This Glazed Ham is a holiday show-stopper, easy to prepare and melt-in-your-mouth delicious!
Move over, turkey, you’ve met your match!
Tender, juicy and savory… I love serving my Elderberry Glazed Ham for Thanksgiving & Christmas dinners. No one gets tired of it — in fact, they can’t get enough!
It might even make its way to our Easter spread this coming year.
You know that feeling when you place your main dish in the center of your holiday table? It makes everyone's eyes light up as they come to the table? That’s exactly what this gorgeous ham does!
It All Starts With the Ham
Choosing the right kind of ham makes all the difference. You can put the most delicious glaze on any piece of meat, but if that quality of meat is eh, then your result will also be eh.
Here’s everything you need to know about buying and baking this delicious ham.
Trust me, it’s easier than you think.
How to Buy a Ham
First of all, all hams are not created equal. Remember that.
The ham I’m using in this recipe is an approximately 10 lb ham bone-in, spiral-cut ham.
Always choose bone-in when you can. You’ll get better texture and better flavor.
A spiral cut is way easier to serve, in my opinion, but you can do a whole ham if you prefer.
Estimate the size of ham you need by planning on ½ lb per person. This always works out beautifully for our family dinner, with plenty of leftovers for those delicious ham sandwiches.
For instance, this 10 lb ham will feed about 15-20 people. I always overestimate because, let’s be real, my husband eats enough for three people and I have all boys — they know how to put away good meat!
If you have a local market where you can buy your ham, try to follow these tips. They tend to be way juicer and more flavorful. But if you don’t have anything like that around you, don’t worry. This glaze will turn any ordinary (good quality) ham into the most gorgeous and savory holiday dish, hands down.
The Show-Stopping Elderberry Glaze
This is where the magic happens! This elderberry glaze will turn any ordinary ham into the best ham ever with just TWO ingredients.
1. Organic Elderberry Syrup
You can find elderberry syrup anywhere these days, but take a moment and read the labels. Most of the time, they’re full of added sugars, preservatives, artificial colors and thickeners. Yuck!
Our Organic Elderberry Syrup is handcrafted with superfoods and loaded with antioxidants and vitamins that support and strengthen your immune system.
It’s made with unrivaled organic ingredients straight from nature: elderberries, aronia berries, honey, apple cider vinegar, cinnamon, ginger and cloves. That’s it!
Absolutely no: artificial flavors or colors, preservatives, high fructose corn syrup, or added sugar. Just lightly sweetened with a touch of organic honey.
2. Apricot Preserves
This is our secret ingredient to make this elderberry glaze. It adds just the right amount of sweetness while naturally thickening the elderberry syrup, making it the most delicious glaze you’ll ever have.
Try to choose organic, and read labels. Skip anything with artificial ingredients, it’s not worth it, and your health will thank you down the road, trust us.
Now it’s time to whip up this super simple two-ingredient elderberry glaze and get that beauty of a ham in the oven and roasting.
How to Make Elderberry Glazed Ham
Ready to make the easiest but most delicious ham ever? Let’s not wait any longer.
Instructions
- Take your ham out of the fridge and allow it to sit at room temperature for 2 hours (1 hour for 6/7 lb ham) before roasting. Then remove the packaging.
- Make the glaze by combining the apricot preserves and elderberry syrup in a medium saucepan and heat over medium. Stir often and bring the mixture to a simmer. Cook for about 1 minute and then remove it from the heat. The consistency should be like pure maple syrup, a little thinner than honey.
- Heat your oven to 325℉ and try to lower your rack keeping your ham slightly lower than the middle of your oven. I also like to line my roasting pan with foil for easier cleanup. Place your ham cut-side down into your roasting pan. Portion out ⅓ of your glaze and brush it overtop. Cover with foil — bake for 10 minutes per pound.
- Increase your oven temperature to 425℉, then remove your ham from the oven. Remove the foil and brush on another ⅓ of the elderberry glaze (the glaze may have thickened while sitting, a quick whisk will thin it out again). Leave uncovered and return the ham to the oven to bake for an additional 10 minutes.
- Remove from the oven, brush on the final ⅓ of the elderberry glaze, and return to the oven uncovered for another 10 minutes. A brownish crust will form. Internal temperature should be at 130-135℉.
- Move your ham from the roasting pan onto a platter or serving dish and allow it to rest for 20 minutes. Allow the juices to sit in the roasting pan. Once cooled, skim off the fat and drizzle the juice over the ham slices as you’re serving. Delicious!
Just look at those gorgeous slices! Your family and dinner guests will be raving about this ham for years to come — you wait and see.
Holiday Side Dish Suggestions
We know the perfect holiday spread doesn’t just mean a gorgeous ham in the center. You want plenty of festive side dishes that compliment these juicy slices.
Here are a few of our favorite side dishes to accompany this Elderberry Glazed Ham:
- Sausage Cornbread Stuffing
- Honey Roasted Carrots
- Pear, Pomegranate & Feta Arugula Salad
- Sourdough Artisan Rolls
- Bacon Wrapped Green Bean Bundles
- Bourbon Cranberry Sauce
- Creamy Mashed Potatoes
- Fresh Ham Gravy
A simple google search for each of these sides will give you plenty of recipes to choose from!
Reheating Your Ham in the Slow Cooker
My FAVORITE way to reheat leftover holiday ham is in my slow cooker. All you need to do is place the ham into the crockpot face down, and pour all those juices and drippings (even if they’ve hardened) right along with it.
Turn your slow cooker to low, and you’ll want to let this go for about 30 minutes per 1 lb of meat. So 10 lbs of ham would need about 5 hours.
With this technique, no more dry leftover ham. Your ham slices will be just as juicy and tender as the day you made it.
What to Make With Leftovers
Why do I love cooking big meals for the holidays? Leftovers! Don’t get me wrong, it’s also because I love having the whole family together and breaking bread — it’s meaningful, and the memories are priceless.
But I also REALLY LOVE not cooking for the rest of the week. Seriously. I turn on my slow cooker around lunchtime to reheat the meat, and by dinner, it’s ready for whatever meal I want to turn it into. Easy, saves us money, and sooo yummy.
Here are a few ways I use my leftovers:
- Cheesy Ham & Potato Soup
- Good Ole’ Ham & Cheese Sandwiches
- Ham, Egg & Cheese Breakfast Sandwiches
- Split Pea & Ham Soup
- Scalloped Potatoes & Diced Ham
- Ham & Bean Soup
- Hawaiian Sliders
Don’t even think about tossing your leftover ham because you don’t know what to make with it — there are too many great ideas in this list above we’re sure you’re going to love.
Remember: This delicious, tender, moist and savory elderberry glazed ham is perfect for a casual night dinner with plenty of leftovers for easy meals the rest of your week or elegant enough to be the star of your holiday meals.
You can be certain of one thing: all bellies will be full and happy. You can kick back, put your feet up, and know you gave your family a delicious, healthy and immune-boosting meal. You’re killing it!
