Honey-Glazed Spiced Ham (An Easy Holiday Showstopper!)

The Holiday Pantry: The Essential Ingredients

This iconic dish uses a handful of high-quality, classic ingredients to create its signature rich and savory-sweet flavor.

• The Ham:
  • Boneless, Fully-Cooked Ham: For the easiest preparation and carving, it is essential to use a boneless, fully-cooked ham. This allows you to simply score, season, and bake, and then slice the finished roast like a loaf of bread, with no bone to work around.
• The Toasted Spice Rub (The Secret to Deep Flavor!):
  • Toasting Whole Spices: The secret to a truly deep, complex, and aromatic crust is toasting your whole spices (fennel seeds, coriander seeds, and peppercorns) in a dry skillet before you grind them. This simple, 5-minute step is the key that awakens their essential oils and makes them incredibly fragrant and flavorful.
  • The Spice Blend: A classic, from-scratch barbecue-style rub with smoky California sweet chili powder, warm cinnamon, and a hint of fiery red pepper flakes.
• The Glaze: The beauty of this recipe is its simplicity. A high-quality, pure honey is all you need. Its floral sweetness is the perfect counterpoint to the smoky, savory spice rub and the salty ham.

The Glazing Masterclass: The Secret to a Perfect, Non-Burnt Crust

This recipe uses a simple but brilliant high-heat roasting and basting method. Here’s why each step is so important:

1. The Deep Scoring: The number one secret to a ham that is flavorful through and through is to score it deeply. By cutting a beautiful, 1-inch deep diamond pattern all over the surface of the ham, you are creating dozens of channels for your delicious rub and glaze to seep into, seasoning the meat from the inside out.
2. The Celery Rack: This is a brilliant, old-school chef’s trick! By placing your ham on a natural “rack” made from celery stalks, you are elevating it, which allows the hot air to circulate all around for even cooking. The celery also releases its aromatic moisture into the pan, creating a fragrant steam and incredibly flavorful pan juices.
3. Frequent Basting: By brushing the ham with the honey and the pan juices every 15 minutes, you are building up the glaze in thin, even layers. This is the secret that creates that beautiful, thick, glossy, and deeply caramelized crust without it ever burning.

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Step-by-Step to the Perfect Honey-Glazed Spiced Ham

This elegant, festive meal is a joy to prepare.

Part 1: The Art of the Toasted Spice Rub

Step 1: In a small, dry, heavy pan over a medium heat, toast your 1/4 cup of fennel seeds, 1 tablespoon of coriander seeds, and 1 tablespoon of peppercorns until the fennel begins to turn a light brown. Add your 1 1/2 teaspoons of red pepper flakes and toss for a few more seconds.

Step 2: Immediately turn the spice mixture out onto a plate to cool completely.

Step 3: In a spice grinder (or a coffee grinder dedicated to spices), grind the toasted spices until they are evenly ground. In a bowl, toss the ground spices with the 1/4 cup of sweet chili powder, 2 tablespoons of kosher salt, and 2 tablespoons of ground cinnamon.

Part 2: Prepare, Roast, and Glaze the Ham

Step 1: First, preheat your oven to 425°F (218°C).

Step 2: Use a sharp paring knife to carefully score a 1-inch deep diamond pattern all over the outside of your ham.

Step 3: Brush the entire surface of the ham with some of your honey. Then, season the entire surface generously with your prepared toasted spice rub and the 1 tablespoon of chopped fresh thyme.

Step 4: Place your 6 celery stalks in the bottom of a roasting pan to create a natural rack. Place the seasoned ham on top of the celery. Add about a half cup of water to the bottom of the pan.

Step 5: Cook for 1 hour. Every 15 minutes, be sure to baste the ham with the juices that collect in the bottom of the roaster and with more of your honey.

Step 6 (The Most Important Step!): Transfer the ham to a cutting board and let it rest for at least 15 minutes before you carve it.

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Honey-Glazed Spiced Ham (An Easy Holiday Showstopper!)

