Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote in his journals: “It is one of the blessings of old friends that you can afford to be stupid with them.” Friendship is one of those most-precious gifts that should never be neglected. You know with full confidence which friends you trust most — those that will continue to love you no matter what mistakes, failures, or victories you achieve.
In many ways, it is the same with food. Some things go perfectly together — always. It doesn’t matter where you are, how old you are, or who you are with, some food pairings are meant to be:
- Peanut butter and jelly
- Spaghetti and garlic bread
- Mint and dark chocolate
- Tomatoes and basil
- And maple syrup and bourbon
One of my favorite cocktails is a variant of the classic old fashioned: bourbon with a small amount of maple syrup and orange bitters.
Basic ham is elevated by this pairing, showcasing a caramelized crust, moist meat, and a taste that wins even the severest critic. Basting the ham with this maple and bourbon glaze allows every single slice to have that wonderful, candied flavor. The trick to getting glaze on every slice of ham is trimming the fat and scoring the ham deeply. As the ham bakes — basically heats up, because ham is already cooked — the scores open up and glaze covers more surface area. And that is a SCORE for everyone!
The spices used in this maple and bourbon glaze are reminiscent of mulling spices. Regardless of season, they go together perfectly! Orange juice plays nicely with bourbon, and brown mustard gives a little tang. If you happen to have any glaze left, drizzle it over cut slices of ham.
Glazed ham pairs perfectly with a big batch of bourbon baked beans, and salad topped with bourbon vinaigrette. Of course, in my family, the oven is seldom used for just one item. Maple and bourbon glazed ham just cries out to be accompanied by cheesy hashbrown potatoes. They take a little less time to bake than the ham, but it makes good use of the oven space.
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Maple & Bourbon Glazed Ham
- Total Time: 2 hours 10 minutes
- Yield: 8–12 1x
Description
Easy glazed ham that becomes a showstopper
Ingredients
Bone-in ham, approximately 7-10 pounds
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup real maple syrup
1/4 cup bourbon
1/4 cup orange juice
3 Tbsp brown mustard
2 Tbsp butter
1 tsp ground cloves
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground allspice
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1 cup water
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350℉. Line a roasting pan with aluminum foil and spray the rack with oil.
Trim excess fat off the ham, and score deeply. Pour one cup of water into the pan, and place ham on the rack. Tent ham loosely with foil and bake for 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, bring glaze ingredients to a simmer over medium heat, allowing to reduce by about half.
Begin basting the ham every 15 minutes, until meat thermometer registers 140℉. Replace the foil each time the ham is basted, until the final 15 minutes. (Time will vary depending on size of ham, but somewhere between 1 1/2 hours and 2 hours.) Allow ham to bake uncovered for 15 minutes after final basting with glaze.
Notes
Glaze can be made a day in advance and refrigerated.
Foil-lining the pan simplifies clean up. Sugars can bake pretty intensely onto a pan.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 2 hours
