this recipe fills your home with an irresistible aroma of warm spices and maple, making it perfect for the holidays!

Supplies Needed

• Large roasting pan with rack
• Aluminum foil
• Meat thermometer
• Sharp knife for scoring
• Medium saucepan
• Basting brush
• Cutting board

Ingredients

• Ham: Choose an unsliced bone-in ham for best results. The bone adds flavor and helps maintain moisture, while an unsliced surface allows for proper scoring and glazing! For this particular recipe, I would avoid using a spiral cut ham.
• Maple Syrup: The complex sweetness and natural minerals of pure maple syrup create a deep flavor!
• Bourbon: Select a bourbon that you’d enjoy drinking. And don’t worry, the alcohol cooks off, leaving behind caramel and vanilla notes.
• Brown Sugar: Adds a sweet flavor with molasses-like flavors. Light brown sugar or dark brown sugar both work!
• Dijon Mustard: Provides tanginess and helps emulsify the glaze.
• Apple Cider Vinegar: Balances out all the flavors and helps tenderize the meat.
• Spices: You will need a combination of ground cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, smoked paprika, and salt and pepper!
• Butter: Adds richness and creates a beautiful shine in the final glaze!

Bourbon Maple Glaze

1. Combine Glaze Ingredients: In a medium saucepan, combine the maple syrup, bourbon, brown sugar, Dijon mustard, apple cider vinegar, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, smoked paprika, kosher salt, and black pepper.
2. Simmer: Bring the mixture to a simmer over medium heat, stirring frequently, until the sugar dissolves. Let the glaze simmer for 5–7 minutes until it thickens slightly.
3. Set Aside: Remove from heat and stir in the butter until melted and glossy. Set aside.

Roasting Instructions

1. Preheat & Prep: Preheat the oven to 325 F. Remove the ham from its packaging and pat dry with paper towels.
2. Place on Roasting Pan Rack: Place the ham on a rack inside a large roasting pan, cut side down. Score the surface of the ham in a diamond pattern by making shallow cuts with a sharp knife, about 1 inch apart. This helps the glaze seep into the meat.
3. Add Water to Pan: Pour 1/2 cup of water into the bottom of the roasting pan to prevent the drippings from burning.
4. Brush with Glaze: Brush the ham generously with the glaze, ensuring it gets into the scored cuts. Cover the ham loosely with aluminum foil and bake for 1 hour.
5. Bake & Glaze Again: After the first hour, remove the foil and brush more glaze over the ham. Continue to bake the ham, basting every 20 minutes with the glaze, until the internal temperature of the ham reaches 140°F. This usually takes about 2–2.5 hours for an 8–10 lb ham.
6. Increase Oven Temperature: During the last 20 minutes, increase the oven temperature to 425°F to caramelize the glaze, keeping an eye on it to prevent burning.
7. Rest: Remove the ham from the oven and transfer it to a cutting board. Tent the ham loosely with foil and let it rest for 15–20 minutes to redistribute the juices.
8. Slice & Enjoy: Slice the ham and serve with any remaining glaze drizzled over the top or served on the side.

Expert Tips

• Let the ham sit at room temperature for 1-2 hours before cooking for more even heating!
• Don’t skip the resting period, as it allows the juices to redistribute throughout the ham before you cut into it, resulting in juicier pieces!
• Don’t forget to save the ham bone for making soup! 
• If the glaze starts to darken too quickly on the ham, tent it with foil while in the oven!

What To Serve With It

This bourbon maple glazed ham deserves equally delicious accompaniments to create a memorable meal! For starchy sides, creamy scalloped potatoes or classic mashed potatoes would work great. I also love to serve winter vegetables with my ham, like bacon-wrapped delicata squash or grilled Brussels sprouts!

A green bean casserole or broccoli au gratin would add both comfort and color to the plate. For lighter options that balance the ham’s richness, try a winter salad like my Italian shredded Brussels sprouts salad. Or, smoked loaded sweet potatoes would also go amazingly with your glazed ham, and are always a crown pleaser!

And don’t forget, this ham will provide some outstanding leftovers! The meat makes incredible sandwiches on crusty bread with Dijon mustard and sharp cheddar, adds protein to breakfast dishes like omelets or a smoked breakfast casserole, and the ham bone can be made into a nourishing ham and bean soup!

More Recipes To Try

• Turkey Pot Pie with Stuffing Crust
• How to Smoke a Ham
• Smoked Pulled Ham
• Smoked Turkey Legs
• Smoked Cornish Hens