Cranberry Orange Glazed Ham

The holidays are coming up! Woohoo! Try this Cranberry Orange Glazed Ham and impress your guests with this delicious and beautiful holiday glazed ham.

A baked ham for Thanksgiving might not sound like your typical star of the dinner. I mean…it’s not a turkey! But just to change it up, try this cranberry orange glazed ham recipe! It is the best baked ham recipe I’ve ever tried and made, and I want to share it with you! Plus, cooking a ham in the oven is really easy, and I’ll show you exactly how.

The holidays are coming up really fast, and I am so excited for all the festivities, gatherings, and fun. If you’re planning out your Thanksgiving menu, I have the best Thanksgiving recipes for you, plus more to come! So stay tuned.

How To Cook a Spiral Sliced Ham

Cooking ham in the oven is easy! First of all, you need to get the right ham. Here are some basics:

• Aim for a 8-10 pound ham
• Make sure the label says it’s fully cooked or precooked
• If possible, get a spiral sliced ham for easy carving
• I’d recommend Costco’s Kirkland Signature Spiral Sliced Ham, Hickory Smoked

Boneless vs. Bone-in Ham

I prefer bone-in hams because they are more flavorful, and it’s easier to keep them moist than it is with a boneless ham. In my opinion, bone-in ham also has a nicer and more beautiful presentation. But up to you! If you prefer a boneless ham, then go for it!

Cooking a Ham: Step-by-Step

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
2. Grab a roasting pan with with a roasting rack. If you don’t have a roasting pan with a rack, you can use a regular large baking pan.
3. If using a roasting pan with a rack only: add about 2 cups orange juice and some orange slices to the bottom of the pan.
4. Place your ham flat side down on the pan or the roasting rack (if using a rack, line the rack with foil). Cover tightly with aluminum foil and bake for about 1.5 hours (about 10-15 minutes per pound).
5. Carefully remove foil. Increase temperature to 400 degrees F. Baste with juices from the ham and brush with your prepared glaze (recipe below!) every ten minutes, until internal temperature reaches 140 degrees F.
6. For finishing touches, brush with more glaze and broil for about 5 minutes to get that beautiful caramelized top.

Well, isn’t that pretty? Cooking a big ham might seem daunting, but it’s actually really easy and with the recipe below and the instructions here, I think you’ll have a beautiful dinner! 🙂

How Long to Cook a Ham

For a 8 to 10 pound ham, cook for about 1.5 hours or 10-15 minutes per pound. Internal temperature should be 140 degrees F.

Cranberry Ham Glaze Recipe

For this ham, I made a cranberry orange glaze. This cranberry sauce for ham is sweet and tangy, the perfect combination! Here are the ingredients:

• jellied cranberry sauce
• orange marmalade
• unsalted butter
• brown sugar
• herbs (I used rosemary)
• orange juice and orange zest

Just combine all ingredients in a saucepan and stir until it all comes to a boil and is nicely combined. Then simmer for about 10 minutes until thickened. Reserve half for serving, and use the other half for brushing the ham as it cooks.

I hope you can impress your guests with this Cranberry Orange Glazed Ham recipe! You’ll definitely taste the orange and the cranberry infused in the ham. Sweet, tangy, comforting and just truly delicious!

I served this ham with simple mashed potatoes and a roasted brussels sprouts salad.

Happy cooking, ya’ll! And please don’t forget to pin this recipe!

Kitchen Tips

• Use a baster to make things easy and avoid spills as you baste the ham. This one is my favorite.

If you try my recipe, use #cookingformysoul on Instagram! Follow me on Pinterest, Instagram, Facebook for the latest fun updates and recipes!

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5 from 7 votes

Cranberry Orange Glazed Ham

This cranberry orange glazed ham is so elegant, delicious, and perfect for the holidays. Make this glazed ham for your next holiday party and impress your guests!

Course Main Course

Cuisine American

Prep Time 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time 1 hour hour 30 minutes minutes

Resting Time 15 minutes minutes

Total Time 1 hour hour 50 minutes minutes

Servings 15 people

Author Tania

Ingredients

• ▢ 8 to 10 pound fully cooked, bone-in, spiral ham
• ▢ 2 cups orange juice (for pan)
• ▢ Fresh orange slices from 1 orange

Cranberry Orange Glaze

• ▢ 1 can jellied cranberry sauce
• ▢ 2 tablespoons orange juice, plus more as needed
• ▢ 1/4 cup orange marmalade
• ▢ Zest of 1 orange
• ▢ 1/2 teaspoon fresh rosemary, chopped
• ▢ 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• ▢ 1/2 cup packed brown sugar, plus more as desired

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
• In a pan of a roasting rack, add about 2 cups of orange juice (cover about 3/4 inches of pan)¹ and orange slices from 1 orange. Place foil over the rack and place ham on top. Seal roasting pan tightly with aluminum foil, and bake for about 1 to 1 ½ hours (about 10 minutes per pound), until the center registers 110 degrees F.
• Make the glaze: in a saucepan, combine all ingredients and stir until it boils. Simmer for 10 minutes, until thickened. If too thick, add more orange juice. I you want it sweeter, add 1 to 2 more tablespoons brown sugar. Reserve half for serving.
• Carefully, remove foil. Increase temperature to 400 degrees F. Baste with juices from the pan and brush with glaze, and then bake for 10 minutes, uncovered. Then, baste and brush with glaze and bake again for another ten minutes, until internal temperature reaches 140 degrees F.
• Brush with glaze one more time, and broil for about 3-5 minutes, until fully caramelized and browned.
• Remove from oven and let sit for 15 minutes before serving. Enjoy!

Notes

1. Every roasting pan's size is different, so adjust the orange juice quantity as needed as long as it covers about 3/4 inches of the pan.

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