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If you’re looking for a delicious, flavorful ham glaze that’s ready in minutes, you have to try my recipe for Bourbon Glaze Recipe! You’ll be looking for any excuse to make this incredible baked ham glaze again!
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Bourbon Ham Glaze
If you’ve made a ham before, you know that it all comes down to the glaze. The glaze for ham can make or break dinner, so it’s all the more important to get the flavors just right to complement the meat!
In all my testing, I think bourbon glaze has to be the best holiday ham glaze recipe yet. Bourbon whiskey is already sweet with tons of smooth, delicious notes of vanilla, oak, and caramel, making it the perfect pairing for salty, savory ham. Add in rich maple syrup and brown sugar, and it’s irresistible!
Plus, it’s easy! With three easy ingredients and only ten minutes of cooking time, this sticky, luxurious glaze will be ready in no time. Make sure to make extra- you’ll be adding a little to everything!
Bourbon Glaze Ingredients
- Brown sugar
- Maple syrup
- Bourbon
Bourbon Glaze for Ham Recipe
- In a small saucepan over medium heat, add the brown sugar, maple syrup, and bourbon to the pan and bring to a simmer.
- Let simmer for about 10 minutes, stirring frequently to prevent burning, then quickly pour over the spiral-cut ham, boneless ham, or bone-in ham.
- Brush between each slice, and serve!
Bourbon Glazed Ham Tips
- Make absolutely sure you’re getting a good quality bottle of Bourbon! Most of the flavor of this glaze is bourbon, and boiling off the alcohol will just make its flavors even more intense. Low-quality bourbon will seriously affect the flavor.
- For best results, when glazing the ham, pour the glaze on over a rimmed dish. Then use a basting brush to collect the drips and brush them on each slice!
- When glazing ham, it’s always a good idea to glaze every single slice. This will ensure a flavorful ham with no bland bits.
- If you want to add a bit of citrus flavor, you can add a bit of orange marmalade or orange zest to this delicious glaze.
- Ham sandwiches made with bourbon-glazed ham are incredible!
Bourbon Glaze Recipe FAQs
Bourbon glaze is made of simple ingredients with a ton of complex flavor! All it takes is good-quality bourbon, brown sugar, and maple syrup. Combined together and cooked until thickened, the glaze is sticky and full of flavor.
The answer to glazing a ham before or after baking is actually right in the middle! Glaze should be added after the ham has been given some time to heat, so it absorbs more easily into the meat. Repeat the glazing process multiple times during the baking and at the end for the best results.
Despite bourbon whiskey being the base ingredient for bourbon ham glaze, there’s no alcohol in it. This is because the glaze is simmered for a full 10 minutes, letting all of the alcohol boil off and keeping only the amazing flavor.
Bourbon ham glaze is cooked until the alcohol is completely boiled off, so it’s completely kid-safe and should not have any remaining alcohol! This is true of any glaze or sauce that’s boiled until reduced, but be wary of uncooked sauces containing alcoholic ingredients.
Baked Ham Bourbon Glaze
One of the great things about ham is how many ways you can cook it! Be it in the oven, air fryer, smoker, or pressure cooker, you can heat up ham in any way you choose, and it’ll always be delicious.
That’s also one of my favorite things about glazes for ham. No matter how you cook the ham, the glaze can stay the same! Feel free to brush this glaze on an air-fried ham, use it for ham steaks, brush it on spiral ham in the oven, or pour it over a whole ham after cooking it in a smoker.
Best Ham Recipes
- Air Fryer Ham
- Glazed Ham Steaks
- Honey Glazed Ham
- Instant Pot Ham
- Smoked Ham – my favorite with this ham glaze!
- And if you love flavorful hams, you’ve got to try my recipe for Pineapple Ham with Pineapple Glaze for Ham! It’s tropical, sweet, tangy, and delicious!
Looking for a ham to serve with this delicious glaze? No matter how you want to cook it, I have a handy recipe to make it quick and easy! Just swap out the included glazes for this one!
You will want to check out my side dishes for ham and leftover ham recipes!
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📋 Recipe
Bourbon Ham Glaze
Equipment
- Small saucepan
- Basting brush
Ingredients
- ¾ cup Brown sugar
- ¼ cup Maple syrup
- ¼ cup Bourbon good quality
See our Cooking Conversions Chart for help converting measurements!
Instructions
- In a small saucepan over medium heat, add the brown sugar, maple syrup, and bourbon to the pan and bring to a simmer.¾ cup Brown sugar, ¼ cup Maple syrup, ¼ cup Bourbon
- Let simmer for about 10 minutes, stirring frequently to prevent burning, then quickly pour over the ham.
- Brush between each slice, and serve!
Notes
- Make absolute sure you’re getting a good quality bottle of Bourbon! Most of the flavor of this glaze is the bourbon, and boiling off the alcohol will just make its flavors even more intense. Low quality bourbon will seriously effect the flavor.
- For best results, when glazing the ham, pour the glaze on over a rimmed dish. Then use a basting brush to collect the drips and brush them on each slice!
- When glazing ham, it’s always a good idea to glaze every single slice. This will ensure a flavorful ham with no bland bits.
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