After the success of the delicious glazed ham I made for Christmas this year, when I spied these additional ideas for glazes I grabbed onto them and filed them away in my Christmas planner. I thought I would also publish them here in case anyone else was interested in some variations.
In the research that I did, they suggested that it was best to begin by scoring the ham. Scoring allows the glaze not only to coat the outside of the ham, but also to seep inside and add its scrumptious flavour to the meat inside. Use a small knife (you don’t want to actually cut through the ham and slice pieces off) and make shallow slits diagonally across the ham in one direction, then the other (forming diamond shapes as you go). If you like, you can then push whole cloves into each of the X’s where the scoring lines meet. This is decorative and adds the clove flavour to the ham and glaze.
Remember to glaze only during the final 30-60 minutes that the ham is baking. If you add the glaze any sooner than that, it may burn. If you like to garnish the ham (such as with the traditional pineapple rings and maraschino cherries), do so prior to basting with the glaze. Brush the glaze all over the garnished ham and then repeat every 15 minutes.
Cranberry-Pineapple Glaze
Empty 1 can (16 oz.) whole berry cranberry sauce, 1 can (14 oz.) undrained crushed pineapple in juice, and 2 tablespoons of Dijon mustard into a blender or food processor. Cover and blend until smooth. Use half of this mixture as the glaze for the ham. The remaining ham can be heated over medium heat until warmed all the way through and served along with the ham as a sauce.
Orange-Pineapple Glaze
Drain 1 can (14 oz.) sliced pineapple in juice. Mix the reserved juice with 1 cup orange marmalade and 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard. Again, use half of this mixture as the glaze for the ham. Heat the other half until warmed through and use as a sauce to be served alongside the ham. Obviously the pineapple slices can be used to garnish the ham and orange slices also make a nice garnish for this one.
With the ham that I made, I served a ginger-pear sauce as an accompaniment. I just mashed up some canned pears and mixed in some fresh grated pear and some crystallized ginger. It was delicious!






