Bourbon Glazed Ham

24 Servings
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 2 hours 30 minutes
Total Time 2 hours 45 minutes

Bourbon Glazed Ham is an easy, flavorful main dish for the holidays. Simple glaze of bourbon, brown sugar, and orange juice, ready in just a few hours.

The holidays aren’t complete without friends and family gathering around the table and enjoying a meal together. Whether you make a signature Brown Sugar Glazed Ham, this new Bourbon Glazed Ham, or one of our many other Holiday Main Dishes, you’ll eat well while making memories this holiday season.

Bourbon Glazed Ham in roasting pan

BOURBON GLAZED HAM

It goes without saying, but would it be Christmas dinner without a tasty holiday ham sitting centerstage of your table? Bourbon Glazed Ham has a sweet, rich flavor and this glaze is a perfect upgrade to your traditional ham. 

There is something about the way the smokey, salty ham that pairs so beautifully with the sticky caramel bourbon glaze. Make sure you get a nice size portion of that crunchy, barely charred crust, it is really the best part of the ham. If you serve it for Thanksgiving, I’m sure there will be a debate whether the ham crust or the turkey skin is the most addicting!

I prefer to use a bone-in ham for this recipe and not a boneless ham because the bone really adds a deeper flavor. It also helps to keep the moisture in so you don’t need to worry about ending up with a dry ham.

We love cooking hams that are pre-sliced because it makes serving them easy! You can certainly buy a ham that is not pre-sliced and cut the ham into a diamond shaped pattern (this would be gorgeous!).

Because hams come pre-cooked, they’re easy to use and only require you to follow a few tips to ensure you’re allowing its natural flavors to come out. When placing the ham into the roasting pan, make sure that the fat side is up and if you’re using a cut ham, the cut side should be facing down.

Also, make sure that you’re leaving the ham covered while it’s in the oven. If you’re using a boneless ham and are worried about it drying out, you can always add a little bit of water underneath the roasting rack to help with moisture.

Important note for cooking a glazed ham: Don’t put your glaze on too soon or it will burn. You want to add your glaze in the last 25-30 minutes of baking, giving it enough time to get that deep caramel color and rich flavor, but not so much time that it burns and ruins your dish.

HOLIDAY MAIN DISH RECIPES

HOW TO MAKE BOURBON GLAZED HAM

  1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
  2. Place the ham in a roasting pan and pour ¼ cup bourbon over the top of it.
  3. Place in the oven for 90 minutes.
  4. Add the brown sugar, ¼ cup bourbon, orange juice, orange zest, ground mustard, and ground coriander to a small bowl and mix.
  5. Spoon the mixture over the ham and place back in the oven.
  6. Cook for another 30 minutes.
  7. Remove from the oven and allow to rest for 15 minutes before serving.

Bourbon Glazed Ham slices

VARIATIONS ON BOURBON GLAZED HAM 

  • Orange: Bring out the orange flavor of this glaze by adding some fresh orange zest, orange marmalade or even some sliced orange slices around the top.
  • Mustard – In addition to the ground mustard, add some honey dijon or stone ground mustard to the glaze to add some depth and bit of spice.
  • Sweet: If you want a bit more sweetness to your ham glaze, substitute ⅓ cup of the brown sugar with honey or maple syrup.
  • Slow Cooker: Add a small amount of water to the crockpot, add the ham and spoon on the glaze. Cover and cook on low for 2 1/2-3 hours. Just make sure that the slow cooker you’re using is the right size for the ham that you’re cooking. You don’t want to overcrowd it.

FAQS ABOUT BOURBON GLAZED HAM

  • What can I used instead of Bourbon? If you prefer not to cook with alcohol, you can substitute vanilla extract to mimic the bourbon flavoring. Use up to 2 teaspoons of non-alcoholic vanilla extract. I would also recommend adding a couple tablespoons of maple syrup plus water to replace the volume of the 2/3 cup of bourbon in your glaze.
  • Is Bourbon Glazed Ham Gluten-free? You might be thinking that this recipe isn’t gluten-free because bourbon has either wheat, barley or rye included in their “mash.” Thankfully, due to the distillation process all the gluten is removed making it now, gluten-free. Also, because you’ll be cooking with this bourbon, there’s no need to buy an expensive brand (unless you’ll be sipping it later). Any store brand will work perfectly.
  • Do you have to glaze a ham? You can certainly cook your ham without a glaze. You can also use a spice rub on the ham to give it some flavoring without adding the glaze to it, however we suggest just altering the glaze to your liking instead of skipping. It adds so much flavor and texture to your dish!

DELICIOUS HOLIDAY SIDE DISHES TO SERVE WITH BOURBON GLAZED HAM

HOW LONG IS BOURBON GLAZED HAM GOOD?

  • Serve: Don’t leave Bourbon Glazed Ham out at room temperature for longer than 2 hours.
  • Store: Place the leftovers in an airtight container and store in the refrigerator. It will last for up to 3-4 days.
  • Freeze: You can freeze Bourbon Glazed Ham for up to 3-4 months. Make sure that it’s placed in an airtight freezer-safe container or storage bag.

WHEN IS HAM SAFE TO EAT? 

According to the USDA’s Official Website, pre-cooked package ham should be cooked until it reaches an internal temperature of 140 degrees f (60 degrees c). Insert a meat thermometer into the thickest part of the ham, avoiding the bone, to check to make sure it’s done.

