Nanna's Baked Ham

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The Editors
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6 to 8 servings, with leftovers
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This is a wonderful baked ham recipe with a glaze that adds flavor and shine. It’s just like the ham our families made for the holidays—moist with a sweet and spicy taste. 

The ham was submittd by a reader who says, “My Nanna used to make this ham on Christmas and Easter. She always served it with her special baked macaroni and cheese. It was a match made in heaven, and in her memory I share this recipe with you.”

Must make sure you start with a fully cooked ham. (Most hams are fully-cooked these days.)

For the moistest ham, here are some cooking tips: 

  • Always place the ham cut-side down in a baking pan. You can also tent with foil.
  • Every 20 minutes or so, brush the ham with glaze and baste it with the pan juices.
  • Before carving your baked ham, let it rest 15 minutes to redistribute juices and firm up the meat.
  • Keep the ham bone! Use it to add great flavor to soups, stews, and greens.
Ingredients
1 very lean large ham with bone in
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 (1 stick) cup butter
30 whole cloves
1 can pineapple rings in juice
Instructions

Remove ham from packaging and reserve any juices. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. In a small saucepan, heat butter until melted and add brown sugar and reserved ham juices and pineapple juice. Bring to slow boil over medium heat and then simmer. Simmer 5 minutes, then set aside.

Place ham in roasting pan face-down. With a good sharp knife score the skin in a pattern. Push in cloves until outside rind of ham is completely dotted with cloves. With a basting brush, spread the prepared sauce all over ham. Bake for 1 hour. Remove ham from oven and baste again. Decorate with pineapple rings and place back in the oven for 30 minutes. Remove from oven, baste again and serve.

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The Old Farmer's Almanac Editors

We love introducing fun new recipes as well as time-tested recipes, straight from the archives! Read More from The Old Farmer's Almanac Editors