Boneless Artisan Ham with Brown Sugar Glaze

What Makes This Baked Boneless Ham So Good?

There are many different reasons that I love this ham to much.

• Simple to make! This ham can be prepped with the glaze and placed in the oven in about 5 minutes.
• Great for any time – This ham is perfect for a weeknight meal, fancy enough to serve at a dinner party with guests, or even a holiday dinner.
• Oh my word the glaze! The glaze is sweet and super delicious. Also, it uses ingredients you likely already have in your kitchen.

Ingredients You Will Need

• boneless ham – I like to get an artisan ham that is about 3 pounds in size
• whole cloves
• brown sugar
• mustard
• honey
• vinegar
• salt
• cayenne pepper
• cinnamon

Expert Tip! Some boneless hams that you can purchase at your local supermarket are formed ‘football’ shaped hams. Also called toupie, these hams will work great with this recipe, but would likely require a longer time to bake in the oven since they are often thicker. This type of ham is not the kind I typically buy and not what you will see in these photos. This ham is an artisan single muscle half moon ham. It is tender and delicious and simple to bake with this sweet glaze.

How To Make Brown Sugar Glaze For Ham

A nice glaze for ham will elevate it by a great margin. The sweet spiced coating is caramelised on the outside of the ham during baking. It is delicious and people often grab the end piece because there is so much flavour on that part of the ham.

There are many different flavours you can use for as a glaze. I love the standard brown sugar and mustard because that sweet tang goes so well with ham. Feel free to mix it up with other ingredients for some unique flavour options. Here are a few ideas you could try: maple syrup, orange juice (blood oranges are great with ham!), Thai sweet chili sauce, Sriracha, and more!

Expert Tip! Prior to making the glaze, stick all the whole cloves into the ham. Stick them about halfway, so that just the bulb part of the clove is showing. I use somewhere around 12-16 cloves for a 3 pound ham.

To make the glaze, add the brown sugar, honey, mustard, salt, cinnamon and cayenne pepper to a bowl. Mix with a spoon or whisk so that everything is combined together and the brown sugar is fairly well dissolved into the mustard and honey.

Expert Tip! The little bit of cayenne is included to give this glaze a very slight zing. Don’t worry, it should not be hot or very spicy at all. Feel free to omit it if you prefer. But, if you do like spicy food, you could also add some more cayenne to give the glaze a little more heat.

Once mixed, pour the glaze all over the ham. If needed, take a pastry brush or BBQ brush to coat the ham all over in the glaze. Make sure to get some in every nook and cranny of the cut of meat. This glaze is sweet goodness and provides so much flavour to the ham. You will want to make sure every bit of the meat is covered.

Expert Tip! If you love baked ham with pineapple, you can easily add some to this recipe. Take a 3-5 pineapple rings and place them on the top of the ham. Use toothpicks to hold the rings in place during baking.

How Long To Bake A Boneless Ham

Baking a boneless ham is super simple. Once the glaze is coated all over the meat, it is ready to go in the oven. I bake it uncovered the whole time as that will caramelise the glaze onto the surface of the ham. Preheat the oven to 325F and place the ham in the oven. Bake the boneless ham for 20 minutes per pound, or until the internal temperature of the ham reaches 145F when tested with a digital thermometer.

Expert Tip! The cooking time for a ham will vary depending on both the size and shape of the ham. This is a 3 pound boneless artisan style ham with more of a flat shape so it cooked a little quicker than larger football shaped hams.