A Deliciously Easy Choice for Entertaining
Our recipe for boneless ham features a delicious orange marmalade glaze and simple instructions for heating your boneless ham to tender, juicy perfection. We’ve also included a few flavor variations for the glaze, suggestions for side dishes to round out your dinner menu, and tips for storing any leftovers.
Facts About Boneless Hams
Ham is a popular choice for entertaining because it’s so easy to prepare, however, many of the hams you’ll find at your local grocer are quite large and can be a bit much if you’re only planning to serve a few people. In that instance, a boneless ham may well be a better choice as most of them range in size from 2 to 6 pounds.
As the name implies, boneless hams have had all the bones removed and are then firmly pressed into a uniform, easy-to-carve shape. With most brands of boneless ham, the salt used in processing will break down some of the proteins in the meat, causing them to rejoin and fill in the gaps left when the bones were removed.
Boneless hams can be either cured or uncured. Cured hams have been injected with a mixture of salt, nitrates, nitrites, seasonings, sugars, and preservatives. These additives prolong shelf life and give ham its distinctive pink color and texture.
Uncured hams are preserved using a brine of natural ingredients such as sea salt, celery, and beet juice, along with seasonings. These ingredients contain naturally occurring nitrates, making them a somewhat healthier option than their synthetic counterparts.
The ham in our photos is a Boar’s Head Sweet Slice Mini Ham that weighed just under 3 pounds. It served four people initially, and we had enough left over for an additional meal for two, plus extra to dice and freeze for adding to dishes like soup, fried rice, scrambled eggs, and macaroni and cheese.
Orange Marmalade Glaze Ingredients
This is an overview of the glaze ingredients. Exact quantities can be found in the printable version of the recipe below.
- Orange marmalade: Choose a good quality orange marmalade made with all-natural ingredients. If you don’t care for orange marmalade, apricot preserves make a good substitute.
- Orange juice: Any type of orange juice you have on hand will work for this, but if you want to cut the sweetness a little, try substituting grapefruit or tangerine juice.
- Brown sugar: We use light brown sugar for our glaze, but if you like a little more of a molasses flavor, go for the dark variety.
- White wine vinegar: The white wine vinegar adds a bit of acidity, which works to brighten the flavors of the spices. Acceptable substitutes are apple cider vinegar and rice vinegar.
- Dijon mustard: Along with the vinegar, the tangy flavor of Dijon mustard adds a subtle contrast to the sweetness of the marmalade and brown sugar.
- Orange zest: Fresh orange zest simply adds a more intense orange flavor to the glaze. Tip: Cut a couple of thin center slices from a navel orange to use as garnish on your serving platter and zest the remaining pieces.
- Spices: Our recipe uses cinnamon, ginger, allspice, and whole cloves to flavor the glaze. This combination adds complexity and serves as a contrast to the saltiness of the ham.
How to Make Orange Glazed Boneless Ham
These steps outline the basic method for preparing a glazed boneless ham. Exact ingredient quantities can be found in the printable version of the recipe below.
- Remove your ham from the refrigerator about an hour before you’re ready to cook.
- Preheat the oven to 325°F.
- Add the orange juice, cinnamon stick, and cloves to the bottom of the roasting pan and fill with water to a depth of about 3/4 inch.
- Position the rack in your roasting pan and add the ham. Cover the pan with heavy-duty aluminum foil and seal tightly.
- Bake the ham for 15 to 18 minutes per pound, or until its internal temperature reaches 140°F.
- While the ham is in the oven, make the glaze.
- Stir the marmalade, orange juice, brown sugar, vinegar, and Dijon mustard together in a small saucepan over medium heat.
- Cook until the brown sugar dissolves, stirring frequently, then add the cinnamon, ginger, allspice, and cloves.
- Reduce the heat to low and cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, then stir in the orange zest, remove from the heat, and set aside until ready to use.
- Once the ham has reached 140°F, remove it from the oven and increase the temperature to 400°F.
- Uncover the ham and brush it liberally with the glaze. Return it to the oven for 12 to 15 minutes or until the glaze is lightly caramelized.
- Allow the ham to rest for 15 minutes before carving.
Storing the Leftovers
Leftover ham can be wrapped tightly in foil and stored in the refrigerator for up to three days. We recommend slicing it first to use in sandwiches or for reheating in foil (in a 300° oven). To freeze leftover ham, place foil-wrapped slices in a zip-top freezer bag. Frozen ham will keep for up to three months.
