How to Cook a Ham

a pastry brush brushing honey glaze over a sliced ham

4.68 from 175 votes

Everything you need to know about how to cook a ham for your holiday dinner. Start with a spiralized ham and make a homemade honey ham glaze for a deliciously flavorful tender & juicy ham.

Prep Time10

Cook Time3

Total Time3 10

Course: Main Dish

Cuisine: American

Keyword: christmas dinner, easter dinner, ham dinner

Servings:

Calories: 420kcal

Author: Julie Clark

Ingredients

10 pound fully cooked spiral sliced bone-in ham (weight is approximate)
1 cup orange juice
1 cup ginger ale

Ham Glaze

1/2 cup maple syrup
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

Instructions

To prepare: Remove the ham from the refrigerator 1 hour before cooking. Preheat the oven to 350ºF.
Place the ham sliced side up in a large roasting pan. Pour the orange juice and ginger ale overtop the ham.
Cover the pan tightly with aluminum foil and bake for 20 minutes.
In a small bowl, combine the syrup, honey, sugar, mustard and pepper to make the simple glaze. Mix well.
Baste the surface of the ham with juices and brush with ham glaze. Bake again for 20 minutes. Continue baking the ham, basting the outside of the ham with the honey glaze every 15 minutes until the internal temperature of the ham reaches 140 degrees Fahrenheit. The cook time is about 10-15 minutes per pound of fully cooked ham. Plan for about 90-120 minutes of cooking for a ham, depending on the size of ham you have.
Remove the ham from the oven and allow it to rest covered for 10-15 minutes. Baste with the remaining glaze right before serving.

Video

Notes

If you’d like you can add ¼ teaspoon of ground cloves (1 teaspoon whole cloves) or ginger. I’ve done this occasionally to give the ham a “Christmas” flavor, but most of the time I leave out those two spices.

Nutrition