Cranberry & maple glazed ham
I reckon Christmas is better when it features a big scrumptious glazed ham – and this is the glaze to end all glazes! Because the ham is salty, a glaze should be a nice balance of sweet, tart, pungent and spicy to work with it – which is why I don’t add salt to the glaze. This one is deliciously simple to make and incredibly tasty – I’ve had nothing but rave reviews from those who have tried it. I don’t really like the idea of jamming cloves all over a ham (ever bitten in to a whole clove?). It’s nice and easy this way and you still get the lovely spiced flavour from the glaze.
Prep time – 40 minutes
Cooking time – 3-4 hours
Ingredients
1 x precooked ham – whole or half (organic and free-range)
1 x 275g jar cranberry sauce
1 cup orange or cranberry juice
1 cup pineapple juice
3/4 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup sugar
50g butter (optional)
Zest and juice of 2 oranges
2 tbsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp mixed spice
Extra juice, chicken stock, or water, for cooking
Method
Take the ham out of the fridge 30–60 minutes before cooking, if you can. Slide a finger in under the skin (it helps to use the tip of a knife sometimes to get it started) and carefully peel the thin skin away — leave all of the cloudy white fat layer there for flavour and moisture. Keep peeling until all the skin is removed.
To make the glaze, combine all the ingredients in a medium saucepan. Simmer for 20–30 minutes until reduced to a syrupy consistency.
Using a small sharp knife, make a series of diagonal slices about 3cm apart and a few millimetres deep through the fat layer around the whole ham. Cut another series in the opposite direction, so you end up with rough diamond shapes. Transfer to a roasting dish, on a rack if you have one.
Now you can choose to either serve the ham hot, or just glaze it, heat the outside and serve it warm or cold.
To serve the ham hot, preheat the oven to 160°C regular bake. Calculate your cooking time — about 10 minutes per 500g. (To calculate, round your ham’s weight to the nearest kilogram. Multiply that by 2. Then multiply that number by 10 to get your cooking time in minutes. Divide that by 60 to get your time in hours. So if my ham was 9kg: 9 x 2 = 18. 18 x 10 = 180 minutes. 180 minutes ¸ 60 = 3 hours cooking time.) Pour the fruit juice, chicken stock or water into the dish, cover with foil (try not to let the foil touch the ham), and cook for the calculated time.
Remove the ham from the oven and discard the foil. Increase the oven temperature to 170°C. Brush the ham generously all over with the glaze, and return it to the oven to cook uncovered for 1 hour. Baste the ham with more glaze another three or four times while it’s cooking.
If you’re not ready to serve yet, you can keep it in the oven at 50°C for an hour or two until you’re ready.
To serve the ham warm or cold, preheat the oven to 180°C regular bake. Brush the ham generously all over with the glaze and bake for about
30 minutes, basting with glaze two or three more times during cooking.
To cook on the BBQ
If your BBQ has a lid, you can cook the whole thing on the BBQ in the same way as the first method. Use a low heat – only one-two burners set to low if you don’t have a thermostat.
Unsure if you will receive it before tomorrow but worth a shot,if cooking ham from raw do we cook first then glaze or do we cook with glaze for longer and how long should I cook it for?
When you say pineapple juice, orange juice etc. do you fresh squeeze? Or is store bought fine?
Hi I’m cooking my first mid winter Xmas dinner this Saturday night , I see I can make glaze up day before so will do so . If I make a double lot of glaze can I use this as a dressing / sauce at the table? Do you have any sides you would recommend to go with ham? Thanks kim
Hello Chelsea, this looks delicious, could I make up the glaze a couple days before heating the ham and just store in a jar or something?
LOL.. sorry just read the above comments! all good to make in advance! ;)
Hi Chelsea,
Could I use a mix of wholegrain and dijon mustard?
Do you think this would work on Turkey ?
Do you think this would work on turkey ? I love it on ham.
Hello Chelsea, What sides do you serve with this?