Bourbon Glazed Ham top view

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Bourbon Glazed Ham

Bourbon Glazed Ham will take center stage at your next holiday gathering. Easily made with bourbon, brown sugar, and orange juice and ready in just 2 hours.
Yield 24 Servings
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 2 hours 30 minutes
Total Time 2 hours 45 minutes
Course Dinner
Cuisine American
Author Sabrina Snyder

Ingredients
 

  • 8 pound cooked bone-in spiral sliced ham
  • 1/2 cup bourbon , divided
  • 2 cups brown sugar , packed
  • 1/4 cup orange juice
  • 1 teaspoon orange zest
  • 1 teaspoon ground mustard
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground coriander
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
  • Place the ham in a roasting pan and pour ¼ cup bourbon all over the top of it.
  • Place in the oven, covered with foil, for 90 minutes.
  • Stir together the brown sugar, ¼ cup bourbon, orange juice, ground mustard, coriander and cinnamon to a small bowl and mix.
  • Pour over the ham and cook for an additional 30 minutes.
  • Remove from the oven and allow to rest for, covered loosely with the foil, for 15 minutes before serving.

Nutrition

Calories: 313kcal | Carbohydrates: 18g | Protein: 29g | Fat: 12g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 110mg | Sodium: 1752mg | Potassium: 452mg | Sugar: 18g | Vitamin A: 3IU | Vitamin C: 36mg | Calcium: 24mg | Iron: 1mg

Bourbon Glazed Ham collage

About the Author: Sabrina Snyder

Sabrina is a professionally trained Private Chef of over 10 years with ServSafe Manager certification in food safety. She creates all the recipes here on Dinner, then Dessert, fueled in no small part by her love for bacon.

Sabrina Snyder is a professionally trained personal and private chef of over 10 years who is the creator and developer of all the recipes on Dinner, then Dessert.

She is also the author of the cookbook Dinner, then Dessert – Satisfying Meals Using Only 3, 5 or 7 Ingredients, published by Harper Collins.

She started Dinner, then Dessert as a business in her office as a lunch service for her coworkers who admired her lunches before going to culinary school and becoming a full time personal chef and private chef.

As a personal chef Sabrina would cook for families one day a week and cook their entire week of dinners. All grocery shopping, cooking and cleaning was done along with instructions on reheating. As a private chef she cooked for private parties and cooked in family homes in the evenings for families on a nightly basis after working as a personal chef during the day.

Sabrina has been certified as a ServSafe Manager since 2007 and was a longstanding member of the USPCA Personal Chef Association including being on the board of the Washington DC Chapter of Chefs in the US Personal Chef Association when they won Chapter of the year.

As a member of the community of food website creators Sabrina Snyder has spoken at many conferences regarding her experiences as a food writer including the Indulge Food Conference, Everything Food Conference, Haven Food Conference and IACP Annual Food Professionals Conference.

Sabrina lives with her family in sunny California.

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Comments

  1. Best ham ever!! Used a really good bourbon,Knobs Creek, and that ham was delicious!!! Everyone raved and we had not much left. Great recipe.

  2. This was SO good! I made two hams for Christmas yesterday because we wanted leftovers. There were a couple family members who aren’t big ham fans, and you know what? They were converted! Everyone said it was the best ham they’d ever eaten, and they requested I make it again next year. The only question I had was if I should have uncovered it after I added the glaze so that it would crisp up some. I had an irrational fear that I might dry it out, so I left it covered, but I’m thinking I shouldn’t have. Thanks for the delicious recipe!

  3. Used this recipe for Christmas ham and it was deelish! We had an 11.5lb Sugarland already cooked ham with bone in and made 1.5x the recipe of the glaze. We all thoroughly enjoyed it and will definitely make it again.

  4. I would rate this recipe higher than 5 stars if I could. My family thought it tasted better than “ honey baked hams”

  5. This was a good start for a recipe. I will definitely be making it again, with a few tweaks! The ham edges crisped up wonderfully, while the rest stayed nice and moist. I don’t like drinking bourbon, but it definitely works well on ham!

  6. Hi Sabrina,
    One question.
    After the bourbon glaze is applied should I cover the ham again with foil to finish cooking,or leave foil off?
    Thank you

  7. Oh my goodness was this a fabulous recipe. I didn’t have Bourbon so used spiced rum and it turned out better than any ham recipe that I have ever made. Thank you so much !

  8. The best ham ever! We made it as our main dish for Christmas this year. It turned out as beautiful and delicious as shown on the recipe. Love it!

  9. Hi – I made one last year from a different recipe and found that the bourbon mix really didn’t permeate much past the skin and it was quite dry. I want to retry and your recipe sounds good. I have a 4.2kg leg with the bone in.

    I was planning on serving it on Christmas Eve / Christmas Day and Boxing Day. It will be warm on Christmas Eve but the other 2 days I intend to serve cold. You think it would work? Thanks for a great recipe

    1. So sorry your question got caught in my spam filter so I’m just now seeing it. The glaze will really only permeate the skin a bit but not a ton. I hope you had a safe and happy holiday.

  10. if the ham is already cooked why will it take 90 min once glaze is put on
    do you have a certain brand of ham that would work better for the glaze..
    would the ham from costco work for the glaze
    thank you in advance