Ham, it's delicious. It's even more delicious when it's glazed with a mixture of maple syrup and mustard. When it's then slow-roasted to perfection, there is nothing that can beat it. Today, I will share my recipe for Maple-Mustard Roasted Ham so you can enjoy it at home any time you want. There are only a few ingredients in this recipe; it takes very little time to put together, and it tastes amazing.
The Ham
Right after the last Thanksgiving, my local grocery store had Cook's Ham on sale. I'd never had Cook's before, and the price couldn't be beaten. So, I bought one, and I couldn't believe how good it was. I cooked it up and did a post about it. (You can find that here.)
I sliced up the leftovers, vacuum-sealed them, and froze them for later use. They did not last long. My wife and I used the leftovers in pasta, soup, chowder, sandwiches, and breakfast. As Christmas approached, I had a sneaking suspicion that these hams would go on sale again after the holiday. I was right. I bought this ten-pound ham, a little bit after New Year's, for fifteen dollars. You just can't beat that price, and I thought it would be a great opportunity to show you another way to cook a ham.
Making the Glaze
First things first, we need to make the glaze. The ingredients are simple:
- ¼ cup yellow mustard
- ¼ cup real maple syrup
- ¼ cup cider vinegar
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
Put all the ingredients in a bowl and whisk with all your might until the mixture looks uniform. This glaze is a classic example of balancing sweet, tangy, and sharp flavours, similar to the approach I describe in my sauce making guide.
If you want apple in the glaze instead of maple, my applesauce glazed ham is the other way I go.
Scoring the Ham
Once the glaze is made, set it aside and turn your attention to the ham. Put it skin-side up on your cutting board. Using a sharp knife, make shallow parallel slices about a finger width apart the whole way across the ham. Give the ham a quarter-turn (90 degrees) and repeat the process, cutting across the first cuts to create a diamond pattern in the skin.
This does two things: it helps the ham cook evenly, and it helps the flavour of the glaze penetrate deeper into the meat.
Cooking the Ham
Put the ham on a rack set over a roasting pan. Pour a half cup of water in the bottom of the pan, then brush the ham with half the maple-mustard glaze. Cover the ham with parchment paper, then wrap the whole thing tightly in foil. Put the ham in a 325°F oven for two and a half hours.
Take the ham out, remove the foil and parchment, brush the ham with the remaining glaze, and return it to the oven for another hour or until the ham's internal temperature reaches 165°F.
Note: I very rarely cook food in direct contact with aluminum foil. Any acidity, which this ham has from the mustard and vinegar, will degrade the foil, which may leach chemicals into your food. I almost always put a piece of parchment between my food and the foil. You can do it or not, but that is what I recommend.
Serving the Maple-Mustard Roasted Ham
Remove the roasted ham from the oven, cover it loosely with foil, and let it rest for half an hour before cutting into it. Slice the ham as thin as you can and serve it with a biscuit, vegetables, and creamed corn, which acts as both a side and a sauce. This roasted ham also pairs beautifully with something like my loaded potato soup if you're looking for another hearty side.
On the side, these twice-baked cottage cheese potatoes can be made ahead and reheated with the ham.
Recipe
Maple-Mustard Roasted Ham
Ingredients
- 10 lbs Smoked Ham
- ¼ cup Maple Syrup
- ¼ cup Mustard
- ¼ cup apple cider vinegar
- ½ teaspoon Black Pepper
- ½ cup water
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325°f
- Using a sharp knife, score the skin of the ham in a diamond pattern. Place the ham on the rack of a roasting pan.
- In a medium mixing bowl, mix the maple syrup, mustard, cider vinegar, and pepper.
- Brush half the Maple-Mustard glaze on the ham.
- Pour the water into the bottom of the roasting pan.
- Place a large piece of parchment paper on the ham, then wrap tightly with foil.
- Roast the ham for 2 ½ hours, then take the ham out of the oven, remove the foil and parchment. Brush the remaining glaze on the ham and return it to the oven. Roast for another hour or until a thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the ham reaches 165°f.
- Take the ham out of the oven, cover loosely with foil, and let it rest for 30 minutes before thinly slicing and serving.
Notes
Final Thoughts
This maple-mustard glaze has completely replaced honey glaze in my house, and I don't think we're ever going back. If you can score a ham on sale after a holiday, you've got yourself one of the best-value, most impressive meals you can put on the table.
One man’s scalloped potatoes is another man’s creamed corn, lol. Sadly my daughter does not like ham, but we are fortunate to live in a small town with a good local butcher and the recipe is tempting!
Lol agreed. Sounds like you should be able to buy a small enough piece of ham just for you at that local butcher