Thanks
Hi Chelsea
Can this glaze be made ahead and kept in the fridge until the day? If so how long do you think it will last in the fridge? Many thanks and merry Christmas
Hi Chelsea, how in the world do you cover ham with foil without the foil touching it!? A little house/hat of foil?? With a mini scaffolding!? Eeeek help!! ???
Hi Chelsea. Why do you have to cook the pre cooked ham for that long? Never done a Xmas ham before and want to be right for the family ?
We’ve only got a fan oven in our flat. Any idea how I would adjust the cooking time & temperature?
HI Chelsea, am I right in thinking that you cook in the juice/stock first and only add the glaze for the last hour?
Hi Chelsea I have Cranberry Jelly – will that be ok instead of cranberry sauce?
Thanks Wendy
Yes.
What’s the amounts of stock? to cook the ham before glazing please
Hi Chelsea. My nephew is not able to ear cranberry what can I use as a substitute? Also if cooking day before and heating to eat xmas day what heat and how long. Thanks Helena
Hi Chelsea,
as we are fast nearing the time when Hams require glazing, any reason why i could not substitute the Maple with Honey?
Hi Chelsea, this sounds amazing!!! Can I make glaze today and keep in fridge till tomorrow? Merry Christmas ?
Hi Chelsea, can you make the glaze a day in advance?
Yes indeed!
Good on you Chelsea for recommending free-range.
Hi Chelsea,
Thanks for making such amazing recipes! I have all your books thanks to hubby (although pretty sure it’s to benefit him lol ) anyway, I am planning on making this for xmas this year, and wondered what the best way to do it is for serving cold? Could I glaze and heat on xmas eve then serve tasty and cold for xmas day lunch?
Many thanks! :)
Hi Chelsea I have never tried making a glazed ham before so am excited to try. Just wondering tho does cooking it and glazing it make it keep less longer? I normally keep it in a ham bag for a few weeks.
No it keeps the same amount of time :)
You don’t put the skin back on, you just want the white cloudy fat layer underneath to remain on the ham. The tough layer of browny skin can be discarded.
thank so much :), HAVE A GOOD XMAS
Wow what a delicious recipe! Seriously the best glazed ham I have ever tasted. Cooked ours slowly in the bbq with the hood down as the leg was too big for our oven in Queensland. Simply amazing, thank you for sharing this recipe.
Chelsea this is just delicious. I made this for my ham on Christmas Day 2015 and the family raved! Amazing combination of flavours – thanks so much :)
Hi Chelsea, thank you so much for the glaze recipe. My family loved it do much that I will sure do it again next Xmas. Should the glaze be quite thick when you put it on as I didn’t seem to be able to get it thick. All the same it was very yummy.
Thanks Chelsea for this amazing ham recipe. I thought I’d better grow up this year as I am 40y and everyone else would always do the Christmas ham, so I had a go and I think I have picked the winner recipe. Everyone loved the flavours. My dad who is a bit of a chef in his own right and was quite empressed so I think we passed the test with flying colours, thanks again Chelsea. Merry Christmas to you and your family
Hi Chelsea
Thanks for the delicious cranberry & maple glazed ham recipe. All my family (there’s many of them in laws, grandies friends) raved on saying the best Christmas ham ever. Saved to my recipe book for next year.
Hi
We’re giving this glaze a whirl for tomorrow. After simmering for an 1.5 hours, the glaze was still the consistency of water. We’ve just used this, but for next time is there something else we should do to ensure the glaze has a thicker consistency?
You just need to turn the heat up and boil it until it reduces :)
This looks good! I’ve previously done a sticky sweet chilli jam glaze but I think I’ll give this a whirl this year!
Hi Chelsea, like Mandy I also have an uncooked ham on the bone. How do I cook it and when do I add the glaze. It sounds delicious.
Have a great Christmas
thanks Pauline
Just wondering if you think this glaze would be ok for turkey??
