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How to make glazed ham the day before
For years, I’ve been making my glazed ham the day before serving then just reheating it on the day of. It saves so much work on the day - no babysitting the ham and basting, basting, basting!The ham comes out 99% perfectly. The glaze is just as good as freshly made and the ham flesh doesn’t dry out. You can either reheat the ham all the way through (~2 hours) or just reheat the glaze to make it shiny again (~30 - 40 minutes) and leave the inside at room temperature (this is what I do these days). Even if the ham is warm, it's cool by the time it's carved/served/eaten, so what's the difference?! (You can also always briefly microwave the plate of carved ham).Use this make-ahead glazed ham method for either my favourite Maple Glazed Ham or classic Brown Sugar Glazed Ham.
⏱️ Prep & Cook: 45 min⏳ Prep: 5 min🔥 Cook: 40 min👤 Nagi📖 recipetineats
🥘 Ingredients
Check off ingredients as you prepare them:
🍳 Cookware
- ●oven
- ●pan
- ●microwave
📝 Preparation Steps
1
The day before:
2
Bake day before – Make the Maple Glazed Ham or Brown Sugar Glazed Ham the day per the recipe, before when you’ve got time to baby-sit the ham in the oven, basting and brushing as much as needed for the perfect golden glaze.
3
Cool for 2 – ⏱️ 3 hours on the counter until you can barely feel warmth when you hover your hand over the surface. However, the inside will still be warm – it’s a sizeable hunk of meat we’re working with here! Don’t leave a hot ham out for much longer than this, for food safety reasons.
4
Fridge ⏱️ 3 hours uncovered – Then refrigerate the ham uncovered for 3 to ⏱️ 6 hours (still in the pan, with all the pan juices) to allow the inside of the ham to cool right down. You do not want to cover the ham while there’s even a bit of residual warmth on the inside because it will make the ham sweat = compromises the glaze. 😩
5
Refrigerate overnight – Cover the ham loosely with a sheet of baking/parchment paper (the glaze won’t stick) then loosely with foil or cling wrap. (Note 1 Refrigerating uncovered if pressed for time)
6
Reheating on the day:
7
De-chill - Take the ham out of the fridge ⏱️ 2 hours prior.
8
Reheating glaze only (what I usually do) - Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F (160°C fan). Put the ham in and reheat until the glaze is rejuvenated, about ⏱️ 30 - 40 minutes. Don't worry about heating the ham all the way through. Baste as needed using the pan juices (sludge brush in most caramelised parts of the pan).
9
Reheating all the way through - Cover loosely with baking paper then foil. Reheat in a 150°C/300°F (130°C fan) oven for 2 - 2 1/⏱️ 2 hours or until the centre of the ham registers 60°C/140°F, remove the cover towards the end and basting once or twice. (We don't want the ham to get too brown, so don't remove the foil too early)
10
Broiler/ oven-grill speed up - If you have pesky patches that won't colour, don't hesitate to use the broiler/oven grill on high. It works fast (it can be ⏱️ 1 - 2 minutes) so keep an eye on it, and be sure to cover the areas sufficiently coloured with foil (it doesn't get stuck).
11
Presentation - Plate up the ham as you ordinarily do, leaving the ham out for up ⏱️ 2 hours. Reduce the ham pan juices, if needed, to serve as the ham sauce.
12
Final baste - Reserve some of the ham juices (try to scoop out the most caramelised coloured section) in a mug to give it a final baste to make the glaze super shiny just before serving (microwave to melt if needed).
13
Bask in the glory of your magnificent glazed ham! Then carve into thin slices and serve alongside the ham sauce.
14
Cheeky tip - Loosely cover the plate of carved ham with cling wrap and microwave briefly to warm it up, if you are really hung up on having warm ham!
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