Healthy Glazed Baked Ham

Healthy Glazed Baked Ham

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Written by Amy Myers, MD

Whether you’re baking for a holiday or doing meal prep for the week, this Healthy Glazed Baked Ham is sure to hit the spot. Made with healthier, whole food ingredient swaps, this ham is better for you than traditional recipes and suitable for Paleo and AIP diets. Enjoy this Healthy Glazed Baked Ham with roasted vegetables and a fresh spring salad to make any meal a nutritious celebratory occasion.

How A Glazed Ham Can Be Healthy

Most traditionally made glazed hams are covered in sugar. Some recipes even include syrupy soda. That’s because brown sugar helps give a ham the caramelized glaze that looks pretty and also cuts through the salty flavor of the meat. Yet you can still get that same deliciously sweet, caramelized coating with real food ingredients that your body will thank you for. Here are some of the swaps I made in this recipe to ensure you continue to set yourself up for great health:

Raw Honey

Raw honey takes the place of granulated sugar in this Paleo recipe. Raw honey is full of beneficial enzymes, vitamins, and minerals. However, if you are following The Myers Way® or AIP diet, I recommend avoiding honey and substituting for pure stevia leaf or coconut sugar.

Apple Butter

Applesauce on it’s own is already a sweet treat, yet apple butter is basically a thicker, condensed, dessert version of applesauce. You can find apple butter in most grocery stores, or you can easily make it yourself at home. Try to use a brand or recipe no added sugar. Apple butter adds an aromatic sweetness to this glazed ham, with a hint of apple for a sweetly surprising flavor.

Arrowroot Starch

This gluten-free recipe uses arrowroot starch to thicken the glaze instead of flour or cornstarch, making it Paleo and AIP-friendly. Traditionally thickening agents can be inflammatory and wreak havoc on your gut and your immune system.

How to Make Glazed Baked Ham

Don’t be intimidated — making a Healthy Glazed Baked Ham is simple and easy if you have a little bit of time. You’ll want to let your ham sit out at room temperature for about an hour and 45 minutes before you begin so that the whole ham is the same temperature for even cooking. Once the time is up, gather your supplies and get started!

First, preheat your oven to 325 degrees. Make your glaze by simmering honey, garlic, apple butter, and apple cider vinegar in a saucepan for about 3-4 minutes, until the honey liquefies. Sprinkle the arrowroot starch into the saucepan and whisk over the heat until the glaze thickens. Remove this from the heat and set aside.

Pour 2 cups of water into a roasting rack or rimmed baking dish, and set this in your oven. Place your ham on 2 overlapping sheets of foil, brushing with half of the glaze. Be sure to cover the ham completely and get in-between the slices. Wrap tightly in the foil, and carefully move the ham onto the roasting rack that is already in your oven.

Bake in your oven for about 80-90 minutes, until the internal temperature reaches 100-110 F. For reference, estimate 10-14 minutes per pound. Remove and unwrap the ham, spoon juices from the bottom of the foil over ham, and brush the ham with half of the remaining glaze. At this point, you should still have ¼ of the original amount of glaze left. Increase oven temperature to 400 degrees.

Return ham to the oven unwrapped, spooning juice over the ham every ten minutes until the internal temperature reaches 140 F. If you’d like to caramelize the edges, turn your oven to broil and watch carefully to ensure it doesn’t burn.

Remove from your oven and spoon with juices and the remainder of the glaze. Loosely cover with foil and allow to rest for at least 15 minutes before serving.

How to Store Your Baked Ham

Be sure to only carve as much meat as you need when serving. The carved slices dry out faster than meat left on the bone. If you know you’ll eat the remainder of the ham within a day or two, then you can carve the whole ham to save refrigerator space.

To store in the refrigerator, wrap tightly in plastic wrap or foil and store for no more than 4-5 days. It’s best to store the ham in the back of the fridge where it will stay colder.

To store your ham in the freezer, wrap the ham tightly in plastic wrap and/or foil and store for up to one month. Allow the ham to thaw in the refrigerator before re-warming.

Supplies You’ll Need

  • Instant-read meat thermometer
  • Roasting rack or rimmed baking dish
  • Foil
  • 8-9 pound ham
  • Glaze ingredients
  • Basting brush
  • Oven

Healthy Glazed Baked Ham

Course:

Main Dish

Protocol:

Autoimmune Solution (AIP), Elimination Diet, Paleo, Thyroid Connection

Servings:

4

Ingredients

  • 1 bone-in spiral cut ham approximately 8-9 pounds
  • 1/2 cup raw honey *avoid if following The Myers Way® or AIP diet
  • 4 cloves garlic finely minced
  • 1/4 cup apple butter
  • 3 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
  • 1 Tbsp arrowroot starch

Instructions

  1. Allow ham to sit at room temperature for an hour and 45 minutes before making glaze.
  2. Preheat your oven to 325 degrees F, and position your oven rack on the lowest rack.
  3. Prepare glaze while oven is preheating. In a medium saucepan, whisk together the honey (optional), garlic, apple butter, and vinegar. Bring to a simmer, stirring often, until honey liquifies, about 3-4 minutes. Reduce heat to low, sprinkle in arrowroot starch, and whisking well to thicken. Remove glaze from stovetop and set aside.
  4. Prepare your roasting pan by adding about 2 cups of water to the bottom of a roasting rack. If you don’t have a roasting rack, you can skip this step. Alternatively, you can use a rimmed baking sheet or glass baking dish.
  5. Lay 2 large pieces of foil on a flat surface, with edges overlapping in the center. Place your ham in the center of your foil, and brush ham with ½ the glaze. Be sure to cover the ham completely, adding the glaze between the slices as well. Place glazed ham on the foil, flat side down, and wrap tightly. Place ham flat side down on your roasting rack or in baking pan.
  6. Bake ham until the center registers 100-110 degrees F. This will take about 10-14 minutes per pound, so at least 80 minutes for an 8-pound ham. Remove ham from oven and increase oven temperature to 400 degrees F.
  7. Unwrap ham from foil, and spoon juices from the bottom of the pan all over ham. Brush ham all over with ½ of the remaining glaze. You may need to return the glaze to the stovetop to liquify a bit prior to this step. Discard foil.
  8. Return the ham to the oven uncovered, spooning juices over ham every 10 minutes, until internal temperature reaches 140 degrees F (about 20-30 minutes total).
  9. If you’d like to caramelize the edges, turn oven to broil and leave ham on the bottom rack of your oven. Watch carefully to ensure the ham doesn’t burn.
  10. Remove ham from oven and spoon juices from bottom of pan again all over ham and brush again with remaining glaze. Loosely cover with foil and allow to rest for 15 minutes so the juices can reabsorb into the ham.