Chef John's Honey-Glazed Ham

A great holiday ham glaze needs to have three things: wonderful flavor, gorgeous, shiny appearance, and a crispy, crackling crust you can hear across the room. I'm happy to report this easy-to-make glaze has all those things in abundance.

• Preparation Time: 15 mins
• Cooking Time: 2 hr
• Total Time: 2 hr 15 mins
• Calories: 455 Calories

Ingredients

• ¼ cup honey
• ½ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 pinch cayenne pepper
• 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 1 ½ teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
• ¾ cup water, or as needed
• 1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
• 2 whole star anise
• 12 whole cloves, or more to taste
• 1 (7 pound) country-style ham

Recipe Instructions

Step 1

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).

Step 2

Pour water, star anise, and cloves into the bottom of a roasting pan. Place a roasting rack into the pan over the water, anise, and cloves; place ham on rack. Cut 1/4-inch deep slashes 1/2-inch apart lengthwise and crosswise across the top of the entire ham.

Step 3

Bake ham in the preheated oven for 20 minutes. Whisk brown sugar, honey, mustard, vinegar, black pepper, Worcestershire sauce, and cayenne pepper together in a bowl until glaze has a thick, smooth consistency.

Step 4

Brush glaze all over ham. Continue baking ham, brushing glaze on every 20 minutes, until glaze is deep golden and ham is heated through, about 2 hours 10 minutes. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the center should read 130 degrees F (54 degrees C).

Step 5

Use a kitchen torch to heat the glaze on the ham until it is crispy and caramelized, 2 to 5 minutes.