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Brushing a glaze on ham before and during cooking builds a flavorful, lightly caramelized crust. The mixture you use — often a blend of sugar, spices, and something liquid like cider, stock, wine, soda, or stout — cooks down into a sticky, sweet coating that complements the juicy meat. Brown sugar, honey, mustard, and even bourbon all shine in a glaze, so mix and match to suit the occasion. Use these ham glaze ideas as inspiration for creating a holiday-worthy centerpiece.
Carla Hall’s Spiced Cider–Glazed Ham
Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Chelsea Zimmer / Prop Styling by Priscilla Montiel
Chef Carla Hall glazes a spiral-cut ham with apple cider, brown sugar, mustard, bourbon, and sweet spices. “The natural sugars in the cider caramelize under heat, lending a beautiful, sleek finish to the ham that is not only delicious but also visually appealing with its glossy sheen,” she says.
Madeira-Glazed Ham
Greg Dupree / Food Styling by Torie Cox / Prop Styling by Christine Keely
This holiday ham glistens in a spiced Madeira and honey glaze and is served on a bed of greens and citrus.
Saba and Dijon-Glazed Ham
In this glaze, chef Sarah Grueneberg swaps sugar for saba, a sweet and slightly acidic syrup made from cooked-down grape must (similar to aged balsamic) along with Dijon and salt.
Guinness-Glazed Ham
Made with just dark stout and brown sugar, this simple glaze develops a malty, caramel-like bitterness as the ham roasts. Irish ham is slightly less salty than American ham and has a thin layer of fat, which absorbs the flavors of the glaze.
Apple Cider-Glazed Ham
Greg DuPree / Prop Styling by Missie Crawford / Food Styling by Ali Ramee
A mix of cider, brown sugar, honey, and Dijon mustard gets brushed on a spiral-cut ham before, during, and after cooking for a deliciously caramelized, pleasantly sticky crust.
Dr Pepper-Glazed Ham with Prunes
Keller & Keller
Meat expert Bruce Aidells roasts smoked ham in a Dr Pepper bath, then drizzles on a glaze made with more Dr Pepper, mustard, brown sugar, and cider vinegar for the last 20 minutes in the oven. He reduces the pan juices on the stove to make the accompanying prune-studded sauce.
Honey Bourbon-Glazed Ham
Petrina Tinslay
You’ll need two full cups of bourbon for this holiday-worthy ham — it’s stirred into a warmly spiced caramel along with soy sauce and honey for a sweet, sticky glaze that gets brushed on the meat in the last half hour of roasting.
Lemon and Pickled Pepper-Glazed Ham
James Baigrie
Former F&W editor Grace Parisi combines lemon-lime marmalade with pickled peppers, mustard, lemon juice, and bourbon in a coarse puree for this glaze.
Pomegranate Jalapeño-Glazed Ham
Con Poulos
To make this sweet-and-spicy glaze, simmer store-bought jalapeño jelly with lemon and pomegranate juices, plus Dijon mustard, cinnamon, and ginger.
Smoky Glazed Ham with Red Pepper Jelly
John Kernick
Chef Jonathon Sawyer simmers a sweetened, chile-infused blend of chicken stock, cola, and dry red wine, then adds coriander, fennel seeds, and peppercorns and reduces the liquid into a sauce for basting the ham. Make the sauce up to two days ahead.
DIY Honey-Baked Ham
Food & Wine / Photo by Abby Hocking
Cookbook author Anna Painter’s ham is baked in apple juice, then glazed with a sweet-spicy mix of brown sugar, honey, honey mustard, black pepper, and cayenne.
