Festive Ham Glaze

The duplex kitchen is becoming mine. That happens faster than I expected. By the second week I knew which drawer the spatulas belonged in and which shelf was for everyday things versus the cast iron that lives on the stove. I cooked every night this week. Not because I had to. Because the kitchen was available and I wanted to and Tyler was there to eat it.

He is an eager audience. He comes home and asks what that smell is and I tell him and he says that sounds good and it always does, even when I am making something simple. Monday was red beans and rice. Tuesday was pork chops with pan gravy. Wednesday was leftover red beans on cornbread. Thursday I made soup with what was left of everything. Friday he brought home fast food and I ate it without complaint because sometimes you do not cook and that is fine too.

I have been calling Crystal more regularly. We are building something that does not have a name yet. Not mother and daughter. Not friends exactly. Two people who share something large and are slowly becoming careful with each other around it. She told me last week that she has a apartment with a real kitchen now and she has been cooking. I said what kind of cooking. She said things she remembered from when she was a child, before. Before is the word we both use for the time that does not have a better name. She is making things from before. I told her that made sense to me.

That week of cooking — red beans, pork chops, soup from scraps — reminded me that feeding someone is its own kind of language, and some recipes feel worth passing forward. When Crystal mentioned she was making things from before, I thought about the kind of dish that carries memory in it, something sweet and a little celebratory, the kind of thing that makes a kitchen smell like it belongs to you. This ham glaze is exactly that — simple enough for a weeknight, special enough to feel like you meant it.

Prep Time: 5 minutes | Cook Time: 15 minutes | Total Time: 20 minutes | Servings: 8

Ingredients

1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup honey
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 fully cooked ham (6–8 lbs), scored on top

Instructions

Preheat oven. Heat your oven to 325°F. Place the ham cut-side down in a roasting pan and set aside.
Make the glaze. In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine the brown sugar, honey, Dijon mustard, apple cider vinegar, cinnamon, cloves, and black pepper. Stir until the sugar dissolves and the glaze just begins to bubble, about 3–4 minutes. Remove from heat.
Apply first coat. Brush a generous layer of glaze over the entire surface of the ham. Place in the oven uncovered.
Bake and baste. Bake for about 1 hour and 15 minutes total, brushing additional glaze over the ham every 20–25 minutes, until the surface is deep golden brown and caramelized.
Rest before slicing. Remove the ham from the oven and let it rest for 10 minutes before slicing. The glaze will set slightly as it cools.
Serve. Slice and serve warm. Drizzle any pan drippings over the top if desired.

Nutrition (per serving)

Festive Ham Glaze — The Week I Made the Kitchen Mine