Asian Pineapple Glazed Ham
Try out this Asian-inspired pineapple glazed ham if you want to make a traditional glazed ham with something new, while staying just as hearty and comforting. The glaze is made from brown sugar and pineapple juice, with a hint of gingery and garlicky taste, just like sweet chili sauce. It is super easy to prepare and a perfect centerpiece dish for the upcoming holidays. {Gluten-Free Adaptable}To make the dish gluten-free, use dry sherry to replace the cooking wine, and use tamari or coconut aminos to replace the soy sauce.
Servings: 8 to 16
Ingredients
- 6 to 8 lbs (2.7 kg to 3.6 kg) bone-in ham (partially or fully cooked, skin-on or spiral cut) (*Footnote 1)
- 1 cup pineapple juice
Sauce
- 1 cup pineapple juice
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 2 inches (5 cm) ginger , sliced
- 1 tablespoon chili garlic sauce
- 1 teaspoon soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon Shaoxing wine (Optional)
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves (or 6 whole cloves)
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cumin
Instructions
Prepare the glaze
- Combine the sauce ingredients in a saucepan. Heat over medium heat until bringing to a boil. Boil for 5 to 10 minutes until slightly thickened. Set aside to cool.
Bake the ham
- Preheat oven to 325 °F (162 °C). Set up a roasting pan with a wire rack. Pour 1 cup of pineapple juice into the bottom of the pan.
- (OPTIONAL) If the ham has a thick layer of skin, remove it by running a knife across the leg, cutting through the skin without cutting the meat, and peeling off the skin with your hand. Then you can slice your ham in diagonal lines 1” (2.5 cm) apart, 1/2” (1 cm) deep, to create the crosshatch pattern.
- Place your prepped ham on the rack. Brush it with the glaze. Bake it for 10 minutes per pound (0.45 kg) if the ham is fully cooked. It will take about 1 to 1.5 hours to cook the ham through. Or bake 25 minutes per pound (0.45 kg) for a partially cooked ham. It will take about 2-3 hrs to cook the ham through in this case.
- Baste the ham every 20 minutes. If you’ve used up all the sauce, you can baste it with the juice from the pan. If the juice in the pan starts to get too thick, add some water to it to prevent burning.
- Once the ham is baked (the internal temperature has reached 135 °F / 57 °C) and the glaze is caramelized, remove the pan from the oven.
- On the bottom of the pan, the drippings should have formed a thick glaze. Spoon those drippings over top of the cooked ham until fully covered. Allow to rest for at least 10 minutes before carving and serving.
Store & Reheat
- You can make the ham up to 4 days in advance and reheat it the day you serve it. If you plan to make the ham ahead of time, you should skip the final glaze and save the pan drippings in an airtight container.
- To reheat the ham, cover it loosely with foil and reheat it in a 325 °F (162 °C) oven until it’s warm throughout, 5 minutes per pound (0.45 kg). It takes about 30 minutes to warm up a 6-lb (2.7 kg) ham and 50 minutes for a 10-lb (4.5 kg) ham. Note, you don’t want to heat up the ham too much, as it will cause the meat to dry out.
- Heat up the glaze in a microwave. Brush the glaze over the ham once it’s warmed up.
Notes
- You can use this recipe to cook bigger hams as well. Double the sauce if you plan to cook a ham that is heavier than 8 lbs (3.6 kg).
- The nutrition facts are calculated based on 1 of the 16 servings generated by an 8-lb (3.6 kg) ham.
Nutrition
Serving: 1serving, Calories: 383kcal, Carbohydrates: 47.4g, Protein: 24.1g, Fat: 12.5g, Saturated Fat: 5g, Cholesterol: 75mg, Sodium: 1811mg, Potassium: 33mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 25.4g, Calcium: 10mg