Skip Nav

Christmas Ham Recipe

Try a Honey-Bourbon-Glazed Holiday Ham This Holiday Season

If you've never been responsible for making the holiday ham, it's time to give it a try. And this holiday ham recipe from Southern Living is the place to start. The key ingredient is bourbon. Your kitchen will smell like molasses and bourbon as the ham slow-roasts in your oven for several hours. Be sure to roast it the full recommended length so the sauce reduces into a sticky glaze that caramelizes the edges of the ham (the best part!).

A few bites from my most honest taste testers revealed that the ham was a hit. The bourbon's the trick, y'all. It adds an oaky, smoky flavor that complements the salty pork. The honey, molasses, and brown sugar just about turn this into a caramel-covered ham!

Honey-Bourbon Glazed Ham

Adapted from Southern Living Home Cooking Basics: A Complete Illustrated Guide to Southern Cooking by the editors of Southern Living

Notes

In the original recipe, the ham is studded with whole cloves; however, speed up the recipe by adding the whole cloves into the bourbon sauce. The clove flavor will still infuse in the ham, plus upon service, your guests won't have to pick out the buds as they eat the ham.

Christmas Ham Recipe

Ingredients

  1. 1 fully cooked, bone-in ham (7-9 pounds)
    1/2 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
    1/2 cup honey
    1/2 cup bourbon
    1/3 cup Dijon mustard
    1/3 cup molasses
    1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
    Several shakes of Tabasco sauce
    40 whole cloves

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 325°F. Remove skin from ham and trim fat to 1/4-inch thickness. If ham is not precut, make shallow cuts in fat 1 inch apart in a diamond pattern. Place ham in a 13- x 9-inch pan.
  2. In a medium bowl, stir together all other ingredients. Spoon entire mixture over ham. Bake at 325°F on lowest oven rack for 2 hours and 30 minutes, or until ham has an internal temperature of 145°F. Baste with pan juices every 30 minutes as ham cooks. Remove ham from oven and rest it for 15-30 minutes before carving. Strain sauce and serve it in a gravy dish alongside the ham (optional).
Image Source: POPSUGAR Photography / Anna Monette Roberts
Latest Recipes, Menus, Food & Wine