Brown Sugar Bourbon Glazed Ham

This easy brown sugar bourbon-glazed ham is a classic Southern recipe that makes an impressive statement on a holiday table. The rich, sweet, and savory glaze turns a simple smoked ham into a decadent entrée that’s perfect for Easter, Christmas, or your next Sunday supper!

Whether it’s Easter, Christmas, or just a regular Sunday supper at home with the family, large gatherings in the South often start with a big sliced ham! It’s a beautiful addition to any buffet, and the leftovers can be enjoyed in next-day sandwiches, in hearty soups, or in weeknight casseroles. You get a lot of bang for your buck when you bake a bourbon glazed ham — and it couldn’t be easier!

What does glazing a ham do?

A glaze adds flavor, color, and texture to a baked ham. The sugars in the glaze (from the marmalade and brown sugar) caramelize on the outside of the ham while it’s baking in the oven, which gives the meat extra flavor, a beautiful color and shine, and a crispy exterior.

When should you glaze the ham?

For this recipe, you’ll bake the ham covered for the first half of the cooking time. This allows the meat to come to a hotter temperature without burning on the exterior. Then you’ll remove the cover, and baste the ham with the glaze every 20 minutes or so for the final hour of cooking.

How to Keep Moisture in a Ham

This baked ham stays moist and juicy, since the glaze adds moisture and you’ll keep the ham covered with foil for the first hour. We also add a bit of water to the pan, which steams under the foil cover, providing a moist environment for the meat.

Serving Suggestions

Pair the sweet bourbon glazed ham with any of these delicious side dishes:

• Party Potatoes, Twice Baked Potatoes, Aunt Bee’s 3-Ingredient Cheesy Potato Casserole, Easy Potato Salad, or Easy Au Gratin Potatoes
• Sweet Potato Casserole with Marshmallows
• Southern Pineapple Casserole
• Ambrosia Salad or Watergate Salad
• Easy Creamed Spinach Casserole or Sauteed Spinach with Garlic
• Roasted Asparagus or Sauteed Asparagus with Lemon, Garlic, and Almonds
• Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Bacon
• Homemade Crescent Rolls or Soft Dinner Rolls
• Flaky Buttermilk Biscuits, 3-Ingredient Buttermilk Biscuits, 4-Ingredient Butter Swim Biscuits, 7UP Biscuits, Sweet Potato Biscuits, Cheese Biscuits, Pumpkin Spice Biscuits, or Drop Biscuits
• Fluffy Bakery-Style Corn Muffins, Southern Cornbread, Jiffy Cornbread with Creamed Corn, Sweet Cornbread, Pumpkin Cornbread, Cake Mix Cornbread, Skillet Cornbread, Corn Sticks, or Honey Cornbread
• Cheddar Chive Beer Bread {No Knead, No Yeast!} or Honey Beer Bread
• Wedge Salad, Classic Caesar Salad, House Salad with Candied Pecans, Mixed Greens with Dijon Vinaigrette, or a Green Salad with Red Wine Vinaigrette
• Creamy Baked Mac and Cheese, Crock Pot Mac and Cheese, or Duke’s Homemade Mac and Cheese
• Charleston Red Rice
• Coleslaw or Vinegar Coleslaw
• Broccoli Cauliflower Salad
• Fried Apples
• Southern Succotash
• Creamed Peas or Southern Pea Salad
• Green Bean Casserole, Arkansas Green Beans, or Southern Style Green Beans
• Southern Collard Greens
• Fresh Fruit Salad
• Apple and Butternut Squash Casserole
• Cornbread Stuffing or Sausage Stuffing
• Pumpkin Bread or Pumpkin Muffins
• One-Bowl Cranberry Orange Muffins or Cranberry Orange Bread
• 3-Ingredient Sour Cream Muffins
• Cranberry Sauce or Cranberry Jello Salad
• A loaf of crusty Dutch Oven Bread, No-Knead Cranberry Walnut Bread, or French Baguette
• Jiffy Corn Casserole

Recipe Variations

• Use the same bourbon glaze on a smaller ham. Follow these recipe instructions for a 2 – 3 lb. boneless ham.
• This is the 14-inch cast iron skillet that I use to bake my ham. If you don’t have a cast iron skillet, you can use a roasting pan or other large baking dish that will adequately accommodate your ham.
• Swap out the orange marmalade and use apricot preserves or hot pepper jelly instead.
• For an alcohol-free glaze, use orange juice instead of bourbon.
• Maple bourbon glazed ham: use maple syrup instead of brown sugar. You may want to simmer the glaze in a small saucepan over medium heat so that it thickens slightly.
• Add extra flavor to the glaze with warm spices like cinnamon, ginger, or cloves. Garlic powder is also a nice option.
• Add more cayenne pepper for a spicy glaze, or omit this ingredient altogether.

