Glazed ham is the easiest holiday centerpiece, but it can be hard to do if you’ve never done it before! This short guide will teach you everything you need to know about Glazed Ham, including how to choose a ham, remove the rind, how much to buy, the ham glaze, how to store it, and what to do with any leftover ham.
It’s the Full RecipeTin Eats Holiday Baked Ham Guide! Use it with your favorite glaze, like my special Maple Ham Glaze or the classic Brown Sugar Ham Glaze.
Glazing a ham is a beloved holiday tradition for many families. The sweet sticky glaze provides a delicious contrast to the savory salty ham. Traditionally, the glaze helps provide that quintessential crunchy, candied texture by interacting with the fat on the ham. But what if your ham has no fat? Can you still get that picture-perfect, glistening glazed ham without it?
The short answer is yes – you can absolutely glaze a ham with no fat While fat does help the glaze caramelize and adhere to the ham, it is not strictly necessary With a few tweaks to your technique, you can make a moist, fully-glazed ham even without fat.
How Fat Affects Glazing
On a traditional ham, there is a thick layer of fat underneath the skin or rind. When you remove the skin, this exposes the fat cap. The fat serves several purposes when it comes to glazing:
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It provides a surface for the glaze to stick to. The rendered fat gets sticky as it cooks, helping the glaze coat the ham.
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It bastes the ham from within. As the fat renders, it keeps the ham moist and carries glaze flavor into the meat.
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It facilitates caramelization and browning. The sugary glaze reacts with the hot fat to form a crispy, candied crust.
Glazing a Fat-Free Ham
If your ham has no fat cap, don’t worry! With a few easy tweaks, you can still end up with a beautifully glazed ham. Here are some tips:
Choose the Right Glaze
Look for a glaze recipe with lots of sticky ingredients like corn syrup, honey, maple syrup, or preserves. The natural tackiness of these will help the glaze cling to the ham without fat.
Apply Glaze Frequently
Be diligent about basting to help the glaze stick. Brush on a fresh layer of glaze every 20-30 minutes during cooking.
Keep it Moist
Without fat to baste the ham, you’ll need to prevent it from drying out. Use a roasting pan with 1/2 inch of liquid like juice, wine, broth or water. Tent with foil if needed.
Increase Brown Sugar
Up the brown sugar in your recipe to promote caramelization on the ham’s surface.
Sear and Deglaze
For great flavor, you can also try searing the ham before glazing. Cook it in a hot pan to brown the exterior, then deglaze with wine or stock to make a pan sauce.
Slice Thinly
Carve the ham into very thin slices to maximize the glazed surface area. Thin slices also seem more moist.
Keep Warm
Serve the ham warm, not cold, for the best texture. The warmth keeps the glaze supple and sticky.
With a combination of these techniques, you can absolutely achieve a beautiful, mouthwatering glazed ham without any fat at all. While the fat does make the process easier, it is by no means required. A bit of extra care and a few small tweaks are all you need to create a showstopper glazed ham.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Follow these simple steps for glazing success with a fat-free ham:
1. Prepare the Ham
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Remove skin and any excess fat, leaving just a thin layer if possible.
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Score the ham by making shallow diagonal cuts in a diamond pattern. This helps the glaze seep into the meat.
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Stud with whole cloves if desired for flavor and presentation.
2. Make a Sticky Glaze
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Opt for a glaze with corn syrup, honey, preserves or maple syrup as the base.
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Add spices like cinnamon, cloves, ginger and mustard.
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Make it slightly thicker than usual to help it adhere.
3. Roast the Ham
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Place ham cut side down in roasting pan filled with 1/2 inch liquid like wine or juice.
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Roast at 325°F until ham is warmed through, about 10-15 minutes per pound.
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Baste frequently with glaze, every 20-30 minutes.
4. Sear and Deglaze (Optional)
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For caramelization, remove ham from oven about 30 minutes before ready.
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Heat a skillet over high heat. Quickly sear ham on all sides.