Yum!! Made this for Christmas dinner it was phenomenal!
Thank you so much for tip on “To serve cold” for adding glaze. The spiral sliced ham I bought only talked about completely heating the ham and then adding the glaze at the end. I knew there must be a way but their website didn’t even give a suggestion for serving cold with a glaze. Thanks again for making this process easy.
Thank you so very much for this amazing glaze!!! I just used it on my first ever glazed leg of ham…. And it is incredible!!! I am physically incapable of not sneaking off for yet another slice, than you so much! Every single recipe I have tried of yours has been perfect.
Hi Chelsea. Can I glaze the ham a day ahead and then cook it (to serve warm) on Christmas Day? Will doing it a day ahead intensify the flavour of the glaze, like a marinade would?
Thank you!
Hi Chelsea
i am super excited to try this recipe for xmas ham. Thanks so much :)
Hi Chelsea,
So excited to give this recipe a go this year!!!
Just wanted to check a couple of things regarding the step below:
“Pour 1 1/2 cups of juice, stock or water over the ham, cover with foil and cook until there’s 30 minutes to go.”
1. When you say juice is that the same juice as the glaze?
2. Am I supposed to foil the ham with the juice inside, and if so how do you keep it in there, or do I just wrap the ham?
Sorry a bit of a novice
hi chelsea-first time glazing a ham for me-could I cook the peeled skin also on the side
Hi Chelsea
Serving Hot Do you glaze 2-3 times only in the last 30 Minutes? Or all the way through?
Hi Chelsea. Cant wait to try this on our Christmas Ham. For the last few Christmases we have been a “free range only” family, and the fact that you used Harmony Free-range Ham is very heartwarming. Thanks.
Hi Chelsea,
I want to bbq this? How long would I leave it on for and on what heat? How will I know if it’s cooked?
Many thanks
Jay
Hi Chelsea,
This recipe looks fab, I’m allergic to oranges is there something else I can use instead? Thank you Kim
Pineapple juice!
This glaze was an absolute hit Christmas day…and the smell of my house after this simmered away then cooked on my ham was mouth watering! This will definitely be repeated again :)
Sounds delicious cannot wait to try it.
Cranberry and maple glaze is amazing. Best glaze I have had
I have tried many glazes and this one is by far the best yet. Apart from the superb flavour it gives the entire ham I also liked the exclusion of whole cloves, I couldn’t agree more that they are unnecessarily time consuming and taste foul. I have just added this glaze to my personal recipe book with the heading Chelsea Winters Best Glazed Ham as I’ve been told by the whanau I don’t need to ever try another one. Many thanks to you for sharing it.
Thanks Hannah, that’s such lovely feedback – I am so happy to hear it!
Thanks Chelsea,
just found your reply and I will follow your directions – I have a very busy time on the day so this will help me a lot.
have a lovely Christmas and take care.
Regards, Sharron
Thanks Chelsea, I am definitely trying this glaze. Usually do an apricot and brandy one but yours will make a nice change. Have a great festive season and keep the recipe’s coming in the new year.
Hi Chelsea, thanks for the great recipe which has a bit more in it that the one I usually do with pineapple juice, brown sugar and brown vinegar. we usually add a bit of cornflour to the leftover glaze and reheat it to make a sauce to use with the ham when eating. also, I want to cook the ham the day before and then just heat the cut up meat the next day. do I reheat the slices, covered in foil at about 150c? and if, how long do I re heat it. I have 8 people this year and doing a full roast with ham and turkey. I want to reheat both lots as slices, so could you just give me a good hint on doing this.]? cheers and best of luck to you and hubby for the new year.
Kind Regards, Sharron
Hi Sharron, reheating will be fine but just be very careful about reheating sliced meat as it can dry out. I’d probably put them in at about 180, tightly covered with foil, and maybe just brush with a little melted butter before you put the foil over. And a tiny bit of stock in the bottom of the pan will help keep it moist too!