A ham is my favorite main dish for special occasions - I prefer it to turkey at Thanksgiving and beef at Christmas. Once you try this dutch oven ham recipe, it might be your favorite holiday ham too! A delicious spiral cut ham is baked to perfection inside a Dutch oven pot and coated with a crunchy sugar coating that's caramelized under a broiler.
Buying a honey baked ham that's already prepared is expensive, usually around $100 for an 8 pound ham and you still have to reheat it. Around the holidays, you can usually find spiral cut hams in the grocery store on sale for $2 a pound, so an 8 pound ham will only run you around $16 and making your own honey baked topping is so easy! This will become your go-to ham recipe - it's as easy as reheating a honey baked ham and it's mostly a hands-off recipe.
If you love cooking in your Dutch oven, check out my super popular carnitas recipe or this amazingly tender Mississippi pot roast.
What type of ham to choose for this recipe?
Most stores carry a few types of ham, so it might be confusing when you're shopping for a ham.
- For a honey baked ham, you want to use a cured or uncured city style ham. Country style ham is cured in salt and so it is very salty and usually a little tougher.
- You'll most likely buy a half ham, usually around 7-10 pounds in size. I prefer a bone-in ham.
- Look for hams that have very little added, for example water added can lessen the flavor of the ham.
- If you're following a gluten free diet, you'll also want to ensure your ham is gluten free since some hams have added ingredients which contain gluten.
The brand I've used for this recipe, Niman Ranch, is gluten free and also free from nitrates and nitrites. It's a little more expensive than the better known brand names, but I like the extra quality. Smithfield and Kentucky Legend are both brands that I see regularly in the Southeast that have gluten free products.
Ingredient Notes
This glazed ham recipe uses simple ingredients. Other than the spiral cut ham, you probably have everything else in your kitchen.
Making this honey baked ham from scratch gives you control over the flavor plus it lets you know exactly what's going on your ham, instead of using a package of ready-made glaze. Plus, this recipe is naturally gluten free.
- Spiral Cut Ham - My grocery store only carries spiral cut hams at the holidays. Year round, they do have ham that is appropriate for this recipe but it is not sliced. You can follow this recipe with an uncut ham, it actually may come out more moist, but you won't get the very thin slices when cutting it yourself.
- Vegan Butter - A little melted butter makes the base of the glaze that's rubbed over the ham. If you're not dairy free, use unsalted butter in the same measure.
- Honey - Use your favorite variety of honey for this recipe. I typically purchase locally sourced wildflower honey.
- Dijon Mustard - Mustard adds a little flavor to the ham without being overpowering.
- Sugar & Brown Sugar - A combination of sugars in the coating make a delicious crunchy, caramelized coating. Either light brown sugar or dark brown sugar will work for this recipe.
- Salt - Since ham can be very salty, depending on the brand, I've only added a small amount to enhance the sweet and salty flavor of the sugar coating.
- Paprika - This adds a lovely color and flavor to the ham coating.
- Cinnamon, Nutmeg, Ginger, Allspice and Cloves - All of these seasonings make up the flavors that you normally find in a honey baked ham. Personally I think most of the ham glazes go way too heavy on the cloves, so I've been reserved with my recipe. If you love clove flavor, feel free to add more.
See recipe card for full ingredient list and quantities.
Substitutions & Variations
- Not Dairy Free - use dairy butter in the same measure.
- No Dutch Oven - wrap the ham in aluminum foil after applying the glaze. Bake the wrapped ham in a roasting pan.
- Citrus Flavor - Replace the water in the pot with orange juice or pineapple juice for a citrus twist.
How to make a Dutch Oven Ham
Baking your ham in a Dutch oven helps to keep the ham moist. Make sure your pot is large enough to fit your ham with the lid on before beginning.
I use a 7-quart Dutch oven for an 8 pound ham.
STEP 1: Mix the melted butter, Dijon mustard, and honey in a small bowl.
STEP 2: Place the ham, cut side down, in the Dutch oven pot.
STEP 3: Spread the honey mixture on top of the ham, letting it run between the slices.
Pour 1 cup of water in the bottom of the pot. Place the cover on the pot and bake.
