Honey Roasted Ham

Every year when I was little, my family was sent a Honeybaked Ham from one of my dad’s coworkers.  I looked forward to it every Christmas.  We would eat on it from the day it arrived until there was nothing left but a bone.  We would use it in all sorts of recipes, but my favorite was either eating it by itself or in a sandwich with 57 sauce.

Of course, I used to put 57 sauce on everything.  Except ice cream.  OK, maybe once…

Nowadays, I figure why spend all that money on a ham when I could make something similar at home.  It may not be completely, 100% like the original, but it’s close enough.

I have tried several recipes over the years because, as I said, I’m a big fan of baked ham.  (Jeff, on the other hand, not so much.  Weirdo.)  This recipe, my friends, takes the cake.  It is the best I have tried.  It is the closest match to the Honeybaked Ham Co.’s recipe.  Being as it’s Christmastime (yay!), being as I love you, and being as hams were on sale last week, I give you my Honey Roasted Ham:

Honey Roasted Ham
(adapted from this recipe at allrecipes.com)

1 5 pound cooked ham (spiral cut if your budget allows it)
2 tsp ground cloves
1/4 cup molasses
2 cups honey
2/3 cup butter
1/4 cup brown sugar

Preheat oven to 325°.  Place ham in a casserole dish and score in a diamond pattern (unless you buy a spiral cut ham.  Then this step is irrelevant).  It’s sort of hard to tell here, but I promise I did it.  Sprinkle ham with the cloves.

Combine the molasses, honey, and butter in a small saucepan and heat on medium low.  If it starts to bubble, reduce the heat to a simmer.

Once mixture is heated through (about 3 minutes), brush over ham.  Place ham in oven and cook for 1 hour and 15 minutes.  Brush glaze over ham every 10-15 minutes.

For the last 5-10 minutes of cooking, sprinkle the brown sugar over the ham and turn the oven up to broil to caramelize the sugar and glaze.  Remove from oven and let rest before serving.

My ham was more chunky than spiral-y, which is why I suggest going with a spiraled ham.  Either way, it was delicious and tasted very close to the real thing.

Disclaimer:  for some reason I didn’t feel like plating my food or taking beauty shots this time.  I apologize for the crap pictures!