Orange Spice Glazed Ham

I promised traditional Easter recipes throughout this week and I aim to keep my promise! I’m starting with the main event… an Easter Ham (or use the same glaze and roast a turkey breast). Each day this week I will share another Easter recipe: Southern Hash Brown Casserole, Sugar Snap Saute, Deviled Eggs, and Orange Sunshine Cake. If you will have a table filled with hungry tummies on Easter, add another vegetable casserole (like Creamy Broccoli Cauliflower Casserole or Creamed Corn), some type of salad, and rolls.

So let’s get started with the ham. (FYI – this was my first ham!)

I remember my mom and my NaNa making Easter ham. If my memory is correct, I think they started with a canned ham that they glazed with the traditional brown sugar/mustard glaze and topped with pineapple rings and maraschino cherries. I’m pretty sure this would be considered retro now a days. But it sure brings back good memories!

Several years ago someone introduced me to Honey Baked Ham. Oh my! I have not made a ham myself since this discovery… until now.

Because ya’ll asked me for a recipe for a traditional Easter ham, I searched for five-star recipes and came up with a couple that sounded really good. My favorite… the one I just knew would be the winner, comes from Tyler Florence.

This recipe jumped out at me right away. It calls for fresh sage leaves, brown sugar, cloves, tangerines or oranges, AND it’s Tyler Florence’s recipe! Well… how could this NOT be wonderful?!

Because I didn’t have the exact ingredients, I made a couple of changes to Tyler’s recipe. For his original recipe, please click here. First, I thought I had cinnamon sticks and whole cloves but I didn’t so I substituted ground. I added some Allspice and a bit of Cayenne to counter the sweetness with a little extra spice and I loved the result. I also had some Blood Orange Olive Oil so I used that in place of the Olive Oil. (Do not go out and purchase blood orange olive oil just for this dish. Just use EVOO. I promise, it will be delicious.)

The final product was so good. It was all I could do to keep from drinking the glaze. I’m serious! It is out of this world yumilicious! The only change that I would make would be to “pin” the orange slices to the ham with whole cloves. If I had them, I would have. All but three of the orange slices slid off of my leaning ham. This did not hurt the flavor at all. It just wasn’t quite as pretty.

If you are looking for an easy and mouth-watering Easter Ham recipe, this is it!

OK – Before I share the recipe, I feel the need to apologize for the photo. I was in a hurry to dash out the door when this came out of the oven so I didn’t stop to place the ham on a beautiful platter and garnish with orange slices and fresh sage leaves as I would if I were serving it. Please forgive the unattractive presentation

Orange Spice Glazed Ham

Ingredients:

• 6 to 8 pound smoked, bone-in ham
• black pepper
• 1 bunch fresh sage leaves, divided
• 1/4 cup Blood Orange Olive Oil (or extra virgin olive oil)
• 2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, cut into chunks
• 2 navel oranges, thinly sliced and any seeds removed
• 2 cups fresh orange juice
• 2 cups dark brown sugar, packed
• 1/4 teaspoon whole cloves (or 1/2 teaspoon ground)
• 2 cinnamon sticks (or 1 1/2 teaspoon ground)
• 1 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cayenne (or more to taste)
• additional whole cloves to use as pins to attach orange slices to ham

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

Place ham in a large roasting pan, fat-side up. Use a sharp knife to score a diamond pattern through the fat. Sprinkle with freshly ground black pepper.

Finely chop eight of the sage leaves and mix with the oil. Rub into the ham, being sure to get into the slits. Bake the ham for 1 1/2 hours. (Note: Tyler started with an 8-10 pound ham and cooked for 2 hours. I wanted something smaller so I reduced the cooking time.)

To make the glaze, combine remaining ingredients (except the rest of the sage leaves) and bring to a simmer over low heat. Simmer for 30 minutes then remove from heat.

After the ham has cooked for 1 1/2 hours, pour the glaze over the ham. Carefully arrange the orange slices over the ham and secure into place with the additional whole cloves. Scatter with the remaining sage leaves then return ham to the oven for another 1 1/2 hours, basting with the glaze every 30 minutes.

Remove from oven and let rest of 20 minutes before carving.

NOTE: I am going to try this same recipe using a turkey breast. I have a feeling it will be just as delicious and… I eat turkey often, but ham… maybe once a year. I’m thinking this glaze needs to be enjoyed more than once a year!

Sweetest Blessings,
LeAnn