Glazed Ham

This glazed ham is the recipe I come back to every holiday — brown sugar, maple syrup, a little tangy mustard, and a pineapple sauce served on the side. It fills the whole house with a smell that gets everyone into the kitchen before you even call them.

Why You’ll Love It

The glaze actually caramelizes — sticky, lacquered, and deeply flavorful without being one-note sweet
Mustard cuts through the sweetness — that small amount of yellow mustard gives it just enough sharpness to keep things interesting
The pineapple sauce is served on the side — everyone controls their own plate, and it works either way
It feeds a crowd without the stress — most of the work is hands-off, and the last basting gives you time to be with your guests
Leftovers are just as good — thin-sliced the next day with a little pineapple sauce as a condiment is its own whole thing

A Few Notes on Ingredients

The ham — I’ve done this with a full precooked bone-in ham, probably eight pounds or so, and also with a smaller canned ham when it was just us. Both work. The canned one is a little saltier so keep that in mind with your glaze. I don’t adjust the recipe much but I do go lighter on the first few bastings if I’m using canned.
The brown sugar should be packed. Not loosely spooned in, actually packed. I’m a little particular about this because I made it once when I was rushing and the glaze was too thin and it didn’t set up the same way. Lesson learned.
Maple syrup — I use real maple syrup. It worked okay with pancake syrup in a pinch, but it’s not the same. Get the real stuff.
The mustard I use is regular yellow mustard. Not Dijon, not whole grain, just regular. I know people might raise an eyebrow at that but this recipe was built around yellow mustard and that’s what it wants.

Ingredients

About 8 lbs precooked ham (or a 5 lb canned ham if that’s what you’ve got)
Whole cloves — I probably use 20 or 30, maybe more, I honestly just keep going
1½ cups brown sugar, firmly packed
½ cup maple syrup (real, please)
2 tablespoons yellow mustard
1 tablespoon cornstarch
One 20-oz can crushed pineapple, unsweetened — don’t drain it

Directions:

First thing — if there’s a rind on your ham, cut it off. Leave the fat, just take off that tough outer layer if it’s there. Then score the fat in a crosshatch, not too deep, just enough that the glaze has somewhere to pool. Press a clove into each little diamond you’ve made. It’s weirdly satisfying.
Put the ham fat-side up on a rack in a shallow roasting pan. Cover it with foil — loosely, not tight — and get it into a 350-degree oven. The general rule is about 15 minutes per pound, but honestly I always check the wrapper that came on the ham because they all vary a little. If you’ve lost the wrapper (I have lost many wrappers), 15 minutes a pound is a safe bet.
While the ham’s doing its thing, make the glaze. Combine the brown sugar, maple syrup, and mustard in a bowl and stir it together. It’ll be thick and gorgeous. Set aside ¾ of a cup — this is your basting glaze. The rest goes into a small saucepan.
Add your whole can of crushed pineapple, juice and all, to that saucepan. Whisk in the cornstarch. Then bring it over medium heat, stirring pretty much constantly, until it thickens up into a sauce. It won’t take long, maybe eight or ten minutes? Keep an eye on it because it can stick if you walk away.
About 30 to 45 minutes before the ham is done, take the foil off and start basting. Use that reserved ¾ cup of glaze. Every ten minutes, brush it on generously — don’t be shy. This is where the sticky, caramelized outside comes from. Let it go until it’s beautifully glazed and your kitchen smells incredible.
Slice and serve with the warm pineapple sauce on the side.

Variations

A splash of bourbon in the glaze is delicious if that’s your thing. If you can’t find unsweetened crushed pineapple, you can use the sweetened kind, just maybe pull back on the brown sugar by a few tablespoons. Or don’t — honestly it’s not that much sweeter. I’ve done both and neither was wrong.

Leftovers

Leftover ham keeps in the fridge for about four or five days if you wrap it well. I like it sliced thin on a sandwich the next day with a little bit of the pineapple sauce as a condiment — that’s not something I planned, it just happened once and now it’s a whole thing. The pineapple sauce on its own keeps well too, separate container in the fridge.
You can freeze sliced ham, though honestly we’ve never had enough left over to bother. A good eight-pound ham at a full table goes fast — that always surprises me even though it happens every time.
I always mean to make this more often than just holidays. Just a regular Sunday in February, nothing special. I never do. There’s probably something to that — some dishes belong to the anticipation, to the occasion. Maybe I’ll leave it alone.