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Deglaze pan with wine or stock, then pour over ham.
5. Finish and Serve
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Increase oven temperature to 400°F. Roast for 10-15 minutes more to set glaze.
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Let rest 15 minutes, then slice thinly and serve warm.
Frequently Asked Questions
Here are answers to some common questions about glazing a ham without fat:
What if my ham has no fat at all?
Even with absolutely no fat, the ham can still be glazed successfully. Really work the glaze into the nooks and crannies of the scored ham. Go lighter on the glaze so it doesn’t just slide right off.
Should I bard the ham with fat?
Barding refers to layering slices of fat over a lean cut of meat while cooking. For glazing, barding is not necessary. It’s better to sear the ham to get caramelization rather than weigh it down with extra fat.
What about using a glaze with alcohol?
Alcohol evaporates quickly in the heat, so it won’t help the glaze adhere without fat. Stick to glazes based on syrups, sugar or honey instead.
Can I glaze a spiral cut ham without fat?
Yes, a spiral cut ham can be glazed even without fat, but the glaze may tend to collect more in the crevices between slices rather than coating the surface. Simply drizzle more glaze over top while serving.
Should I cook it longer if there’s no fat?
No, the cook time will be about the same. Since the ham is precooked, you are just heating it through and melting the glaze. Extending the time risks drying out the ham.
The Takeaway
While fat on a ham does provide some benefits, it is not absolutely necessary for creating a beautiful glazed ham centerpiece. With a few small adjustments like choosing a sticky glaze, basting frequently, slicing thinly and keeping it moist, you can achieve gorgeous, glistening results without any fat at all. Don’t be deterred by a leaner ham – with a little TLC, you can still end up with the perfect holiday showstopper.
INTERNAL TEMPERATURE OF COOKED HAM IS 60°C/140°F
Ham is already “cooked” ie ready to eat, so it doesn’t need to be cooked for consumption. It’s to ensure any food germs are obliterated. It’s easy for bacteria to grow on proteins that have been in the oven for a long time, so it’s best to bake the ham until the internal temperature kills any bacteria that are still there. *Sorry for off-putting germ talk!!*.
Best ham for Glazed Ham
My economical pick for 2019: $9/kg ($4.50/lb) Smoked Half Leg of Ham from Woolworths (Australia) is excellent value. I’ve used it twice already this year, and I’ve used it many times in previous years – always a winner!
For a free range option, I order from The Free Range Butcher (Northern Beaches, Sydney NSW) but they are already sold out this year.
There are a lot of different kinds of hams in grocery stores and butcher shops around the holidays, and the prices are also very different. So how do you choose a ham? Here’s my advice!.
- Get the rind on. To make glazed ham, you need to get the ham with the skin on, which is called the rind. The orange, tough skin on top of the fat in the pictures above and below is the rind. The rind is important because the fat under the skin is what turns sticky and golden when ham glaze is added. It’s not possible to make a sticky glaze on ham that doesn’t have a rind.
- Buy smoked ham instead of unsmoked ham because it tastes better. The label will say “smoked” or “not smoked” if it’s been smoked.
- Whole or half ham? Hams can be bought whole or cut in half (see picture above). Which one to get depends on how much ham you want to buy (see below for how to figure out how much ham for each person). I usually get a half ham leg. I like the half with the handle better because it looks better and gives me something to hold on to while I carve.
- Get a bone-in ham every time you can. Ham with bones is much less juicy because the juices run out of the hole where the bone was cut.
- DON’T use raw ham, like gammon. That’s a different recipe because the meat is raw and needs to be cooked!
Because of how they are cooked, cheaper hams tend to have more water in them, which changes the texture and flavor. It depends on how well the pigs were cared for, how many additives and preservatives are in the ham, and how strong or “good” the smoked flavor is.
I know that some people may decide to buy high-end items or not bother at all during the Christmas season.
I take a more pragmatic view. Buy the best you can afford. The more you pay, the better quality it will be, translating into better flavour.