To find some easy ways to use leftover ham, as well as more information about ham in general, visit: How To Cook And Glaze A Ham (And Shopping Guide).
Get Creative: How to Make Different Glazes for Ham
You can easily switch up the flavors on our orange marmalade glaze by following the same formula, but with different fruits and spices. Here is the ratio:
- 1 cup of marmalade, jelly, or preserves
- 1/3 cup of fruit juice (or other liquid)
- 3/4 cup brown sugar (light or dark)
- 1 tablespoon vinegar or lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard (optional)
- Your choice of spices and/or citrus zest
Here are five flavor combos to get your creativity flowing:
- Pineapple jelly, pineapple juice, grated fresh ginger, lemon juice, lemon zest
- Cherry preserves (puréed), ruby port, cinnamon, vanilla extract
- Apricot preserves, apricot nectar, lemon juice, lemon zest
- Apple jelly, apple cider, bourbon, cinnamon
- Jalapeno jelly, orange juice, lime juice, lime zest
Note: Many preserves have chunky pieces of fruit in them. We recommend that you mash or purée them to create a smooth spreading glaze.
What to Serve with Boneless Ham
Two of our favorite sides to serve with ham are scalloped potatoes and glazed carrots. You can add a salad or coleslaw. You could also serve our Hungarian Cabbage and Noodles, a savory combination of green cabbage sautéed in butter and egg noodles. As a bonus, all of these side dishes can be made in advance.
As far as drinks are concerned, try a dry rosé, dry riesling, or pinot noir. For beer lovers, keep it light with a nice lager.
Orange Glazed Boneless Ham
Equipment
- Roasting pan with rack
- Heavy-duty aluminum foil
- Instant read thermometer
Ingredients
- 2 to 4 pound boneless ham, preferably uncured
- 1 cup orange juice
- 1 cinnamon stick, (optional)
- 4 whole cloves, (optional)
For the orange glaze:
- 1 cup orange marmalade, or apricot preserves
- 1/3 cup orange juice
- 3/4 cup brown sugar
- 1 tablespoons white wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
- 10 whole cloves
- Zest of 1 orange
- 1 navel orange, sliced for garnish
Instructions
- Remove your ham from the refrigerator about an hour before you're ready to cook.
- Preheat the oven to 325°F.
- Add the orange juice, cinnamon stick, and cloves to the bottom of the roasting pan and fill with water to a depth of about 3/4 inch.
- Position the rack in your roasting pan and add the ham. Cover the pan with heavy-duty aluminum foil and seal tightly.
- Bake the ham for 15 to 18 minutes per pound or until its internal temperature reaches 140°F.
Make the orange marmalade glaze:
- While the ham is in the oven, stir the marmalade, orange juice, brown sugar, vinegar, and Dijon mustard together in a small saucepan over medium heat.
- Cook until the brown sugar dissolves, stirring frequently, then add the cinnamon, ginger, allspice, and cloves.
- Reduce the heat to low and cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, then stir in the orange zest, remove from the heat, and set aside until ready to use.
Glaze the ham:
- Once the ham temperature has reached 140°F, remove it from the oven.
- Increase the oven temperature to 400°F.
- Uncover the ham and brush it liberally with the glaze. Return it to the oven for 10 to 15 minutes or until the glaze is lightly caramelized.
- Allow the ham to rest for 15 minutes before carving.
Recipe Notes
- 1 cup of marmalade, jelly, or preserves
- 1/3 cup of fruit juice (or other liquid)
- 3/4 cup brown sugar (light or dark)
- 1 tablespoon vinegar or lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard (optional)
- Your choice of spices and/or citrus zest
- Pineapple jelly, pineapple juice, grated fresh ginger, lemon juice, lemon zest
- Cherry preserves (puréed), ruby port, cinnamon, vanilla extract
- Apricot preserves, apricot nectar, lemon juice, lemon zest
- Apple jelly, apple cider, bourbon, cinnamon
- Jalapeno jelly, orange juice, lime juice, lime zest
Carolyn231 says
I picked up a small boneless ham right after Easter, followed your instructions, and made the glaze with one adjustment. I used grated fresh ginger instead of ground ginger. It was delicious. Next time I’m going to try the apple cider and bourbon variation. Thanks for posting this.
Lynne Webb says
Hi Carolyn,
You can’t go wrong with fresh ginger. Thanks for sharing!