The Maple Glazed Ham, or baked ham glazed with maple syrup is a classic of American holidays.
It is part of the traditions of the “Christmas ham” or Yule ham, often served for Christmas dinner or during Yule in Northern Europe and the Anglosphere. The preparation style varies widely depending on location and time.
There are also various regional recipes: for example, stuffed ham is popular in Southern Maryland, particularly in St. Mary’s County, where it is traditional to stuff a cured ham with vegetables like kale and cabbage.
It is believed that the tradition of eating ham evolved from the Germanic pagan ritual of sacrificing a wild boar, known as sonargöltr, to the Norse god Freyr during harvest festivals.
As of 2019, Americans purchase about as much ham as turkey during the holiday season.
Ham began to be mentioned as a Christmas dish around 1900 and started to grow in popularity around 1960.
Holiday hams began to be promoted by Armour & Company in 1916 as part of their marketing efforts for their newly industrially aged faster and less salty hams.
The oven-baked Maple glazed ham, with a sugar glaze studded with cloves and scored in a diamond pattern that became popular in the 20th century, was introduced in the 1930s.
Glazed hams, which became a hallmark of Southern United States cuisine, had long been popular well before then, but until the 1880s, they were usually glazed with broth, not sugar, and were not associated with Christmas.
- Difficulty: Medium
- Cost: Medium
- Preparation time: 10 Minutes
- Portions: 15 People
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: American
- Seasonality: Christmas
Ingredients
- 11 lbs cooked ham (with bone)
- 2 oranges
- as needed cloves
- 6 oz maple syrup
- 3 tsps ground cinnamon
- 5.8 oz brown sugar (or granulated sugar)
- 2 tbsps Dijon mustard
Steps
Remove the ham from the refrigerator 1 hour before cooking and remove any rind.
Score the fat in diamond shapes about 1 inch apart. Place a clove at each intersection.
Place the ham in a roasting pan; pour the juice of one orange and 1 cup water at the base of the pan and cover the ham with two sheets of foil or parchment paper and bake for 30 minutes at 300°F with the sliced orange around.
Mix the glazing ingredients: maple syrup, sugar, Dijon mustard, cinnamon.
After 30 minutes of cooking, carefully remove the ham from the oven and increase the oven temperature to 375°F.
Remove the foil or parchment paper and pour ⅓ of the glaze over the entire ham, brushing between cuts to coat evenly.
Return to the oven and bake uncovered for 15 minutes.
Repeat every 15 minutes until the glaze is used up for a total of 2 hours.
The last 5 minutes in grill mode, increasing the temperature to 400°F.
Serve with a reduction of the cooking juices.
A smaller ham
The recipe is for a 5 kg ham with bone, I prepared one with just 1 kg, reducing all quantities by one-fifth and cooking it for 30 minutes.
I accompanied it with a mix of roasted potatoes.
FAQ (Questions and Answers)
What are the Christmas ham traditions in other countries?
The highlight of the deli section of a traditional Swedish smörgåsbord (called “julbord” at Christmas) is a large Christmas ham.
Seasoned ham that has been boiled or baked, then coated with a mixture of eggs, breadcrumbs, and mustard, browned in the oven.
The Christmas ham is a traditional Australian dish that appears on most tables on Christmas Day.
Since Christmas in Australia falls at the beginning of summer, many people no longer serve the traditional hot roast but instead serve it cold.
Leftover Christmas ham is often frozen for soups and other dishes when summer ends.
In the Philippines and among diaspora groups like Filipino-Americans, ham for Christmas celebrations is called hamón, from the Spanish word for “ham,” jamón.
Hamón is sometimes soaked in kumquat and lime juice.
It is similar but should not be confused with hamonado, which is another Filipino dish that may include pork and is also served during the Christmas season.
