Easter is this weekend, and one of the most popular traditional Easter dinners is glazed ham. While glazing your own ham may seem daunting, it’s actually really easy! And it’s easy to whip up a delicious and simple glaze in just a few minutes. So after you pick up your delicious ham from D’errico’s Market or your favorite Worcester deli, try your hand at one of these simple glaze recipes to add some flavor to your ham.
Ham is a cured meat, which means it has been preserved by drying, aging, salting, brining, or smoking. Some of these processes can dry out the meat, so adding glaze when baking ham provides much-needed moisture as well as flavor. Because salt is also involved in many of these processes as well, sweet flavors balance out the saltiness. If you search for any ham glaze recipe, you’ll find that all of them include some kind of sweetener. Common ingredients on ham glazes are brown sugar, honey, maple syrup, and fruit juice.
This easy recipe only uses three ingredients:
Combine all the ingredients in a small bowl. Score your ham and bake at 325° until its internal temperature reads 140°, about 2 hours, depending on how big it is. Brush the with the glaze, but don’t use all of it. Bake the ham for another 45 minutes, brushing it with more glaze every 15 minutes. If you have any glaze leftover, serve it with the sliced ham. For a little added flavor, you can insert whole cloves into the scoring before you bake it.
This glaze is thinner than the first and will soak into your ham a little bit more. The ingredients list is also simple:
Whisk all the ingredients together. Bake your ham according to the instructions above or however you normally would. Brush the glaze all over the ham, and you’re done!
Now that you have some examples of how simple a ham glaze can be, get creative! In New England, real maple syrup is everywhere. Use it to replace some of the sugar, or just add it for some added flavor. If you prefer a stronger flavor, add some balsamic vinegar. Experiment a little until you find a flavor combination that you love.
Whether you’re opting for the traditional ham or prefer something else on Easter Sunday, pick it up from D’errico’s Market! We offer a wide selection of high-quality meat at affordable prices. We’re sure to have something you’ll want to cook for dinner at our family-owned Worcester deli and butcher.