Dijon Mustard & Brown Sugar Glazed Ham
The Perfect Glazed Ham and the easiest too! It's juicy and tender with the easiest, tastiest, glaze ever. This tried and true recipe has been a traditional favourite in our family for many, many years.
Originally published December 2007.
Several requests.
Several new emails and messages asking about a baked ham for Thanksgiving!
It seems not everyone likes turkey! So, I'm bringing this recipe forward to the top of our recipe list for those who would like to try it for thanksgiving and especially at the Holidays.
In our family, we would probably do both. The leftover possibilities are plentiful enough around here to cover dinners for a week afterward.
The Perfect Glazed Ham. Helpful points.
I get lots of email from readers looking for pointers on basic recipes that they have never attempted before. One recent email was from a young couple spending their first Christmas away from home.
They were looking for a fool proof recipe for a Christmas Eve ham having never cooked one before. There’s a first time for everything and this ham will be appreciated by beginner and veteran cooks alike.
Now Spouse loves ham and if allowed, would chuck the turkey in favour of this sweet and savoury glazed ham at any Christmas celebration. We normally make one a day or two previous to the big day.
We serve the leftovers with our traditional Boxing Day cold plate or just to “pick on” as my mothers family would say.
Glazed Ham update.
Since I first published this recipe 18 years ago on this site, this incredibly simple recipe has been made many tens of thousands of times by blog and social media followers.
It gets rave reviews every time. Many folks tell me that since they discovered this recipe, they have never made glazed ham any other way since.
That's a pretty fine testimonial to its ease and great taste.
Another favourite way to use some of the leftovers is to use lightly fried slices on Toutons Benedict for a weekend brunch. An absolute favourite for me!
Our Fig and Apple Chutney also makes a great addition to serve with this meal. I have to admit, I even like this combination served cold for lunch the next day with one of our many delicious recipes for Potato & Pasta Salads.
Which Mustard?
The brand or grain of the dijon mustard is not too important in this recipe. As with many things, I say use what you like or what's on hand.
I should note that I have heard from many people over the years who have tried this recipe with different mustards. I've heard of people using whole grain mustard, spicy mustard, English Mustard and even plain old yellow mustard.
They all still loved the recipe, so that's why I say use what you like and don't worry about it. If you like the mustard, you'll most likely like the end product.
...and don't forget that leftover ham is my favourite thing to use for what is probably Newfoundland's favourite hearty soup meal! Pea Soup and Dough Boys!
What to serve on the side?
You might also like our collection of Best Thanksgiving Side Dishes, which are also great at Christmas or at family dinners year round.
Like this Glazed Ham recipe?
Find many more great Sunday Dinner ideas in our Slow Cooked Sundays Category
Be sure to check out this Baked Ham Dinner Menu as well.
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Dijon Brown Sugar Glazed Ham
The Perfect Glazed Ham and the easiest too! It's juicy and tender with the easiest, tastiest, glaze ever. This tried and true recipe has been a traditional favorite in our family for many, many years.
Ingredients
- 7-8 pound bone in smoked ham
- 1 tablespoon whole cloves
- 1 teaspoon whole star anise, or 1 fennel seeds, optional
- 2 tablespoon peppercorns
- 1 large onion, roughly chopped
- 1 bay leaf
- ½ cup whole grain Dijon mustard (Or use your favorite mustard, almost any one will work)
- 1 cup brown sugar, or demerara sugar
Instructions
- Add the ham, peppercorns, cloves, star anise, onion and bay leaf to a large stock pot along with the ham, rind side down and cover almost completely with water.
- Bring to a gentle boil and cook for 1 hour.
- After an hour remove the ham from the stock and let it drain on a rack for a few minutes.
- Remove the rind and most but not all of the fat underneath the rind. Leave about ⅛ inch of fat on top of the entire ham.
- Score the fat with a sharp knife in a square or diamond pattern. Pat the entire surface dry with paper towels.
- Place ham in a roasting pan and brush the top and sides of the ham with the mustard.
- Sprinkle the mustard with the brown sugar.
- Press the sugar gently into the mustard to get good contact with the surface of the ham.
- Bake at 375 degrees F for another hour.
- Allow ham to rest for 10-15 minutes before carving and serving.
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Rock Recipes a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. Our product recommendations are almost exclusively for those we currently use or have used in the past.
Nutrition Information
Yield
25Serving Size
1 servingAmount Per Serving Calories 214Total Fat 4gSaturated Fat 1gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 2gCholesterol 32mgSodium 1440mgCarbohydrates 20gFiber 1gSugar 8gProtein 26g
The nutritional information provided is automatically calculated by third party software and is meant as a guideline only. Exact accuracy is not guaranteed. For recipes where all ingredients may not be used entirely, such as those with coatings on meats, or with sauces or dressings for example, calorie & nutritional values per serving will likely be somewhat lower than indicated.