An impressive and flavorful recipe for a ‘Toasted Spiced Ham Drizzled in Honey,’ perfect as a centerpiece for a holiday meal. This dish features a boneless country ham that is scored, brushed with honey, and coated in a fragrant, homemade toasted spice rub. The spice rub includes a blend of fennel, coriander, peppercorns, and cinnamon. The ham is roasted on a bed of celery stalks and basted every 15 minutes with honey and its own pan juices, creating a beautifully caramelized and savory-sweet crust.

• Author: Grace

Ingredients

• For the Toasted Spice Rub:
• 1/4 cup fennel seeds
• 1 tablespoon coriander seeds
• 1 tablespoon peppercorns
• 1 1/2 teaspoons red pepper flakes
• 1/4 cup pure California sweet chili powder
• 2 tablespoons kosher salt
• 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
• For the Ham:
• 1 boneless country ham
• 2 cups honey, for glazing
• 2 tablespoons Toasted Spice Rub
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
• 6 celery stalks

Instructions

1. Make the Toasted Spice Rub: In a small, dry pan over medium heat, toast the fennel seeds, coriander seeds, and peppercorns until the fennel turns light brown. Add the red pepper flakes and toss for a few seconds until fragrant. Immediately turn the spices out onto a plate to cool.
2. Grind the toasted spice mixture in a spice grinder. In a bowl, combine the ground spices with the chili powder, salt, and cinnamon. Store in a glass jar.
3. Prepare the Ham: Preheat the oven to 425°F.
4. With a paring knife, carefully score a 1-inch grid pattern all over the outside of the ham.
5. Brush the entire surface of the ham on all sides with some of the honey.
6. Season the ham on all sides with 2 tablespoons of the toasted spice rub and the chopped thyme.
7. Place the celery stalks in the bottom of a roasting pan to create a natural rack. Place the seasoned ham on top of the celery. Add about a half cup of water to the bottom of the pan.
8. Roast the Ham: Cook for 1 hour. Every 15 minutes, baste the ham with the juices that collect in the bottom of the roaster and with more of the honey.
9. Let the ham rest for 15 minutes before carving and serving.

Notes

• Toasting the whole spices before grinding them is a key step that awakens their aromatic oils and results in a much more flavorful rub.
• Using celery stalks as a natural roasting rack elevates the ham, preventing it from sticking and adding a subtle aromatic flavor to the pan juices.
• Frequent basting with honey and the pan juices is crucial for creating the delicious, sticky, and caramelized glaze.
• The chef notes to taste your chili powder, as some can be very hot. California chiles are recommended for their sweetness.

Storage and Leftover Ideas

• Storage: Store any leftover ham, well-wrapped, in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
• The Best Leftovers: Leftover glazed ham is a true holiday treasure! It makes the absolute best sandwiches, is fantastic diced up in an omelet or a frittata, and you can use any bone (if you used a bone-in ham) to make an incredible, flavorful split pea or a bean soup.

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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Q1: What is the absolute, number one secret to a juicy, not dry, holiday ham?

The two most important secrets are to not overcook it and to let it rest. Since you are starting with a fully-cooked ham, you are essentially just reheating it. Using an instant-read thermometer to check for doneness (aiming for about 140∘F), and then letting the ham rest for at least 15 minutes, are the non-negotiable keys that will guarantee an incredibly juicy and tender result.

Q2: Why do you toast the spices for the rub?

Toasting whole spices in a dry pan is a simple, 5-minute professional technique that makes a world of difference! The gentle heat awakens and releases the spices’ dormant, fragrant essential oils, which creates a much deeper, more complex, and more aromatic flavor than simply using pre-ground spices.

Q3: Can I make the spice rub ahead of time?

Yes, absolutely! The toasted spice rub can be prepared up to several months in advance and stored in a glass jar in a cool, dry place. It’s a fantastic, versatile rub to have on hand for chicken and pork as well.

Q4: Can I use a bone-in ham for this recipe?

Yes! A bone-in ham will be even more flavorful. You will simply need to increase the total roasting time. A good rule of thumb for a bone-in ham is to plan for about 15-20 minutes of roasting time per poun

Q5: What is a “California sweet chili powder”?

California chili powder is a specific type of mild chili powder made from ground, dried Anaheim chiles.1 It has a beautiful, bright red color and a very mild, sweet, and slightly fruity flavor with very little heat. If you can’t find it, you can substitute it with a classic, mild ancho chili powder.