Orange and Brown Sugar Glazed Ham

This recipe uses an easy-to-cook spiral cut ham, but ditches the glaze packet that comes with it. Use this homemade glaze instead, which elevates flavor with ingredients like fresh orange juice, apple cider vinegar, creole mustard, brown sugar and cloves. This orange and brown sugar glazed ham makes a great centerpiece to a holiday meal, like Easter or Christmas, but is also great for a weeknight dinner. I’ve even done it with a small picnic ham for 2-4 people (shown in the loaf pan below) and it’s just as delicious!

Ingredients and Equipment Needed

This is just a preview of ingredients and method, keep scrolling for full printable recipe.

Ham & Glaze

Spiral cut ham – These should be easy to find, especially during any holiday season. They are already cured and just require heating. Make sure you buy one that is already spiral cut. It will come with a little spice packet, and you won’t need that. Look for a ham that is 5-7 lbs.
Dark brown sugar
Ground cloves
Orange juice
Orange zest
Mild ground mustard or creole mustard – If you don’t have creole mustard, any whole grain mustard will be just fine, and even Dijon.
Apple cider vinegar
Bacon drippings – I featured bacon olive oil from our olive oil company when I created this recipe, but since we aren’t selling it anymore, you could add in some bacon drippings for great flavor. If that’s an annoying step for you, don’t worry about it and omit!

Dipping Sauce

Mayonnaise
Mild ground mustard or creole mustard
Apple cider vinegar

Equipment

Roasting Pan– I like to elevate the ham in a roasting pan. If you don’t have one, this is the one we’ve consistently recommended. It is clearly not the one I have, but it is the one I wish I had.

Instructions

For the Ham

Line a heavy-duty roasting pan with aluminum foil and place the rack inside of the foil.
Place the ham, fatty side up, on the rack (but also make sure the slices are vertical and the flat end isn’t face-down–you want that fat to melt and run between the slices to keep things moist. Sorry. I had to use the m-word.) Insert a roasting thermometer (this is the best one I’ve ever used!) into the thickest part of the ham that has not been sliced.
Place the ham in the heated oven and roast for 1 1/2-2 hours or until the thermometer reaches 140-145.

For the Glaze

While the ham is roasting, combine the brown sugar, cloves, juice, zest, mustard, and vinegar, and whisk in bacon drippings, if using.
When the ham has about 30 minutes to go, remove the ham and brush the glaze on the outside of the ham, all the way down into the slices. Place the ham back in the oven and cook until done.
When done, remove from the oven and serve with ham dipping sauce explained below.

Dipping Sauce

While the ham is finishing off, whisk together the BEST part of ham at my house growing up. It’s a simple sauce made from mayonnaise, mustard, and a little apple cider vinegar, but it was seriously my favorite part of ham as a kid–we couldn’t have ham without it. You can use regular yellow mustard, but I love the deeper flavor of the ground mustard.

Orange Brown Sugar Spiral-Sliced Ham from Our Best Bites

Storing and Other Tips

Store leftover ham in an airtight container in the refrigerator and enjoy within 3-5 days for best results.
You can also freeze leftover ham for 3-4 months.
Serving suggestions: If you’re looking for side dishes, I went old-school OBB and served them with these Stuffed Blue Cheese Potatoes (although Funeral Potatoes are always an excellent choice), Bacon-Wrapped Green Beans, and this Sweet Cornbread.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I make this ham ahead of time?

You can make it the day before and then reheat, but it honestly won’t save you much time. I prefer to cook it the day I’m going to serve it!

Can I use this glaze on a smaller ham that’s not sliced?

You absolutely can. Slice or score the ham so that the flavors of the glaze can be absorbed into the meat. A smaller ham will reheat more quickly, so just keep an eye on that thermometer!