Bourbon Orange Ham Glaze

Directions

1Move oven rack to lower third portion of the oven and preheat to 325° F. Line bottom of a roasting pan with aluminum foil for easy cleanup and set aside.


2Add orange marmalade, maple syrup, Dijon mustard, bourbon, lemon juice, ground ginger and salt and pepper to a mixing bowl and whisk to combine well. Set aside.


3Remove ham from package and pat dry if too wet.


4Place ham on a roasting rack, flat side down, so the fatty side is facing up.


5Gently score the ham in a criss-cross pattern, and brush all over with ½ cup of the prepared glaze.


6Cover ham loosely with aluminum foil to prevent drying out or burning.


7Bake for about 2 - 2½ hours, until an instant thermometer inserted into the middle of the ham registers 125° - 130° degrees F.


8Remove roasting pan from the oven and peel back or remove foil from the top and sides of the ham.


9Increase oven temperature to 425° F.


10Brush 6 tablespoons of glaze over the ham and bake for 20 minutes, brushing ham with additional 6 tablespoons of glaze every 6 - 7 minutes. You'll be brushing the ham with glaze approximately 3 times during this step.


11Be sure to watch that the glaze doesn't burn, but instead turns a rich, deep golden color.


12Remove roasting pan from oven and place ham on a large cutting board.


13Tent loosely with foil and let ham rest for 20 minutes before slicing.

For a spiral-sliced half ham

1Preheat oven to 275° F.  Adjust oven rack to the lower third position.  Line a roasting pan or large dutch oven with a long strip of foil (heavy-duty works best).  

2Position ham flat side down in the center of the pan.

3Brush with ½ cup of the glaze, if possible, getting some in between the slices.

4Bring sides of the foil up over the ham and cover loosely.  If needed, add a sheet of foil over the top.  

5Bake approximately 12 - 15 minutes per pound.  For a half ham of 8-10 pounds, plan on baking for a total of approximately 2 hours (including glazing time).

6To glaze, remove ham from the oven about 30 minutes before it's finished.  For a half ham, remove after about 1 hour 30 minutes and uncover.  Liberally brush ham with ½ cup glaze, getting in between slices if possible.  Bake 30 minutes, repeating with a few tablespoons of glaze every 10 - 15 minutes if desired.

7For a stickier glaze, after ham is finished baking, broil for a few minutes until sticky and browned.  Be careful though, you don't want to burn it!

8Remove ham from oven, loosely tent with foil and let rest 10 minutes.

9Turn ham on it's side and serve.