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Thyme Honey Glazed Ham

Image may contain Food Pork and Ham
Photo by Jonny Valiant
  • Active Time

    20 min

  • Total Time

    4 hr (includes cooling)

Hams with a thick honey glaze can sometimes be too cloying. This recipe takes a more balanced approach that results in a light sweetness and a beautiful shine.

Ingredients

Makes 12 to 16 servings

3 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons chopped thyme
1 (12-to 14-pounds) boneless or semiboneless fully cooked ham at room temperature 1 hour
1/4 cup cider vinegar
1/2 cup mild honey
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
  1. Step 1

    Melt butter with thyme and let stand until ready to use.

    Step 2

    Preheat oven to 350°F with rack in lower third.

    Step 3

    Peel off and discard any rind or skin from ham, leaving 1/4 inch of fat on ham. Score fat on top of ham in a crosshatch pattern without cutting into meat. Put ham on a rack in a large roasting pan. Cover ham with parchment paper, then cover roasting pan with foil. Bake 1 3/4 hours.

    Step 4

    Meanwhile, boil vinegar in a small saucepan until reduced to about 1 tablespoon. Remove from heat and whisk in honey, Worcestershire sauce, and thyme butter. Let honey glaze stand until ham has baked 1 3/4 hours.

    Step 5

    Discard foil and parchment from ham. If there is no liquid in roasting pan, add 1 cup water (liquid will prevent glaze from burning in pan). Brush ham with half of honey glaze, then bake, uncovered, 30 minutes.

    Step 6

    Brush with remaining glaze and bake until glaze is deep golden-brown and ham is heated through, about 30 minutes more.

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Reviews (52)

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  • I have made this ham recipe at least four times. This is always my go-to for ham now. The ham glaze is the perfect compliment and soaks right into the ham. I did a 9 lb bone in ham and skipped the parchment paper. Covered with foil for 1 1/2 hours and uncovered for 30 mins at 325. Very pleasing and super juicy. I always make pea soup with it later, and the flavors in the soup are amazing too! Thank You for sharing!

    • Anonymous

    • Saratoga, NY

    • 12/13/2022

  • I am updating my comments. The ham and glaze were delicious. Got rave reviews. I didn't give it 4 forks because the browning did not work out for me.

    • moragaebd

    • East Bay San Francisco, CA

    • 12/26/2020

  • 在阅读评论,做一些研究h on the web, I reduced the temperature to 325, and the cooking time for a 10 lb bone in ham. When I used the glaze and kept the temp at 325, the glaze did not brown. I pushed the temp up to 350 for glazing for 15 min, but it did not get the deep rich color of the photo. Haven't yet tried it but I was very disappointed that the color was not as shown. For those people who reduced the temperature to 325 for a slow cook, what temp did you use after you glazed?

    • moragaebd

    • East Bay San Francisco, CA

    • 12/26/2020

  • 这是在慢炖锅吗?

    • j4stone

    • 6/16/2020

  • This is by far the most delicious ham glaze recipe I have EVER had.... I have been cooking for 40 years...yikes! And, this even impressed me to replace my old standby .... Fabulous! Wish I could’ve given it a 5.... one more thing... used the left over ham to make scallop potatoes and ham and I have no words for how delicious it was!

    • janissrey4948

    • Arizona

    • 4/17/2020

  • Hi there, I am planning on cooking this recipe in Germany for Christmas this year. Could someone please tell me if the ham in question is raw when bought? I'll have to give the best possible description to the butcher so that he gets me the closest ham possible. I can't wait to give this recipe a go!

    • notivuga

    • Munich, Germany

    • 12/4/2019

  • this was great! there's only 2 of us (so we have ham ham ham) so i got us 1/2 about 6 lbs. so delicious, not dry (as often happens) i have a gas oven but i did go ahead and add 1 cup of water after 30 minutes (know your oven) the fresh thyme is great & of course i used "local" tupelo honey

    • betsyjane

    • Seacrest Beach, FL

    • 12/28/2018

  • This was quite a lovey recipe. I made it for Christmas day and it was very good. I have done numerous spiral hams with the glaze packets but this was my first stab at actually making the glaze. The balance of flavors was spot on. I will never go back to the premade glazes again. But next time, while the ham was good, I may use a spiral cut ham as it is cut so the glaze would penetrate the ham more. Epicurious for the win! Thanks for the recipe.

    • Anonymous

    • Durham, NC

    • 12/26/2018

  • Made this ham today,Thanksgiving for the first time and it was so good! I just used 10 lbs but the same ingredients.it came out perfect and so beautiful! It’s a keeper! How I wish I could share a picture.Thank you for sharing your recipe!

    • Luscious37

    • Spirit Lake,IA

    • 11/22/2018

  • I used this recipe on a 3 pound boneless ham. I cut down the initial bake time to 45 minutes, and after glazing, did it in intervals of 15 minutes. This glaze recipe recipe really compliments ham. Also, I forgot to reduce the vinegar before the adding the other glaze ingredients and was able to reduce the entire glaze in the saucepan with no problems, in case anyone else forgets as well.

    • christa_nice

    • Philadelphia, PA

    • 12/26/2016

  • This was terrific, not too sweet, and the glaze turned out perfectly. We used a 6-pound,smoked, ready-to-cook ham, it took about the right amount of time, though we cooked it at 300 instead of 325. Everyone enjoyed it, and for 8 people there were no leftovers.

    • taranelson

    • Oakland, CA

    • 12/26/2015

  • I bought a 7lb ham and am wondering how to best adjust the cooking time avoid drying it out. Thank you!

    • Anonymous

    • San Diego, ca

    • 11/22/2015

  • I've made this several times. It is the family go-to recipe for ham. So much so that our then-16-year old grandson made it for SuperBowl Sunday, calling us for some clarification. And at a family get-together, we didn't have time to do it properly so I made the glaze, and grilled the ham, brushing on the glaze near the end of cooking and it was still a success. The better the ham, the better the results.

    • ebappel

    • The Hudson Valley, NY

    • 10/2/2015

  • I have made this ham glaze since it was first in gourmet 2009, I usually try new recipes for my holiday menus but not this one, one year I found thyme honey and it was over the top good, still works with regular, although this Easter I will try chestnut honey. The only thing I added was a splash of bourbon because it goes well with everything!

    • Anonymous

    • Yonkers,NY

    • 3/20/2015

  • This was the juciest, most flavorful ham I've ever made - or tasted! Followed the recipe exactly. My ham was a bit smaller than called for, but didn't cut down on the glaze amounts at all. Fantastic!

    • leslie_dover_england

    • Kingsdown, UK

    • 4/24/2014

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