Best Glaze for Spiral Ham (Only 2 Ingredients)

Ditch that packet of brown sugar glaze that came with your spiral ham, and make this super easy 2-ingredient glaze instead! I don’t think you’ll have any leftover ham, but just in case I’m also sharing 9 most delicious leftover ham recipes for you!

An introduction to Spiral Cut Ham

Just look at that beautiful glaze!

It’s no boring brown sugar glaze. And no, not honey pineapple glaze either! This year, let’s try something different, like amazing raspberry mustard glaze!

It’s not only delicious, but it’s SOOOO easy! Just mix 2 ingredients, and VOILA! Not overly sweet, a little bit tangy, perfectly sticky and beautiful!

So, before we get into nitty-gritty of the spiral cut ham recipe, let’s discuss how to choose the best ham to serve for holidays.

It turns out there’re 3 varieties of American ham:

• City hams – This’s the most common form of ham sold in the U.S. It’s wet-brined ham that’s usually sold fully-cooked. Spiral cut ham is precooked city ham, and it’s the easiest to prepare.
• Country hams – This’s dry-cured ham, that’s sold mostly raw. Due to the nature of curing (packed in salt), this type of ham is drier and has much more intense flavor.
• Fresh hams – This’s basically a raw pig’s leg.

As I mentioned above, spiral cut city ham is the easiest to cook, therefore it’s the way to go. BUT that’s not all. When you carefully read the labels, you’ll find another interesting information. Look out for “ham with natural juices” or “ham, water added”. That means ham contains 17-18.5% protein, and has 7-10% added water. I don’t recommend ham with a label “ham and water product”, because it means it can contain any amount of water. More water = less flavor! (You can read more about this here.)

So in conclusion, bone-in spiral cut ham with a label “ham with natural juices” or “ham, water added” is the best ham to buy for holidays.

Now, how much ham to buy to feed a crowd?

Typically, you want to plan for ½-¾lb per person, assuming you have a bone-in ham.

Spiral Ham Glaze Ingredients

• Raspberry jelly – For deliciously smooth glaze, I recommend seedless jelly.
• Dijon mustard – Tangy and spicy Dijon mustard balances out the sweetness of raspberry jelly.

How to cook a Spiral Ham in the Oven

Well, it’s easy. Earlier I mentioned, spiral cut ham is precooked ham. So you don’t need to actually cook it again. By roasting it in the oven, we’re basically reheating it and applying some delicious glaze. And to prevent moisture loss during reheating, we’ll wrap the whole thing in a foil and roast low and slow. (In the video below, I’ll show you how to wrap your ham so that it’ll be easy to unwrap later on.) To finish it off, we’ll open the foil and roast further with a glaze!

This low and slow roasting (reheating) method is guaranteed to serve you a beautiful moist ham. You’ll actually see a pool of ham juices in the bottom of the foil packet. It keeps your ham moist, while steaming during roasting. Oh and save all that juice for another use, like ham and potato soup!

Scroll down past the recipe for 9 delicious leftover ham recipes.

How do you cook a spiral ham without drying it out?

Place the spiral ham cut side down and cover it with aluminum foil. The moisture will be trapped inside preventing the ham from drying out.

When cooking spiral ham, should it be covered or uncovered?

Yes, the spiral ham should be covered while roasting.

How long to cook a Spiral Ham?

Since the spiral ham is already cooked, we’re simply reheating it. To thoroughly heat the ham, we roast the covered ham in low-temperature oven for 2 hours.

Serving Spiral Cut Ham

How to Cut a Spiral Ham

It’s so easy to cut a spiral ham. Using a sharp knife, cut the ham across the ham slices.

How to store Spiral Sliced Ham

Can you freeze a spiral ham?

Yes, you may freeze a spiral ham in an airtight container for up to 3 months.

Spiral Ham FAQs

9 Delicious Leftover Ham Recipes:

• Slow Cooker Ham, Potato and Corn Soup by Sweet & Savory
• White Bean and Ham Soup by Simply Recipes
• Slow Cooker Ham Bone Soup by Dinner at the Zoo
• Monte Cristo Sandwich by She Wears Many Hats
• Winter Blossom’s Often Requested Ham Salad by allrecipes.com
• Instant Pot Scalloped Potatoes by I Wash You Dry
• Ham and Cheese Spinach Puffs by The Chunky Chef
• Ham and Cheese Sliders by A Turtle’s Life for Me
• One Pot Ham & Penne Skillet by Julie’s Eats and Treats