Easter is upon us, and everyone is scrambling to find that perfect ham recipe, stockpiling the 30 ingredients required for it, and preparing to realize late Saturday night that they have neglected the entire rest of the menu. That sentence is a little too specific for the writer of this post (*cough*) to not have lived it.
Enter, this Easter Ham recipe. Seven total ingredients, one of those being the ham itself, and unbelievably easy to make. I'm sharing this a bit last minute so the only photo I have is from when I made it last year but, turns out, that's the only photo I need. In three... two... one...
Boom. Recipe comin' atcha.
• Ham
this can be whatever kind of ham you like, but I will say that an uncut ham is better than a spiral cut ham. but if you already have a spiral ham, this recipe will still work great, just start the ham in the morning so it doesn't cook overnight, otherwise it will be really dry.
• One 18oz jar of apricot preserves
• One 8oz can of crushed pineapple (labeled as being "in 100% pineapple juice" or "in it's own juices")
• One cup unsalted chicken stock
• Two lbs brown sugar
• 1/4 cup stone ground mustard (Inglehoffer brand preferred)
• 1/4 tsp ground clove
1. Prep the ham
Preheat oven to 350. Unwrap the ham and trim off the thicker parts of the external fat. Don't worry about getting all of it. Then score the top side of the ham in a criss-cross fashion, with scores about 1.5in apart. If using a spiral-cut ham, skip the scoring part. Put the ham in a large roasting tray.
2. Make the glaze
Whisk the remaining ingredients together and pour over the ham. Rub it on evenly.
3. Cook the ham
- Bake the ham, uncovered, at 350 for 40 minutes. This is one the "Bake" setting, not "Convection Bake"
- Turn heat down to 170 if your oven can go that low. If not, set to 200.
- Spoon some of the glaze that has fallen into the pan over top the ham. Cook overnight.
if your oven only goes down to 200, you may want to loosely cover the ham with tin foil. don't seal it tightly, just kinda form it around the ham and set it on top. this will help keep it from getting too dry.
- Baste the ham as soon as you wake up. Turn the temperature back up to 350 for 30 min to caramelize the glaze.
- Set the oven to "Warm" and let sit the rest of the day, basting every hour or so, until it's time to carve and serve.
Printable recipe below. Happy Easter, e'rbody!
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best. ham. ever. Good work Chris! everyone died over it!
I need the recipe for pistachio bundt cake!
Great! Will try it out!
Does it matter how high the sides are on the pan been baking the ham? I would like to bake it in the crock pot dish and then set it on warm in the crock pot and use the oven for the green bean casserole and sweet potato casserole.
Thanks!
Crock pot works great!
This may be a silly question, but how many hours do you cook it over night? We're having an Easter supper, so it may make since to put it in the over in the morning depending on the time. Thanks! Look delicious!!
I cook it all the way through the night and then all day the next day. When you use the method I outline it's really hard to overcook it! Doesn't work to start it same day - best the night before.
This was FANTASTIC! My dad said it was the best ham he has had in years. Thanks so much for posting. I followed the recipe exactly. I think the process is just as important as the ingredients!
So glad you liked it!
Wait. Am I the only one that doesn’t know what funeral potatoes are? Or is this some Chris Marcum funny guy Easter joke ????
You don't know what funeral potatoes are?! JK, I think it's a regional thing. Some people call it cheesy potato casserole - basically hash browns, cheese, cream of mushroom soup, and a few other things.
Hm... i mean, it’s not a fun name, is it? Like, you’d probably want to call it something else for a toddler birthday party but it sure sounds good!
Haha, I'll give you that. I honestly think the name comes from the fact that a lot of people in our region bring them to funerals. Well, the luncheon after the funeral, but still. A bit of a dark tale.
BIG hit. HUGE!
Thanks for the recipe!
Awesome! So glad you liked it. :)
May I suggest an edit to step 7? In case there are any other idiots like me try to make this...watch the oven during the “carmelization” and turn down the temp before it becomes ebonized. My husband says the inside is delicious, but it’s rather black on the outside. I probably should have stopped it after 15-20 minutes. Thanks for the recipe, it smelled delicious when I woke up this morning.
