Baked Honey Bourbon Ham Recipe

A simple baked boneless ham with a honey, orange, and bourbon glaze. It’s sweet, citrusy, and perfect for holidays, parties, or celebration meals.

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This post is sponsored by Hatfield

Baked Honey Bourbon Ham Recipe

The Hatfield dinner ham is a delicious 3-pound boneless ham that’s the perfect celebration or holiday ham for a smaller crowd. The best part about this ham is how easy it is to cook and prepare with minimal prep work. It’s really juicy, tender, and super flavorful on its own, however, the honey, orange, and bourbon glaze creates a sweet and citrusy touch you won’t be able to resist.

The Honey Bourbon Glaze

My honey bourbon glaze is comprised of fresh-squeezed orange juice, honey, bourbon, dark brown sugar, whole cloves, and a pinch of ginger. It’s sweet and citrusy with subtle bourbon notes. My number one tip would be to not over simmer the glaze. 3-4 minutes is enough to caramelize/melt the brown sugar. As the glaze cools, it will continue to thicken. If you simmer the sauce for too long, it will over caramelize and make basting difficult.

I baste the ham several times throughout the cooking process. Once before adding the ham to the oven, a second time 20 minutes in, a third time at the 45-minute mark, and a fourth time just before carving and serving. This helps to build a nice thick coating and ensures the glaze soaks into the ham as it cooks.

How to Score the Ham

Scoring the ham allows the glaze to further soak into the exterior of the ham. I wouldn’t say this step in mandatory, but it’s easy to do and I think it makes a difference in the final result. As the ham cooks, the cuts will open up, allowing for the glaze and juices to settle in. Aim for just under 1/2-inch deep cuts. Use the end of a sharp knife and carefully cut across the ham. A diagonal crosshatch or diamond pattern works best. It will slightly resemble a turtle shell once cooked.

Ham Cooking Time and Temp

A boneless ham typically takes 15-20 minutes per pound to bake in the oven. The 3 pound Hatfield dinner ham will be done in about 1-1 hour 15 minutes at 325 °F, with some additional time for browning the glaze. Although the ham is fully cooked out of the package, it’s important that the internal temp reaches 140 °F degrees before consuming.

An affordable digital thermometer takes the guesswork out of everything and always makes for consistent results.

Baked Honey Bourbon Ham Recipe

Where to Get Hatfield Ham?

Use the store locator here: ff.recipes/hatfield-locator to find a grocery store near you. I get my hams at Big Y.

Hatfield Ham
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Baked Honey Bourbon Ham Recipe

★★★★★ 4.5 from 2 reviews
  • Author: Shawn Williams
  • Prep Time: 15
  • Cook Time: 60
  • Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
  • Yield: 6-8 1x
  • Category: Dinner
  • Cuisine: American
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Description

A simple baked boneless ham with a honey, orange, and bourbon glaze. It’s sweet, citrusy, and perfect for holidays, parties, or celebration meals.

Ingredients

Scale
  • 3 pound Hatfield Dinner Ham, netting removed

Honey bourbon glaze

  • 1 orange, juice squeezed
  • 1/2 cup honey
  • 1/4 cup bourbon
  • 1/4 cup dark brown sugar, packed
  • 1 teaspoon whole cloves
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 325 °F.
  2. Combine all glaze ingredients in a small saucepan on medium heat. Bring to a gentle simmer, whisking occasionally, until sugar is melted, about 3-4 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.
  3. Score the ham in a diagonal crosshatch pattern. Starting from one end close to the bottom, cut about 1/2 inch into the ham in a diagonal straight line across the ham. Repeat making lines 1″ apart on the entire ham. Rotate the ham and repeat diagonally from one side to the other.
  4. Place the ham in a large oven-safe dish or high rimmed metal pan. Fill with 1/2 inch of water and pour 1/4 cup of glaze over the ham. Cover ham/pan with foil, sealing the ham in entirely.
  5. Bake for 45 minutes, basting with the glaze at the 20-minute mark. After 45 minutes remove from the oven, baste with glaze, and return uncovered to the oven for 15-20 additional minutes, or until ham reaches internal temp of 140 °F. Baste again in the last 5 minutes.
  6. Remove ham from the oven and let sit for 10-15 minutes tented with foil before serving. Baste just before slicing and serving.

Keywords: honey bourbon ham, baked ham recipe