Easy Ham Glaze Recipe with Brown Sugar, Mustard, and Pineapple Juice

A glaze can take a ham from ordinary to extraordinary. Finish off your holiday ham with this delicious brown sugar, mustard, and pineapple juice glaze recipe. If you make a purchase using the links included, we may earn a commission.

The holidays are my favorite time of the year. There are cookies, singing Christmas carols, stringing lights, making handmade gifts, and of course, celebrating with friends and family.

This year, I decided to throw a Favorite Things party for some of my friends. If you don't know how this kind of party works check out this post from How Sweet This Is. There are even free printables that you can use.

To start the party off right, we all enjoyed a delicious Christmas ham dinner.

Now I have to tell you I was very excited bout this but a little nervous too, because my husband is actually the main cook in the family and he wasn't going to be around to cook.

That meant it was all on me! But the ham turned out amazing and was so good.

Ingredients You'll Need For This Recipe:

• Light Brown Sugar
• Honey
• Dijon Mustard
• Pineapple Juice

My favorite is a bone-in ham roast that is spiral-cut.

A spiral-cut ham is just so easy to serve since it is already pre-sliced.

This time I purchased the Hormel Cure 81 ham that was Cherrywood flavor from my grocery store, but this brown sugar pineapple ham glaze recipe works with any ham.

I have used it on boneless ham, ham slices, and even pork chops!

If you have never cooked ham before (I hadn't), it really is so easy.

Hams are pre-cooked, so you really need to just warm them up in the oven and complete cooking instructions are included.

Bake Ham:

Remove from packaging and place the whole ham in a large roasting pan with the large cut side of the ham facing down.

Add 1 cup of water to the pan, and cover the ham securely either with aluminum foil or the roasting pan lid.

Bake at 325 degrees for 10 minutes per pound.

Brown Sugar Ham Glaze:

This really is an easy recipe!

In a small bowl, mix all of the ingredients and whisk until well blended.

I stirred with just a fork, and that worked just fine.

The mustard glaze really takes on that yellow color.

Add the Glaze:

The brown sugar glaze is added at the very end.

When the ham is finished cooking, take it out of the oven, and increase the oven temperature to 425 degrees.

Remove the ham from the pan, pour out any pan juices, and place the ham back in the bottom of the pan.

Now is when you brush the glaze all over the outside of the ham giving it a nice thick layer.

Place the ham back in the oven for 5-10 minutes, and recover either with the lid or tin foil.

Oh, it smells amazing coming out of the oven and looks gorgeous on my table as the main dish for our Christmas dinner.

The ham was delicious. Everyone commented on it and it was so easy!

After dinner, we moved to the living room and did our Favorite Things gift exchange.

Overall, the dinner party was a huge success.

Sometimes you just need a good excuse to get together with friends and laugh until it hurts.

Frequently Asked Questions:

Is it best to glaze ham during cooking or at the end?

In the end, the sugars from the glaze can burn the skin of the ham if cooked too long.

How do you put a glaze on a ham?

A basting brush works great! It lets you move the glaze around while also making sure you cover the entire ham.

You can also use a spoon and simply spoon the glaze over the ham.

Do you cool the ham before glazing?

A cool ham is definitely easier to glaze because you won't burn your fingers.

However, I like to add the glaze while hot, only because I am going to put it back in the oven to get the glaze slightly caramelized before serving, and that would take a while to let it cool to heat it up again.

Does fresh pineapple ruin a ham?

It actually can! Fresh pineapple has an enzyme that will break down the meat. It is best to use canned pineapple rings or canned pineapple juice.

At what temperature is a ham done cooking?

When the ham has reached an internal temperature of 145º F it is ready.

How do I store leftover ham?

Remove the meat from the bone in large chunks or slices and place them in a plastic bag or airtight container. Leftovers are good for about 3 to 5 days in the refrigerator.

What holidays do you eat Ham?

Ham is an easy meal to serve a group of people. I think that is why it has become a tradition with many holidays.

Some special occasions include Thanksgiving dinner, Christmas dinner, and Easter dinner. But there is also no need to wait for a holiday meal to enjoy it!

Did you try it and love it? Please leave a 5-star review!

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Easy Ham Glaze Recipe with Brown Sugar, Mustard, and Pineapple Juice

A glaze can take a ham from ordinary to extraordinary. Finish off your holiday-time ham with this delicious brown sugar, mustard, and pineapple juice glaze recipe.

Ingredients

• ½ cup Brown Sugar
• 3 tbsp Honey
• 1 tbsp Dijon Mustard
• 1 tbsp Pineapple Juice

Instructions

• In a small bowl, mix all of the ingredients and whisk until well blended.
• When the ham is finished cooking, take it out of the oven, and increase the oven temperature to 425 degrees.
• Remove the ham from the pan and pour out any water from the bottom and place the ham back in the pan.
• Brush the glaze all over the ham giving it a nice thick layer.
• Place the ham back in the oven for 5-10 minutes.

Notes

Cook ham according to package instructions. 

The glaze it added after the ham is cooked.