How to Cook a Honey Glazed Ham: How Long, What Temperature and When to Glaze

Check the label first, because it decides everything else. A ham marked fully cooked has already been cooked and only needs warming through. A ham marked cook before eating is sold raw or only partly cooked, so it has to be cooked all the way through, and its package gives the temperature to reach. A spiral-cut ham is fully cooked and pre-sliced, which means it dries out faster and needs gentle, covered heating. As for size, plan on about 1/2 to 3/4 pound per person for a bone-in ham and about 1/3 to 1/2 pound for a boneless one, and go to the top of the range if you want leftovers.

Set the oven to 325°F, no lower. Put the ham in a roasting pan, flat side down if it is a half ham, add about 1/2 cup of water or juice to the pan, and cover the whole ham tightly with foil so it stays moist. As a guide at 325°F, USDA’s timetable for fully cooked hams is about 15 to 18 minutes per pound for a whole bone-in ham (10 to 14 pounds), 18 to 24 for a half bone-in ham (5 to 7 pounds), and 10 to 18 for a spiral-cut ham (7 to 9 pounds). Let the thermometer decide, not the clock, and put the probe in the thickest part, away from the bone. A fully cooked ham from a USDA-inspected plant is ready at 140°F. A ham that was repackaged outside the plant, and any leftover ham, should be heated to 165°F. A cook-before-eating ham needs more time than these guides, which are for hams that are only being heated, so cook it to the temperature printed on its package.

This glaze comes together in five minutes: 1/2 cup honey, 1/2 cup packed brown sugar, 2 tablespoons Dijon or regular mustard, 2 tablespoons butter and 1 tablespoon cider vinegar or orange juice, plus a pinch of cinnamon or ground cloves if you like. Warm everything in a small saucepan over medium-low heat for 3 to 5 minutes, stirring until it is smooth and a little thickened. Glaze recipes differ a lot, from equal parts honey and brown sugar to mostly brown sugar, so treat this as a starting point and taste it: add a little more mustard or vinegar if it is too sweet. Honey and sugar burn quickly, so keep the ham covered for most of the baking and put the glaze on late. In the last 30 to 40 minutes, take off the foil and brush on the glaze every 10 to 15 minutes. For a deeper, stickier finish you can raise the oven to 400°F for the last 5 to 10 minutes, but watch it closely. A dark glaze does not mean the ham is hot, so check the thermometer before you carve.

A sweet, salty ham wants something sharp and something fresh beside it. In his Sunday Roast lesson, Jamie Oliver teaches a punchy English mustard made from scratch from a tin of mustard powder, which is a natural partner for ham, and clementine carrots with a sweet, citrusy glaze, alongside crispy roast potatoes. The lesson is built around a roast beef rather than a ham, but the sides carry over. For more ideas for the holiday table, see our roundups of holiday side dishes and potato side dishes.

Let the ham rest for about 15 minutes before you carve it. Get the leftovers into shallow containers in the refrigerator within two hours of serving, eat them within three to four days or freeze them for one to two months, and heat leftover ham to 165°F before you serve it hot. Then make the most of what is left. Edward Lee turns yesterday’s ham into ham salt in his Braised Tofu & Radish with Ham Salt lesson: freeze the ham, grate it on a microplane, then toast it in the oven until dried, for a savory seasoning with a lot of flavor.