Tips for the Best Bourbon Glaze Recipe

• Make sure that you only scrape off the very outer layer of the orange peel when zesting the fruit. I use this tool to make it easy. You do not want to scrape off any of the white pith, which is bitter.
• The total baking time will vary depending on the size of your ham, on the temperature of your ham when it goes into the oven, and on your individual oven. As a result, an instant-read thermometer is the best way to know when your ham is done. It’s already fully-cooked when it’s purchased, but the meat should come to an internal temperature of at least 140°F – 145°F for safe consumption.
• How Much Ham Per Person: A good rule of thumb is to assume about ¾ lb. per person for a bone-in ham, so an 8 lb. ham will feed about 10-11 people.
• If you’re not using a spiral-sliced ham, I recommend using a sharp knife to score the surface of the ham with ¼-inch-deep cuts in a diamond pattern. This will help infuse the flavor of the glaze into the meat.

More Baked Ham Recipes to Try

Pineapple Glazed Ham

2 hours hrs 30 minutes mins

Virginia Brown Sugar Baked Ham

2 hours hrs 35 minutes mins

Baked Ham with Apricot Glaze {5 Ingredients!}

50 minutes mins

Brown Sugar Bourbon-Glazed Ham

5 from 2 votes

Prep: 10 minutes minutes

Cook: 2 hours hours 15 minutes minutes

Resting Time 20 minutes minutes

Total: 2 hours hours 45 minutes minutes

Servings 12 – 14 people

Calories 479 kcal

This easy brown sugar bourbon-glazed ham is a classic Southern recipe that makes an impressive statement on a holiday table!

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Equipment

• 14-inch cast iron skillet

Ingredients

  

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• 1 (8 – 10 lb.) bone-in spiral-cut ham
• ¼ cup water
• 1 cup orange marmalade
• 1 teaspoon orange zest
• ½ cup packed light brown sugar
• ½ cup bourbon (or sub with orange juice for alcohol-free option)
• 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• ⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper (or more if you like a spicier glaze)
• Optional garnish: orange slices and fresh herbs

Instructions

• Position oven rack in lower third of the oven. Preheat oven to 325°F.
• Place ham flat-side down in a 12 – 14-inch cast iron skillet (or use a large roasting pan). Pour the water into the pan. Cover with aluminum foil.
  
• Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together orange marmalade, orange zest, brown sugar, bourbon, mustard, and cayenne pepper. Remove the foil cover on the ham; brush with glaze.
  
• Return the ham to the oven, uncovered, and bake until a meat thermometer inserted into the thickest portion of the ham registers 145°F, about 1 hour more, brushing with the glaze every 20 minutes. Smaller 8-lb. hams might be done with just 45 more minutes, while larger hams might need at least another 1 hour and 15 minutes. Tent the ham loosely with foil at any point to prevent overbrowning, if necessary.
  
• Let stand for 20 minutes before carving and serving. Garnish with fresh orange slices and herbs, if desired.
  

Notes

• Make sure that you only scrape off the very outer layer of the orange peel when zesting the fruit. I use this tool to make it easy. You do not want to scrape off any of the white pith, which is bitter.
• The total baking time will vary depending on the size of your ham, on the temperature of your ham when it goes into the oven, and on your individual oven. As a result, an instant-read thermometer is the best way to know when your ham is done. It’s already fully-cooked when it’s purchased, but the meat should come to an internal temperature of at least 140°F – 145°F for safe consumption.
• Use the same bourbon glaze on a smaller ham. Follow these recipe instructions for a 2 – 3 lb. boneless ham.
• This is the 14-inch cast iron skillet that I use to bake my ham. If you don’t have a cast iron skillet, you can use a roasting pan or other large baking dish that will adequately accommodate your ham.
• Swap out the orange marmalade and use apricot preserves or hot pepper jelly instead.
• For an alcohol-free glaze, use orange juice instead of bourbon.
• Add more cayenne pepper for a spicy glaze, or omit that ingredient altogether.

Nutrition

Serving: 1/12 of a 9-lb. hamCalories: 479kcalCarbohydrates: 3gProtein: 41gFat: 32gSaturated Fat: 11gPolyunsaturated Fat: 3gMonounsaturated Fat: 15gCholesterol: 117mgSodium: 2273mgPotassium: 548mgFiber: 0.2gSugar: 3gVitamin A: 13IUVitamin C: 0.4mgCalcium: 17mgIron: 2mg

Keyword: bourbon glaze for ham, bourbon glaze recipe, bourbon glazed ham, bourbon ham glaze

Course: Dinner

Cuisine: American, Southern

Author: Blair Lonergan

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