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Pineapple Glaze for Spiral Ham (and How to Cook a Spiral Ham)

This pineapple glazed ham makes a beautiful centerpiece for any special occasion including Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas!  It’s wonderfully juicy and bursting with flavor from the intoxicating caramelized pineapple ham glaze. To top it all off, this spiral ham with brown sugar pineapple ham glaze is super easy to make, just simmer the pineapple glaze ingredients together, slather it all over the spiral ham and bake! 
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 2 hours
Servings 10 -15 servings

Ingredients

Equipment

Pineapple Ham Glaze

  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter
  • 1 cup packed light brown sugar
  • ½ cup pineapple juice
  • ½ cup pineapple preserves or apricot pineapple preserves
  • 1/4 cup orange juice
  • 3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp EACH garlic powder, onion powder, ground coriander, dried basil, ground nutmeg, ground ginger, ground cloves, paprika, pepper

Sugar Coating (Optional)

  • 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar

Instructions

  • Remove ham from refrigerator and let rest on the counter for 2-3 hours to come to room temperature.
  • Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Adjust oven rack to lowest position. Line a roasting pan with foil for easy cleanup. Pour 2 of cups water into bottom of roasting pan. (Skip the water if you don’t have a roasting rack.)
  • Add all of the Pineapple Glaze ingredients in a medium saucepan. Heat over medium until butter melts, then bring to a simmer, stirring often, until the glaze thickens to the consistency of syrup, about 7 minutes (you don’t want it too thick).
  • Roll out 2 large pieces of foil to wrap your ham in, making sure they overlap in the center. Lay ham on its side in the center of the foil and brush ham all over with approximately half of the Glaze, including in between slices (reserve remaining Glaze for later). Tightly wrap ham with foil and place ham FLAT/FACE SIDE DOWN on the roasting rack (or bottom of pan).
  • Bake ham at 325 degrees F until the center registers 100-110 degrees F, (approx. 10-13 minutes per pound). Remove ham from oven and increase oven temperature to 400 degrees F.
  • Rewarm the Glaze in the saucepan or in the microwave until it thins again to the consistency of syrup (it will have thickened upon standing). Carefully unwrap ham from foil and discard foil. Baste the ham with juices in the bottom of the pan, then brush ham all over and in between slices with the remaining Glaze.
  • Leave ham uncovered to caramelize surface and bake until the ham reaches an internal temperature of around 130 degrees F, approximately 15-20 minutes.
  • Continue with step below or remove ham from oven and loosely cover with foil. Let rest for 15 minutes before serving. Serve plain or husband loves it with a side of Dijon. See tons of side serving options above the recipe. Enjoy!

Sugar Coating: optional for sweeter, more caramelized exterior

  • Whisk together ½ cup granulated sugar and ½ cup brown sugar in a small bowl. When cool enough to handle, pat sugar all over exterior of ham. Return ham to oven and let broil, uncovered for 4-6 minutes, watching closely so the ham doesn't burn. You may need to place foil on the top of the ham. Remove ham when the sugar is bubbly and caramelized.
  • Loosely cover ham with foil. Let rest for 15 minutes before serving. Serve plain or husband loves it with a side of Dijon. See tons of side serving options above the recipe. Enjoy!

Notes

Cooking Tips for Success

  • Pineapple preserves: Add concentrated pineapple flavor to the glaze without hours of simmering. Some grocery stores carry them, so do not, so I would call around before heading out just for this ingredients. If you can't locate pineapple preserves, you can order them on Amazon here. Otherwise, I have seen pineapple apricot preserves at almost every grocery store which would make a great substitute.  As a last resort, you can use apricot preserves which are readily available. 
  • Don’t overcook ham: Remember, we are not cooking the ham, we are reheating the ham, so we don’t want to overcook it or it will be dry. It is better to under "warm" your ham than to overcook it. 
  • To check the ham temperature: Insert the thermometer into the thickest part of the ham without touching the bone, as the bone conducts heat and will be a much higher temperature than the meat. 
  • My favorite thermometer:  For perfectly cooked spiral ham that you don’t have to babysit, I suggest this digital probe thermometer- it retrieves temperature precisely to within ±1.8°f (±1°c )!  The thermometer allows you to set the desired temperature and an alarm will set as soon as it reaches the set temperature.  Of course, this isn’t necessary, you can also use an instant read thermometer.
  • To decorate ham: For an EASY, gorgeous presentation, purchase a bouquet of flowers or use flowers from your garden and place them around your ham on platter.
  • Sides dish recipes: See post for tons of side dish ideas or see all my Easter recipe here and my Christmas recipes here.  

HOW to store and reheat

  • Leftovers: See post for tons of leftover ham ideas!
  • To store: Leftover baked ham should be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator. When properly stored, ham is good up to 5 days. Beyond, that, freeze any uneaten ham.
  • To freeze: You can freeze ham in slices for sandwiches or chop it up for future eggs, omelettes, casseroles, soups, enchiladas, etc. Frozen ham should be used within 3-4 months.
  • To reheat: Reheat the pineapple ham in a 325-degree F oven for no more than 10 minutes per pound, or until it reaches an internal temperature of 135 degrees F. If reheating just a few slices of ham, wrap the slices in foil and check after 5 minutes.