Sweet Tea-Brined Ham (with a Tangy Lemon Glaze!)

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 (The Shortcut Superstar!):
  • Fully-Cooked, Semi-Boneless Ham: For the easiest preparation and serving, it is essential to use a fully-cooked, semi-boneless ham. This gives you all the flavor of a bone-in ham, but with much easier carving.
• The Sweet Tea Brine (The Flavor Secret!):
  • Family-Size Black Tea Bags: This is the brilliant, Southern-inspired secret! The tea imparts a subtle, tannic, and complex flavor to the brine that beautifully balances the sweetness.
  • Dark Brown Sugar: Provides a deep, rich, molasses-like sweetness to the brine, which is the perfect complement to the salty ham.
• The Lemon Glaze (The Flavor Powerhouse!):
  • Fresh Lemon Zest & Juice: It is absolutely essential to use fresh lemon. The bright, fragrant zest and the tangy juice are the keys that cut through the richness of the ham and create a vibrant, zesty flavor.
  • Two Kinds of Mustard: A brilliant, professional trick! Using both grainy Dijon for a pungent, textural kick and dry mustard powder for a deep, sharp heat creates a much more complex and flavorful glaze.

The Glazing Masterclass: The Secret to a Perfect, Non-Dry Ham

This recipe uses two simple but brilliant professional techniques that guarantee a flawless, impressive result.

1. The “Quick Brine” for Flavor: The number one secret to a ham that is flavorful through and through is this simple, 4-hour brine. Unlike a long brine for a raw turkey, this quick soak is the foolproof key to infusing your already-cooked ham with extra moisture and the wonderful, subtle flavors of the sweet tea.
2. The “Steam-Bake” (Covered): The second secret to a perfectly moist, reheated ham is to not dry it out. This recipe’s method of covering the ham tightly with foil is the foolproof key. This creates a “steam bath” inside the pan that gently and evenly heats the ham, ensuring it stays incredibly juicy and tender.
3. The High-Heat “Lacquered” Finish: The final stage is all about the glaze! By uncovering the ham, increasing the oven temperature to a hot 425°F, and brushing the glaze on in multiple layers, you are allowing each layer to caramelize and set. This is the secret that builds up that beautiful, thick, glossy, and deeply flavorful, lacquered crust without it ever burning.
4. Rest, Rest, Rest!: You must let your finished ham rest for at least 20-30 minutes before you slice into it. This crucial, patient step allows the hot, delicious juices to relax and redistribute throughout the entire roast.

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Step-by-Step to the Perfect Sweet Tea-Brined Ham

This elegant, festive meal is a joy to prepare.

Part 1: The Art of the Sweet Tea Brine

Step 1: In a large saucepan, bring 1 gallon of water to a boil. Add the 2 cups of dark brown sugar and 1 cup of kosher salt and stir until they have completely dissolved.

Step 2: Add your 8 family-size black tea bags and let them steep for 1 hour.

Step 3: Add the 4 cups of ice and stir to melt. This is the key to cooling your brine down completely and safely. Remove the tea bags.

Step 4: Place your 5- to 7-pound ham in a large container or a brining bag and pour the cooled brine over it. Make sure the ham is completely submerged. Cover and refrigerate for 4 hours.

Step 5: After 4 hours, drain the ham, discard the brine, and pat the ham completely dry with paper towels.

Part 2: The Two-Stage Roast and Final Glaze

Step 1: Preheat your oven to 300°F ($150^{\circ}C$). Place your ham in a roasting pan and cover it tightly with foil.

Step 2: Roast for 12 to 15 minutes per pound, or until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the meat registers $130^{\circ}F$.

Step 3: While the ham is baking, make your glaze. In a large bowl, simply stir together the 1 1/2 cups of light brown sugar, the 5 tablespoons of lemon zest, the 3/4 cup of fresh lemon juice, the 1/3 cup of grainy Dijon mustard, the 1 tablespoon of dry mustard, and the 1/2 teaspoon of black pepper until it is smooth.

Step 4 (The Best Part!): Remove the ham from the oven and remove the foil. Increase your oven temperature to 425°F ($218^{\circ}C$).

Step 5: Spread half of your prepared glaze all over the ham. Return it to the oven, uncovered, and roast for 5 minutes, or until the glaze just begins to bubble.

Step 6: Pour the rest of the glaze over the ham and continue to roast for another 5 to 10 minutes, until the glaze is sizzling and has begun to blister in spots.

