The sweet brown sugar and honey glaze on this ham is baked until it turns golden brown and caramelized. The ultimate holiday ham that’s super easy to make and always gets rave reviews.
There’s no such thing as a bad holiday ham, and this glazed version looks great and tastes great. Pile your mashed potatoes full of cheese and wrap your green beans in bacon for a holiday meal that your family and friends will love.
Ham is a classic main course around the holidays. The nice thing about buying a ham is that most of the work is already done for you. Hams come already smoked, cooked, and cut into spirals. All you need to do is add some spices and you’re good to go. This glazed ham has a rich and delicious glaze that caramelizes in the oven. Best of all, it’s super easy to make!.
These are some of my favorite Christmas recipes, like honey baked ham, smoked turkey, or slow-roasted prime rib. You can use them as a main dish for Christmas, Thanksgiving, or Easter.
This easy glazed ham recipe calls for butter, brown sugar, honey, apple cider, cinnamon, and nutmeg. It also calls for a spiral-cut smoked ham. You may want herbs or cranberries for a garnish.
A gorgeous glazed ham is a classic centerpiece for many Thanksgiving feasts But determining the right cook time can be tricky with a Thanksgiving ham Hams come in many different sizes and need to cook long enough to reach a safe internal temperature without drying out.
Follow this guide to learn exactly how long you need to roast your Thanksgiving ham to achieve tender, juicy meat that’s cooked through but not overdone.
Factors that Affect Cook Time
Several factors impact how long it takes to cook a whole Thanksgiving ham:
- Size of the ham – The larger the ham, the longer the cook time
- Bone-in or boneless – Boneless hams cook faster
- Cook method – Oven roasting takes longer than grilling or smoking
- Temperature – Cooking at 325°F vs. 350°F significantly impacts time
- Frozen vs. thawed – Frozen hams take much longer
The size of your Thanksgiving ham is the biggest determinate of cook time. To estimate time for roasting in the oven, plan for the following basic guidelines:
- 8 to 10 pounds = approximately 18 minutes per pound
- 10 to 14 pounds = approximately 20 minutes per pound
- 14 to 16 pounds = approximately 22 minutes per pound
A whole boneless ham cooks faster than a bone-in ham of equal size. Opt for less time for a boneless ham And if reheating a pre-cooked ham, significantly less time is needed.
Minimum Internal Temperature
You can’t rely on cook time alone with a ham. It must also reach the proper minimum internal temperature for safety and doneness:
- Fresh ham (raw): 145°F
- Pre-cooked ham (to reheat): 140°F
Use an instant-read meat thermometer to check temperature when time is up Insert into the thickest part of the ham, away from the bone. If under 140°F, continue roasting and check again in 15 minute intervals until the target temperature is reached
Signs of Doneness
In addition to measuring temperature, look for these signs your Thanksgiving ham is fully cooked:
- External temperature of 160°F
- Meat has pulled back from the bone
- Juices run clear when pierced
- Internal color is no longer pink when cut
How to Tell if Your Ham is Overcooked
It’s easy to overcook a Thanksgiving ham if you cook it too long. Signs of an overcooked ham include:
- Tough, dry, stringy texture
- Meat has pulled far away from the bone
- Intensely darkened outer color
- Temperature over 160°F
An overcooked ham can’t be fixed. But you can still enjoy it by slicing the edible meat and using it for sandwiches, omelets, pizza or casseroles. Avoid wasting the ham by creatively repurposing the drier leftover pieces.
Oven Roasting Times for Whole Thanksgiving Ham
To ensure perfect doneness, follow these approximate minimum oven roasting times for whole bone-in hams:
- 8 to 10 pound ham:
- Uncooked – roast at 325°F for about 2.5 to 3 hours
- Pre-cooked – roast at 325°F for about 1.5 to 2 hours
- 10 to 12 pound ham:
- Uncooked – roast at 325°F for about 3 to 3.5 hours
- Pre-cooked – roast at 325°F for about 2 to 2.5 hours
- 12 to 14 pound ham:
- Uncooked – roast at 325°F for about 4 to 4.5 hours
- Pre-cooked – roast at 325°F for 2.5 to 3 hours
- Larger hams over 14 pounds:
- Uncooked – roast at 325°F for 18-22 minutes per pound
- Precooked – roast at 325°F for 12-15 minutes per pound
For best results, choose a low roasting temperature of 300-325°F. High heat can dry out the exterior before the interior cooks through. Roast until the minimum internal temperature reaches 140°F.