STEP 5: Once the ham is warmed through to 140F, remove it from the oven. Carefully transfer the ham to a baking sheet. Use your hands to cover the outside of the ham with the cinnamon spice mixture. You will not need all of the sugar mixture.
Then you can caramelize the coating by placing it under the broiler in your oven and using a kitchen torch.
STEP 6: Pour 1 cup of the liquid from Dutch oven into a small saucepan. Add the remaining sugar spice mixture to the juices. Bring to a low boil over medium heat until it thickens into a glaze. Pour ham glaze over the ham as it's served.
Expert Tip
Spiral sliced hams can easily dry out as they are baked. It's crucial that you bake with the lid on the pot until the temperature just reaches 140F. If you don't have a Dutch oven, wrap the ham entirely in aluminum foil before baking it in a large roasting pan.
Storage
Allow ham to cool before storing. Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 7 days.
You can also freeze leftover ham in an airtight container with excess air removed for up to 3 months. I like to divide mine into freezer bags with about 2 cups of ham in each, so I don't have to thaw all of the ham at once.
Use the ham bone to make ham broth for using in soups and stews. This ham makes delicious leftovers! Use Leftover ham for ham sandwiches or in my ham and bean soup.
What to make with leftover ham:
If you try this recipe, please leave a 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 star rating and let me know how you liked it in the comments below.
Recipe
Dutch Oven Ham
Equipment
Ingredients
- 8 pound Bone In Spiral Cut Ham
- 2 Tablespoons Vegan Butter melted
- ¼ Cup Honey
- 1 Tablespoons Dijon Mustard
- 1 Cup Water
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 300 °F (149 °C).
- Unwrap the ham and place it with the cut side down in the bottom of a 7 quart Dutch oven pot.8 pound Bone In Spiral Cut Ham
- Combine the melted butter, honey and Dijon mustard in a small bowl. Mix well.2 Tablespoons Vegan Butter, ¼ Cup Honey, 1 Tablespoons Dijon Mustard
- Pour the honey glaze over the ham and allow it to go between the slices. Use your hands to rub it all over the ham surface.
- Pour 1 cup of water in the bottom of the pot. Add the lid and bake. Cooking time will vary depending on the size of the ham. Plan for approximately 20 minutes per pound, until the internal temperature reaches 140 °F (60 °C)1 Cup Water
- While the ham is baking, combine all of the sugar coating ingredients in a bowl. Mix well.¾ Cup Sugar, ½ Cup Light Brown Sugar, ½ teaspoon Kosher Salt, ½ teaspoon Paprika, ½ teaspoon Cinnamon, ¼ teaspoon Nutmeg, ¼ teaspoon Ginger, ¼ teaspoon Allspice, ⅛ teaspoon Cloves
- Once the ham is heated through, remove it from the oven and let it rest for about 10 minutes. Then carefully lift it out of the pot and place it on a baking sheet with the cut side down. Reserve the liquid in the bottom of the Dutch oven.
- Use your hands to cover the outside of the ham with the sugar coating. You will only use about half of the sugar mixture.
- If you have a kitchen torch, that's my preferred way to caramelize the sugar coating. It results in the most even coating. If you don't have a torch, set your oven to broil. Place the ham in the oven and the baking sheet and allow the sugar to caramelize. You may need to rotate the ham to get the most even cooking. Watch it closely, it will only take a few minutes.
- After the sugar coating is cooked, remove the ham from the oven and set it aside to rest.
- Add 1 cup of the reserved liquid from the Dutch oven and the remaining sugar spice mixture to a saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a simmer. Cook until it thickens into a glaze. Pour it over the ham as you serve.
Notes
Tiffany is the recipe developer, stylist and food photographer behind Well Fed Baker. As a lifelong baker who had to go gluten free and dairy free in 2016, Tiffany strives to share allergen friendly recipes that never feel like they are free from anything.
Kellie says
I wish I could give 10 stars! This is by far THE BEST ham recipe I have ever tasted.! My husband was raving over the flavor. Not only did it make the house smell amazing, the taste was out of this world delectable. We used a cheap shank ham and it still was fantastic! This is going to be my go-to ham recipe from now on.
This comment made my whole day! I'm so glad you enjoyed the recipe.