Old-fashioned baked ham with cloves has a sticky honey glaze. It's bone-in and non spiral smoked ham to make it juicy and tender, with only 3 ingredients. Make this showstopper for Easter, Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner.
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How To Make A Honey Baked Ham With Cloves
A traditional clove studded ham with a honey glaze is so easy to make right in the oven. It has the right amount of sweet and savory flavor.
Check out this air fryer easy ham steak?
Bone In Non Spiral vs Spiral
You want to choose a bone-in non spiral fully cooked smoked ham. Over the years I’ve tried oven baking both boneless and spiral hams, it just doesn’t come out the same.
Moisture
The key to a juicy and tender ham is moisture and steam. Water is added to the bottom of the roasting pan and tightly covered with foil. This locks in and adds moisture which allows the clove to flavor the ham.
Cloves
Why put cloves in ham? They have very traditional warm flavor notes of bitterness and earthy sweetness. A little goes a long way.
How many cloves should I put in my ham? It’s really based on your preference, as little as one tablespoon of whole cloves or a ½ teaspoon sprinkle of ground cloves.
Score The Ham
With a knife score the ham to make a crisscross or diamond pattern about an inch deep. This allows the flavors of the clove and honey to seep into the meat. It also adds to the look of baked ham especially when the edges are golden and charred.
Ingredients and Substitutions
Ham - Fully cooked smoked bone-in ham is preferred but boneless can be substituted.
Cloves- Whole cloves are best. If you do not want to pick them out of the ham you can substitute ground cloves.
Honey- To add that sweetness honey is ideal. Substitute brown sugar, maple syrup, coconut sugar, date sugar, or alternative sweeteners if preferred.
Tips and Variations
Water is used to add moisture while the ham is baking. To add additional flavor substitute juice like pineapple or apple.
Add warm spices to the honey for even more flavor like ground cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, or allspice.
If you want a slight flavor of clove, place whole cloves in the water or liquid at the bottom of the roasting pan. While it's steaming the ham the clove flavor will slightly permeate the ham.
Use the leftover ham bone in soups, beans, or stock.
Place the ham on the counter for about an hour prior to baking. It allows the meat to evenly cook while in the oven.
Make extra honey glaze to keep the ham nice and glossy.
How Long To Bake A Fully Cooked Bone-In Ham?
This recipe cooks a fully cooked non spiral bone in ham at 350 degrees Fahrenheit at 15 minutes a pound. The weight of my ham was about 6 pounds, which would be approx. 90 minutes or 1 hour and a half.
How To Serve Honey Baked Ham
Bone-in hams can be served on a nice platter with herbs and fruit garnished around it for a show stopping centerpiece.
How much ham per person? I average ½ pound per person, my six-pound ham will serve 12 servings.
Serve it alongside traditional sides like Mac and cheese, green beans, mashed potatoes, biscuits, rolls, cornbread, mixed vegetables, rice pilaf, or creamed corn.
Try these easy side dish recipes - Tiktok Viral Mac and Cheese, Skillet Glazed Carrots, Sweet Potato Crumble Casserole, Cornbread Stuffing Muffins, and Skillet Green Bean Casserole.
Leftovers and Storage
Leftover ham can be cut into chunks or sliced and stored in an airtight container or wrapped well in parchment and a zip bag to be stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 days or frozen for up to 3 months.
Step By Step Photos and Directions
- Grab the ingredients ham, honey, and cloves. Place the ham on the counter for 1 hour at room temperature.
Ham Prep
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Unwrap and rinse the ham and dry it with paper towels. Place in a roasting pan with a rack.
3. With a small knife score the all-over ham with a crisscross diamond pattern.
4. Add the whole cloves in between the slits.
5. Clove the front, back, and bottom of the ham. Add water to the bottom of the roasting pan.
Bake The Ham
6. Cover tightly with parchment paper and foil. Place into oven and bake for 15 minutes a pound, about 1 hour and 15 minutes to half an hour.
7. Remove from the oven and carefully uncover it. There will be hot steam, let cool a bit to be safe. Raise oven temp to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.
8. With a fork or small tongs remove the whole cloves.
9. With a turkey baster or long spoon remove some of the flavored water at the bottom of the roasting pan.
10. Place into a small bowl with the honey.
11. Mix well to make a nice honey glaze.
12. Place the ham with the flat side down on the rack. Use heat-safe gloves or large tongs to carefully flip the ham. Then brush the honey glaze on the back of the ham.
13. Place into the oven to get golden brown and charred. Check and brush it with more honey glaze every 5 minutes.
14. Carefully flip the ham over, brush the honey glaze, and place it back into the oven to finish the top or front of the ham. Don't forget to check every 5 minutes and add more glaze.
Serving Honey Baked Ham
14. Let cool and place on a serving platter. Brush on more honey glaze and garnish with herbs and fruit. Enjoy.
Baked Ham With Cloves
Equipment
- Large Roasting Pan with a rack
- Foil and Parchment Paper
- Bowl
- Silicone Pastry Brush
- Small Knife
- Baster or long spoon
- Paper Towels
- Fork or Small Tongs
- Heat Safe Gloves or Large Tongs
Ingredients
- 1 Hickory Smoked Ham Fully Cooked (6 lbs.)
- 2-3 tablespoon Whole Cloves
- ¼ cup Honey
- Water (about 1-2 cups)
Instructions
- Remove the wrapped ham from the refrigerator and place on the kitchen counter at room temperature for 1 hour.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Rinse the ham with cool water and pat dry with paper towels. Place onto the roasting pan with a rack.
- With a small knife score the whole ham in a crisscross diamond pattern.
- Place whole cloves between the slits, in the front, bottom and back of the ham.
- Add water to the bottom of the roasting pan. Cover tightly with foil and parchment paper.
- Place into oven and bake for 15 minutes a pound, about 1 hour and 15 minutes to half an hour.
- Remove from the oven and carefully uncover it (will be steaming hot).
- Raise oven temp to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.
- With a turkey baster or long spoon remove a little of the flavor water from the bottom of the pan. Place into a small bowl to mix with the honey, to make a honey glaze.
- With a fork or small tongs remove the whole cloves.
- Place the ham with the flat side down on the rack. Use heat-safe gloves or large tongs to carefully flip the ham.
- With a heat-safe silicone pastry brush spread or drizzle with the honey glaze.
- Place it back in the oven and let it become golden brown and charred. Check every 5 minutes and spread extra honey glaze.
- Rotate the ham with the flat side up and place it back into the oven so the whole ham will become golden and charred with the sticky honey glaze.
- Let cool and place on a serving platter. Garnish with herbs and fruit. Enjoy.
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