If reheating a fully-cooked spiral sliced ham from the store, roast at 325°F until heated through, about 10-15 minutes per pound.
Tips for Roasting Thanksgiving Ham
Follow these tips for roasting the perfect Thanksgiving ham:
- Thaw frozen ham completely before roasting
- Leave thicker hams wrapped while thawing in fridge up to 2 days
- Unwrap and trim excess fat, leaving a 1/4 inch layer
- Score the fat in diamond pattern for better absorption of glaze
- Place ham fat side up on a rack in a roasting pan, not touching pan
- Brush with glaze last 30 minutes only to avoid burning
- Use an oven-safe meat thermometer to monitor temperature
- Allow cooked ham to rest for 10-15 minutes before slicing
- Carve across the grain in thin slices for most tender texture
With the right roasting time and temperature, you’ll have a gorgeous, mouthwatering holiday ham to feed the whole family. A whole bone-in ham can take up to 5 hours or more in the oven. Be sure to factor in plenty of cook time when planning your Thanksgiving menu. Follow this guide for perfect ham results.
Tips For The Perfect Dish
- Keep half of the glaze aside to use after the ham is mostly done cooking. The glaze can be kept at room temperature or in the fridge. As the glaze sits, it may start to harden. To make it liquid again when you’re ready to use it, just microwave it for 30 seconds at a time.
- If you want to use a bone-in ham for this recipe, you can score it in a cross hatch pattern before you glaze it. I like to use a spiral-cut ham for this recipe.
- What’s left over can be kept fresh for up to three days in the fridge or for two months in the freezer.
- Want to know how to cook a ham the right way the first time? Check out my full guide!
- I have recipes for ham bone soup, scalloped potatoes with ham, and ham casserole that you can use any ham that you have left over.
If you want to follow this recipe, you need to use apple cider juice, not lemon juice.
A ham needs to cook for about 20 minutes per pound in the oven at 325 degrees F. This is for a standard half ham around 7-8 pounds.
You can plan on serving about 3/4 pound of ham per person for a standard bone-in half ham. Adding an extra pound of ham per person will give you a lot of food to take home after the meal.
The overwhelming majority of hams are already cooked. All you’re actually doing is warming your ham through to the proper food safe temperature. If you stick a thermometer into the thickest part of a ham and read at least 145 degrees F, the ham is ready to eat.
There are two common ways to cook a ham. You can bake a ham in the oven, or cook it in a crock pot. Either way you will make a glaze and pour it over the ham before cooking. When it’s almost done baking in an oven, add more glaze and turn up the heat until it’s done. If you choose to cook your ham in a slow cooker, check out my crock pot ham recipe.
This is how I usually make the recipe, but sometimes I change it up based on what I have on hand.
- If you don’t want apple cider, try pineapple juice, cranberry juice, or orange juice instead.
- Change up the spices you use instead of cinnamon and nutmeg. Try pumpkin pie spice, allspice with a pinch of cloves, cinnamon with a pinch of ginger, or even cardamom.
- If you don’t want to use honey, you can use maple syrup or molasses instead. If you don’t have any liquid sweetener, add an extra 1/4 cup of brown sugar.
- Tangy: For a tangy glaze, add a teaspoon of Dijon mustard.
This glazed ham is sure to become a favorite with your family as it has been with mine!
How Do You Make Glazed Ham?
Start your glazed ham by making a glaze for your ham. Put butter, brown sugar, honey, apple cider, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a pan. Add apple cider and simmer until a thick, syrupy mixture forms. Brush half of the glaze over the ham before putting it in the oven. When the ham is almost done, heat up the remaining glaze and pour it over the ham. Increase the oven temperature and cook the ham a few more minutes for a perfect caramelized glaze.
Honey Glazed Ham – The Perfect Thanksgiving Feast
FAQ
How long does it take to cook a ham that’s fully cooked?
Do you cook a ham at 325 or 350?
Is 2 hours long enough to cook a ham?
How long to cook a 7 lb ham at 300?