Brown Sugar Mustard Glazed Virginia Ham

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Christmas, Easter, North American, Thanksgiving

Prep Time: 30

Cook Time: 2

Total Time: 2 30

Servings: servings

Calories: 840kcal

Author: Lord Byron's Kitchen

Take all of the guesswork out of preparing a large ham with this recipe! Brown Sugar Mustard Glazed Virginia Ham is easy to prepare and it looks incredible! This ham is perfectly baked, is moist and tender, and has a sweet and sticky glaze with just a little bite to it - you will hope for leftovers, because this ham is too good to not have some the next day!

Print Recipe

Ingredients

12 pounds Virginia Ham (sometimes called country ham)
1 bunch green onions, optional
1 1/2 cups brown sugar, lightly packed
1/2 cup maple syrup (real maple syrup, not pancake syrup!)
1/4 cup honey mustard
1/4 cup grainy mustard
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
water

Instructions

Boiling the Ham

If your ham has any mold on it, you will need to wash the ham well and trim away the mold. Almost 100% of the time, a Virginia ham will be purchased from a grocery store or butcher, so there will be no need to worry about doing that. The mold which forms during the ageing process would have been already removed. In the case that it is not, you can read how to do it here. If your ham has string (a net) on it, leave it on at this point.
Lower the entire ham into a large stock pot. Add enough cold water to cover the ham by at least one inch. If you are including the optional green onion, do it now. Wash the green onion under cold running water. Cut off the root end and tie the whole bunch into a knot. Alternatively, you can chop it into two inch pieces. Toss it in the pot. Over medium-high heat, bring the ham to a boil. Once boiling, reduce the heat to medium and boil for one hour.
Place a large colander in your sink and carefully transfer the pot with the ham. Drain the water out of the pot and allow the ham to fall gently into the colander. Allow the ham to cool for five minutes so that it is easy to handle. Collect the green onions and discard them. While the ham cools, prepare the glaze.

Preparing the Glaze

Add the brown sugar, maple syrup (or honey), grainy mustard, honey mustard, apple cider vinegar, and the ground black pepper to a sauce pan. Over medium-high heat, whisk the sauce ingredients together until they come to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium and continue to boil for five minutes, stirring continuously.
Finally, reduce the heat to simmer and keep the glaze warm. Through the roasting time, you will use this glaze to baste the entire surface of the ham every fifteen minutes. The remaining glaze can be poured into a little pitcher and served with your meal.

Preparing the Boiled Ham

Once the ham has cooled, transfer it to a shallow roasting pan. If you do not have a shallow roasting pan like this, you will want to place the ham first onto a cutting board. It will make it easier to score. You might need to use oven mitts to pick up the warm ham. Using a paring knife, you will want to score the entire surface of the ham in a diamond pattern.
With a very sharp knife, and starting from one end close to the bottom, cut about 1/3 of an inch into the ham in a straight line. Cut more lines about an inch apart until you have lines in one direction across the entire surface of the ham. (You don’t need to score the bottom!) Turn the ham on a forty-five degree angle, and repeat the cutting action. This will create a crisscross diamond pattern.

Baking the Ham

In a 325 degrees F pre-heated oven, place the ham in and set a timer for fifteen minutes. The ham will bake for one hour, but you will need to baste it with the glaze every fifteen minutes. If you notice that the ham is browning too quickly, tent it loosely with aluminum foil.
After one hour, remove the ham from the oven, and allow it to rest for five minutes. Once rested, transfer the ham to a large cutting board and slice off only as much as you think you will need for your dinner. The slices can be as thick or as thin as you wish. Do not slice the ham entirely unless you are eating it all right away. Leaving the leftover ham whole will help to keep it moist. Now, it’s time to plate and enjoy!

Notes

A suggested serving of ham is half a pound, but I think most people consume just a bit more, which is why I suggested that a twelve pound ham will serve 18 rather than 24 people.

Nutrition