Step 7 (The Most Important Step!): Transfer the ham to a cutting board and let it rest for at least 20 to 30 minutes before you carve it. As the ham rests, you can baste it with the delicious, thick pan juices.

To serve, slice the ham and drizzle it with the warm pan juices. Garnish with fresh citrus, if desired.

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Sweet Tea-Brined Ham (with a Tangy Lemon Glaze!)

A festive and flavorful recipe for a ‘Sweet Tea-Brined Ham With Lemon Glaze,’ perfect as the centerpiece for a holiday meal. This dish features a fully-cooked, semi-boneless ham that is first brined for four hours in a homemade sweet tea mixture to enhance its juiciness and flavor. The ham is then slow-roasted and finished at a high temperature with a tangy, sweet glaze made from brown sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice, and Dijon mustard.

• Author: Grace

Ingredients

• For the Brine and Ham:
• 1 gallon water
• 8 family-size black tea bags
• 2 cups packed dark brown sugar
• 1 cup kosher salt
• 4 cups ice, or as needed
• 1 (5- to 7-lb.) unseasoned, semi-boneless, fully cooked ham
• For the Lemon Glaze:
• 1 1/2 cups packed light brown sugar
• 5 Tbsp. lemon zest
• 3/4 cup fresh lemon juice (from 5 large lemons)
• 1/3 cup grainy Dijon or Creole mustard
• 1 Tbsp. dry mustard
• 1/2 tsp. coarsely ground black pepper

Instructions

1. Make the Brine: Bring the water to a boil in a large saucepan. Add the dark brown sugar and salt, stirring until they are dissolved. Add the tea bags, remove from heat, and let steep for 1 hour.
2. Remove the tea bags. Add the ice and stir to completely cool the brine.
3. Place the ham in a large container or brining bag and pour in the cooled brine. Ensure the ham is fully submerged (add more ice if needed). Cover and refrigerate for 4 hours.
4. Roast the Ham: Preheat the oven to 300°F. Drain the ham, discard the brine, and pat the ham dry with paper towels.
5. Place the ham in a roasting pan, cover it tightly with foil, and roast for 12 to 15 minutes per pound, or until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part registers 130°F.
6. Make the Glaze: While the ham bakes, stir together the light brown sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice, prepared mustard, dry mustard, and black pepper in a large bowl until smoothly combined.
7. Glaze the Ham: Remove the ham from the oven and uncover it. Increase the oven temperature to 425°F.
8. Spread half of the glaze over the ham. Return it to the oven and roast for 5 minutes, or until the glaze bubbles.
9. Pour the rest of the glaze over the ham and continue roasting for 5 to 10 more minutes, or until the glaze sizzles and begins to blister in spots.
10. Let the ham rest for 20 to 30 minutes before serving. Baste frequently with the pan juices as it rests. Serve warm, drizzling the slices with pan juices.

Notes

• This is a showstopper main course, perfect for holidays like Christmas or Easter.
• Brining the ham, even though it’s already cooked, is a key technique that adds significant moisture and flavor to the final dish.
• The ham must be fully submerged in the cooled brine for the 4-hour brining period.
• Letting the ham rest for 20-30 minutes before carving is crucial to ensure the meat remains juicy.

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 the ham bone to make an incredible, flavorful split pea or a bean soup.

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Frequently Asked questions (FAQs)

Q1: Why brine a ham that is already fully cooked?

A fully-cooked ham is already delicious, but this quick, 4-hour brine is a flavor-infusing step! It’s the secret that adds the subtle, complex, and savory-sweet notes of the tea and brown sugar deep into the meat, and it adds extra insurance for a super juicy result.

Q2: Can I use a spiral-cut ham?

Yes, absolutely! A spiral-cut ham is a fantastic choice for this recipe, as the brine and the glaze will be able to get in between every single slice for even more flavor.

Q3: Can I make the glaze ahead of time?

Yes, absolutely! The no-cook glaze can be prepared up to 3 days in advance and stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Q4: Can I use a different kind of mustard?

Yes! If you don’t have a whole-grain Dijon, a classic, smooth Dijon mustard or a spicy brown mustard would also be delicious substitutes.

Q5: Why did my glaze burn?

A sugary glaze can burn if the oven is too hot or if it’s applied too early in the cooking process. This recipe’s method of applying the glaze only during the final, high-heat 10-15 minutes of cooking is the key that prevents the sugars from burning over the long initial bake.