Easter Menu Planning: Ham Recipes

Here’s what’s actually kind of funny about this post and these recipes; I do not like the traditional brown sugar maple sugar glazed hams that overpopulate the grocery stores around the holidays.

That being said; I wanted to try to do two easy recipes that incorporate glazes that would be rich and satisfying but not too cloyingly sticky sweet and overpower the natural flavor of the ham.

Bourbon Brown Sugar Ham

• 3/4 to 1 1/2 C Bourbon Whiskey
• 2 C Brown Sugar (I think Dark would be best, I only had light)
• 1 Tbsp ground mustard

1. What temperature you heat your oven to will depend on your ham, boneless, bone-in etc.. follow the directions on your ham package.
2. Place your ham fat side up on a rack in a roasting pan.  Lightly score the fat about 1 inch apart.. pour 3/4 C bourbon whiskey over ham and pour 1 C water in the bottom of the roasting pan.
3. Cover tightly with foil or a roasting pan lid.
4. Bake your ham as directed.
5. Mix brown sugar, mustard and remaining bourbon whiskey in a bowl to create a paste.  When you have 40 minutes left for your ham, pull the ham out of the oven and remove the foil/lid.  Slather the paste onto the ham, use a spoon or basting tool and drizzle the juices from the roasting pan over the ham.  Re-cover the ham and place it back into the oven for the remaining amount of time.
6. Pull the ham out of the oven, allow it to cool and then slice.

The brown sugar combined with the bourbon gives this ham a savory, rich, moist amazing flavor.  This was a hit with the kids and the adults alike and let me tell y’all.. cold served on a toasted roll with a bit of mayonnaise, a crisp lettuce leaf and a juicy tomato slice.. oh yes 😉  That’s leftovers that are anything but boring!

Rachel Note:  I would love to show y’all gorgeous sliced ham pictures but, I don’t have them.  I butchered the ham while attempting to carve it and then.. we were all so hungry from SMELLING the hams all day.. we tore into it like y’all wouldn’t believe.

This next recipe is a teensy bit more involved but oh mah holy hell, y’all.  It’s all kinds of amazingly delicious.

Sweet pineapples, smoky spicy chipotles, the sweet hint of fresh ginger and the naturally sweet honey… wow.  This recipe really takes Ham to the next level.

Pineapple Chipotle Honey Glazed Ham

• 1 (20 oz) Can crushed pineapple or sliced pineapple with 1/2 the juice drained out
• 1 to 3 chipotle peppers ( I used two and didn’t seed them) This adds a delicious smoky heat to this sweet and savory glaze
• 1 C honey, if you can, use local, wildflower honey.
• 1 tsp fresh grated ginger
• salt and pepper, to taste.. (I added 1 Tbsp of RSS)

Put all ingredients into a food processor and puree.

1. Follow the directions on your ham package as to oven temp and times.
2. Place your ham, fat side up on a rack in a roasting pan.  Put 1 C water in the bottom of the pan and then drizzle 1/2 C of the glaze over the ham.
3. Cover tightly with foil or roasting pan lid and bake according to your package directions (This was a 10 lb ham.. 325 degrees F.. 25 minutes per pound)
4. When the ham has 1 hour left, put the rest of the glaze in a medium saucepan and bring to a slow simmer for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently.
5. Remove ham from oven; uncover and Pour this over the ham; Put back in the oven and bake for the remaining 45 minutes.
6. Remove ham from oven, let cool and slice.

Rachel’s Note: AGAIN with no sliced ham picture.. this was served at a party at my house, Saturday and there was soo much going on, I forgot to get a *good* picture.  It was however.. devoured and EVERYONE kids included loved it and every person there asked for the recipe!

• Another glaze that I think would be AMAZING on Ham: The Orange Chipotle Marinade from This Recipe
• Two great Easter Side Dish recipes can be found on last week’s Easter Menu Planning Post

I would love to hear what you’re planning on serving for Easter, or what your favorite way to serve Ham is!

If you’re linking up, Thank You!  I love visiting your blogs and reading what y’all are cooking up!  Please make sure to link up your recipe URL, visit others and share the love and link back here in your post so that others can find the recipe sharing love, too! Thanks y’all! Happy Cooking!