Having this tonight 🙂 is on the oven... Hope it turns ot OK. Had problem finding smoked ham that was not cooked, so I asked the person in the meat-section. But I am not sure he gave me the correct ham (I think it's already cooked, but then it will be cooked twice:) wonder if it will be dry then ?
No, it will be fine. A truly great recipe. I have been using a slightly different recipe of a brown sugar/mustard glaze for years. I also imbed the whole cloves at the apex of all the diamond scores in the ham fat. They imparts delicious flavor to the ham. Be sure to remove the cloves before carving the ham though, before serving. Their not nice to bite down on.
Sorry, I forgot to mention, I also make a paste out of the brown sugar/mustard mix using a small amt of apple vinegar, then using a pastry brush, apply to top of scored/ clove imbedded fat periodically the last 45 min of baking time.
This is also our favorite way of doing ham. The only difference I boil it with a Tbl of pickling spice and use regular prepared mustard. Always turns out great.
Finally found a similar recipe, brown sugar, Dijon, but used some balsamic vinegar (make as sweet or as tart as you want). Baste spiral cut ham with sauce that has been slightly reduced over heat. Mmmmm....mmmm...mmmm
Most of the "Cooks Brand" smoked hams here in Toronto are cooked but the instructions tell you to boil/cook again.
Did you use one of them for this recipe?
I love this ham, its perfect and so tasty that its hard to quit nibbling on just a snick more instead of dessert. I served it with cherry clove sauce..
Tell me about it! I can eat half a ham in slivers I cut off and gobble up!
Soooo... looking forward to making this ham for Christmas Eve. The juices and the bone will go in the freezer to become a delicious Ham Bone Soup in the New Year.... yummy!
Made this for Christmas made it again yesterday for New Year's Day (really made it for the leftovers). Best ham ever! Now for ham and potato cakes and soup!
We rarely use another ham recipe. This one gets soon many compliments. Glad you liked it too!
This similar to my grandmother's recipe only she used mustard, brown sugar and apple juice. I use the frozen apple juice concentrate without adding the water with mine and it makes a beautiful glaze as well. I'm going to have to try this recipe to compare 🙂
My Dad was from NL and taught my Mom to make this recipe many many many years ago. They used a little pineapple juice to mix the mustard and brown sugar. I’ve eaten many hams and never have I enjoyed a recipe more than this one. I’ve passed it on to many friends and advised them to get your recipe books for other fantastic recipes. I have all three and am proud to say that I’ve made every recipe from the first two. I also buy them for wedding and Christmas gifts. They are by far the my favourite cookbooks EVER.
Can't I boil it the night before and just put it in the oven the next day? Thank you.
You'd really throw off the cooking time and risk a drier ham. The point of baking it right away is that the internal temperature is already up.
Thanks for your reply Barry. Just trying to make my life easier. Will be doing your ham and leg of lamb at same time.
Just wondering if the ham you used for this recipe is pre-cooked and if not what changes you would make to the recipe with a pre-cooked ham. I've made pork shoulder hams and boiled them before baking but for Easter I have a ham which is fully cooked already. Thanks
Just skip to the baking part. You may find these sorts of hams are difficult to glaze because they often have additional water added to them. You may want to start heating it up uncovered for 20 minutes to see how much liquid it leeches. If any, pour it of and then do the glaze.
Yes, you are right, this makes a great ham. I have been cooking my ham in the exact same way for many years other than I add 1 Tablespoon of pickling spice to the water. Always turns out great
What kind of ham do you use? Pork shoulder uncooked or butt or shank cooked for this recipe
Pork Picnic shoulder, uncooked is my preference for this recipe.
If you prefer a Pork Picnic Shoulder, uncooked for this recipe, do you smoke it yourself -- because the recipe calls for a bone-in smoked ham. I want it to turn out delicious the first time (because the recipe sounds so delicious) im hoping i can stop buying those expensive Honey Baked Hams from thr Honey Baked Ham store.
I have been using your recipe for the last year. Delicious and easy to follow. I haven’t changed anything about the recipe
Really enjoyed the video featuring Olivia.... felt like we all were in the kitchen watching her making that cake. Her step by step was excellent & she looked very at ease with the camera. She does you proud, Barry! Any others on the way, perchance? Lol.
On another note, where do you source out your “uncooked” hams these days? The only ones in the local supermarkets are already cooked, ie Springers, etc. Thank you!