Maple-Mustard Glazed Roasted Ham

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. What are you waiting for? Let's get to it!

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 years 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. It is a quarter cup each of yellow mustard, maple syrup (real maple syrup), cider vinegar, and a half teaspoon of black pepper. Put all the ingredients in a bowl and whisk with all your might until the mixture looks uniform.

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 (it has to be sharp) knife, make shallow parallel slices about a finger width apart the whole way across the ham. Give the ham a quarter-turn (turn it by 90°), repeat the process, cut across the first cuts and create a diamond pattern in the skin or a bunch of little squares, depending on how you look at it. This will do two things. It will help the ham cook evenly, and it will help the flavour of the glaze penetrate a little 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 (I used Duinkerken Gluten-Free Biscuit mix. I highly recommend it.), vegetables, and creamed corn, which acts as both a side and a sauce.

The Wrap Up

I know that some of you will message me and say that roasted ham needs to be served with scalloped potatoes. To that, I will say, in the nicest way possible, you're wrong. Ham and scalloped potatoes do go very well together, but limiting yourself to that one side dish, is a mistake. You're missing out on a world of possibility. But, you do you. If that's how you like it, I'm not going to stand in your way. How do you roast your ham? Tell me in the comments below or on Facebook or Twitter.