Every so often, I declare that it’s time to “eat-out-of-the-freezer”. Translated: it’s full and needs purging. This particular time, a small spiral cut ham was taking up too much space and was calling to be baked. In the spirit of using what I had on hand, I turned to my pantry scrounging around for the ingredients to make a really sticky ham glaze.
Jackpot! This spiral ham recipe is a recipe fit for your holiday table and the fig and ginger glaze creates the perfect caramelized crust.
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And if ham isn’t your thing, this family-favorite boneless pork roast is another holiday must.
Holiday ham menu
I love serving this brown sugar ham with a big pan of breadcrumb-topped macaroni and cheese. And this salty Brussels sprouts salad with dates never fails especially when scooped up with some cheesy garlic knots. For dessert, serve up generous pieces of my unbelievably moist sheet pan banana cake.
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Out of the box ham glaze
Since this is a pantry ham glaze, we aren’t rallying the usual suspects like orange juice, marmalade and honey. You will need some sort of sugar, a little heat and liquid. I created the sweet heat with:
- brown sugar
- spicy, sweet Honeycup mustard
- fig butter (Trader Joe’s has one) or fig and ginger jam (Stonewall Kitchen is a favorite)
…and the liquid that brings it all together? Ginger ale!
Repeat after me…ginger ale glaze for ham. It’s more than a good thing.
Easy steps to brown sugar ham
A few necessary prep steps:
- After unwrapping the ham, use paper towels to dry it thoroughly. This helps create that crispy ham crust.
- Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper to catch all the drips.
- Optional: place a cooling rack on top of the parchment to any liquid falls away from the ham.
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Baked Spiral Cut Ham with Brown Sugar and Fig Glaze
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Ingredients
- 1 pre-cooked spiral cut ham, about 8-9 lbs. (I usually get the red foil one at Costco)
- 1 jar fig butter or jam
- ½ cup Honeycup Mustard
- 3 Tablespoons brown sugar
- 2-3 Tablespoons ginger ale, or enough to make a thick glaze; not diet
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350° (if using immediately).
- Place the ham on a parchment lined rimmed sheet pan, making sure there's room on each side to catch any glaze that runs off.
- In a small bowl, combine the first three ingredients. Stir together until smooth.
- Starting with 1 Tablespoon, add enough ginger ale to create a thick syrupy glaze that clings and heavily coats the back of the spoon. Adjust the ingredients as needed.
- Brush or spoon on the glaze over the ham.
- Bake for about 45-60 minutes until the ham is heated through and the glaze is a dark cognac color.
Notes
- This makes a sticky glaze. Make sure to cover your sheet pan with parchment paper before baking.
- I use a pre-cooked ham.
