Maple Pomegranate Ham Glaze

A holiday ham is perfect when you’re looking for a big impact with minimal effort. Since hams are already cooked, all you’re really doing is reheating it. The magic comes with the glaze. A sugary-sweet crust is the perfect contrast to the salty, succulent meat. 

Many recipes lean heavily on brown sugar, pairing it with tangy mustard before packing it onto the roast. And while it’s a classic combo, I wanted to stir together a glaze that felt distinctly festive. Ham may be seasonless, but I wanted a flavor profile that reflected the season we are in, without studding it with cloves and canned fruit.

So I boiled down pomegranate juice with tons of aromatics, including smoky maple syrup, savory shallots, spicy fresh ginger, and mulling spices. I finished it off with the classic mustard, both smooth and grainy, and a hit of fresh citrus. 

Boiling down juice to make a syrup is not hard, but it does require a watchful eye. In total it takes about 30 minutes, but you don’t need to pay too much attention to it until the last 10 minutes or so. At that point, use a spatula to stir every few minutes, paying attention to the consistency. Bubbles will start to cover the entire surface of the juice mixture and won’t be able to be stirred away. You’ve reached the right consistency when you stir the mixture and can see the bottom of the pot before it fills back in. 

In most cases, no. Ham glaze is just what it sounds like: a sweet coating added to the outside of the ham after it’s cooked. Ham is typically reheated wrapped in foil at low temperatures for a couple of hours to ensure it’s hot throughout without drying out. This is especially important for spiral-cut hams. The glaze is added at the end once the ham is heated through and then crisped in a much hotter oven.

1. Reheat the wrapped ham at a low temperature until warmed through.
2. Increase the oven temperature to 450ºF.
3. Pour off any accumulated juices and unwrap the ham.
4. Brush glaze all over the ham.
5. Bake until shiny and caramelized in places, brushing on more glaze as indicated.

It’s easy enough to make the glaze while the ham reheats. But in the not-all-that-unlikely case that you’ve got too much going on in your kitchen while prepping other components of a holiday meal, you can make the glaze up to three days ahead of time. Just store in the refrigerator in an airtight container. Give it a stir before brushing it onto your ham, and proceed as written.