That's interesting and good to know! Probably just differences in ovens - keeping an eye on it is a good call.
Is the ham uncooked?? Our store only had fully cooked uncut hams.... please help!
You bet! I'm pretty sure all hams are fully cooked - the curing and smoking is what makes them a ham. So you're good! :)
Sold! Thank you! And now for the rest of the menu ... what are you serving with it?
Funeral potatoes, roasted vegetables, layered green salad, and parmesan rolls. With pistachio bundt cake and ice cream for dessert. :)
We call them church potatoes because there’s never a church event, or a church member not making them for a gathering. We’ve been making them for at least 40 years. Matter of fact, we’re having them tomorrow for Easter. ????????
This looks delicious! How many people would the recipe serve? And if you did the spiral cut ham, how long would you recommend leaving it at 170 degree? Thanks!
It really depends on the size of the ham. This recipe is for a full, uncut, 20lb ham. You can scale down the glaze if wanted, but it's not necessary. Excess glaze just falls into the roasting pan.
For a spiral ham, assuming dinner is at 4pm, I would start the process at 8am, having it set to 200 (not 170) by 9am, lightly covered with foil, basting every 45 mins or so. Let it go on like that until an hour before dinner, then kick it to 350 for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly before plating up.
This recipe looks amazing! Do you have a recommendation to modify it for the crock pot overnight? I have an ancient (1940's) range and I don't trust running it overnight. Thank you!
It's a bit of a different environment - maybe overnight you could keep it in the crockpot on warm, then put it back in the oven during the day while you're awake? Or just cook it in the crockpot on low from early morning until night, but that will end up a different product completely. Delicious still, but different. Not sure if that helped, but those are my thoughts haha.
Yes that helps. I was thinking the same thing about using the warm function overnight. I'm going to give it a try!
Thanks for the great recipe. Looking forward to enjoying an amazing ham on Sunday!
How big (weight) should the ham be for the recipe? I read the post a few times and don’t see that (sorry if it’s there!)
This is for a full ham - the one I'm doing this Sunday is about 20lbs. If using smaller portions, you can cut the recipe as needed.
Ha. I heart ham! This looks delish, but I can also heartily recommend a Jacque Pepin recipe. Only 5 ingredients! (including the ham!) It weirdly calls for boiling the ham for over an hour, then letting it rest. Then baking it! But it is spectacular! I could (have) eaten the sauce with a spoon! (Sriracha, ketchup, balsamic & maple syrup) Happy Easter!
Please, please post the recipe for your sauce/glaze!? I love the sweet/hot idea of siracha and maple syrup. Balsamic is another gold ☆! Thanks
The ham looks and sounds absolutely amazing! Just wanted to clarify: is it a typo, the 2 pounds of brown sugar? What should the measurement be?
Haha, no it's correct. It sounds like a lot (and it is), but the liquid in the ham helps thin the sugar out as it cooks. And it becomes a nice, sticky glaze all on the outside.
2 lbs of brown sugar?! That is a lot! It's not too sweet?
"Too sweet" is relative, but I don't think it's too sweet. :)
Hey, Chris! Do you have a preference re: light brown v. dark brown sugar? Thanks!
I almost always go dark brown because the flavor ends up being a bit more interesting (more deep, I think). But light works great as well.
OH THANK YOU! I hosted Thanksgiving for the first time last year and used your brining recipe and it was the best turkey I’d ever had! Everyone in the family loved it! (except my mom who hates joy) I’m so glad you posted this because, you guessed it, I’ll be hosting Easter for the first time on Sunday and I have no clue how to bake a ham! xoxo
The comment about your mom made me LOL! Haha
Omg I feel like I can smell it through my screen. That looks amazing!! Thanks for all the tips on how to avoid a dry ham. I've been guilty of many a dry hams in the past. Happy Easter!