Spiced Apricot Glazed Ham
This is a ham glaze that is thick, sticky and absolutely delicious. With the warm and cozy flavors of apricot, allspice, ginger, nutmeg and a tangy hint of mustard to balance everything out. This glazed ham will be an absolutely delicious centerpiece for your Christmas dinner this year!
A glazed Christmas ham is one of those festive meal centerpieces that not only look amazing but also tastes absolutely delicious. I like to make my glaze super thick so that it holds to the ham better but you can thin it to your desired consistency. Store your glazed ham in the fridge using a ham bag and use up and leftovers for sandwiches, pizzas or ham and cheese scones
Ingredients
Ham – One large leg of ham that is about 3-5 kgs
Apricot jam – Use any brand that you like. If the jam is too thick, you can thin it out with some water.
Brown sugar – For sweetness and caramelization
Spices – All spice, ground ginger and nutmeg
Mustard
Preparing your ham for glazing
Sometimes the idea of preparing a whole glazed ham can be a little intimidating so lets break the process down.
First you will remove the outer rind of the ham. Cut the rind around the protruding bone of the ham. Then peel the rind off the ham slowly keeping as much of the fat on the ham as possible.
You can use a small sharp knife to cut the fat away from the rind if too much of it lifts during the peeling process.
Next you will score the fat. Use a small sharp knife to score deep lines into the top of your ham about 2 cm apart. Then repeat the process in the opposite direction, creating a diamond shaped criss-cross pattern all over.
Wrap the bone end of the ham in tin foil and place your ham into a large roasting dish. Allow the bone end to sit on the edge of your roasting dish. This will help level out the upper surface of the ham and stop the glaze from sliding off so quickly.
Glazing your Christmas ham
You will warm the ham slightly before adding half of your glaze. Use a pastry brush or the back of a spoon to scoop and spread your glaze evenly over the entire surface of your ham.
Return the ham to the oven and bake for 15 minutes.
Place the rest of the glaze onto your ham, repeating the process from the first glaze. Return to the oven and bake for 15 minutes.
Rotate your ham in the oven and baste. Scoop the glaze that has dripped off into the roasting dish and brush or spoon on top of your ham paying special attention to any areas that have browned more quickly than others.
Cook for 15 more minutes before basting the ham again. Repeat this step and then remove your ham from the oven. The ham will be a dark golden colour and will have darker caramelized edges. Glaze the ham one more time with any of the dripped glaze before transferring the cooked ham to a serving dish or chopping board.
Spiced Apricot Glazed Ham
Ingredients
Method
- Place your jam a small saucepan. Heat your jam on a low heat until it is warmed through and melted.
- Remove the jam from the heat and mix through your remaining ingredients. You want your glaze to be thick but a pourable consistency . Add a little bit of water if needed.
- Preheat your oven to 160 degrees fan bake.
- Prepare your ham. Remove the outer rind leaving as much fat on the ham as possible. Score deep lines into the top of your ham about 2 cm apart creating a diamond shaped criss-cross pattern all over. Wrap the bone end of the ham in tin foil and place your ham into a large roasting dish.
- Place the ham on a low shelf in the oven for 10 minutes before using half of your glaze to cover the entire surface of your ham. Use a pastry brush or the back of a spoon to scoop and spread your glaze evenly.
- Return the ham to the oven and bake for 15 minutes.
- Place the rest of the glaze onto your ham, repeating the process from the first glaze. Return to the oven and bake for 15 minutes.
- Rotate your ham in the oven and baste. Scoop the glaze that has dripped off into the roasting dish and brush or spoon on top of your ham paying special attention to any areas that have browned more quickly than others.
- Cook for 15 more minutes before basting the ham again. Repeat this step and then remove your ham from the oven. The ham will be a dark golden colour and will have darker caramelized edges. Glaze the ham one more time with any of the dripped glaze before transferring the cooked ham to a serving dish or chopping board.
Thank you so much for taking the time to read through my apricot glazed ham recipe. I hope you enjoy trying this out for yourself. Please feel free to add any questions or comments below. I am happy to help out wherever possible and I would love to hear how this recipe worked out for you.
