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**This recipe is sponsored by Smith's — headquartered in Erie, PA!**
★ Why You'll Love this Recipe ★
As much as I love the combination of pineapples and ham (hello, favorite pizza toppings), I decided we need to branch out of the 70s and reinvent the centerpiece ham. It's time, folks. This Orange Marmalade Glazed ham is moving in.
Re-thinking How We Cook Ham
For years we've been scoring patterns into our hams, poking them with cloves, donning them with pineapple slices and maraschino cherries and otherwise dressing them up in silly ways to make them worthy of centerpiece status.
I kind of think that because hams are already cooked and we're essentially just slowly heating them up rather than actually cooking them, we feel some sort of obligation to put in additional effort in order to do this main course justice. Fine. I get it. I'm on board with decorating them! I love to decorate. But, can we please move past the pineapples and cherries?
I'm not going all modern on you, suggesting that you froth your ham or put it in an edible bubble. To me, modern is simple and new but carries with it a bit of the past. So, in a nutshell, that's how the idea of this orange marmalade glaze came to be.
A New Twist on the Centerpiece Ham
Old-fashioned, citrusy-sweet, orange marmalade mixed with dijon mustard for tang and butter for creaminess makes a super simple and delicious glaze and spread. Did you catch that the glaze is only four ingredients?! Modern simplicity right there. And oranges = a new and refreshing way to complement a savory, smokey ham.
The beauty of using orange marmalade is that you can justifiably lay your ham on top of a bed of orange slices and voila! You have just added that special centerpiece-worthy touch to your main course. Your family will ooh and ah over how lovely it looks and dinner becomes a little more special.
I love the way a ham can actually make a whole day feel special. It's the smell as it bakes... setting the dinner table with the good plates, silverware and real glass <-- still a little scary in our house!
The faces gathered round the table... the buzz of excitement as the whole family hungrily awaits the main course of a home-cooked meal... when the thermometer has finally reached the exact right spot, the warm gush of air that flows from oven to table... the creak of the box opening to reveal a sharp carving knife and fork... then watching the face of the person in charge of carving the ham to see if they remember how to do it because it's been awhile! And the seemingly-endless supply of ham that fills the plates of everyone and leaves leftovers for days. (Save that bone and make ham and potato soup or split pea soup)
Ham for the Holidays
We do our best to make the most of the special days around here. Easter is coming up mid-April, and for us that's a day we celebrate with extended family. The kids love the tradition of Easter basket and egg hunting, of course.
The grown-ups enjoy the kids' sweet smiles and their innocent giggles, a break from another busy day, and a chance to reflect on life's miracles and joys. We recognize these special days are few and far between so putting in a little extra effort to prepare a meal that's not your typical weeknight dinner, doesn't feel like a chore if you put it into perspective. In fact, the ham's already cooked. So let's be honest, it's super easy to prepare! 🙂
I think we can all agree, nothing says family like a big, beautiful ham on the table. Just please do me a favor, put the pineapples down and try some oranges for a change.
Make it a Meal
Pair this glazed ham with my Sour Cream and Chive Mashed Potatoes, Broccoli Cheese Casserole and Marmalade Carrots. Mini Carrot Bundt Cakes are a cute dessert if you're making this ham for Easter dinner.
For a nostalgic vibe, try making some Old-fashioned Hot Cross Buns.
★ Ingredients You'll Need ★
This impressive ham could not be simpler. You'll start with a smoked 13lb ham and then you'll need just 3 ingredients for the glaze.
- Orange Marmalade.
- Dijon Mustard.
- Butter. Salted.
If you love your pineapples, go ahead and mix them into the glaze. This is optional. Crushed pineapples work best.
For garnish, you'll need oranges to slice and create a bed. Then fresh rosemary and pomegranate seeds to top things off. This is optional but is a really easy way to dress up your ham.
So simple. So impressive. So good.
★ Tips & FAQs ★
Carving - If you're not sure how to carve a whole (or semi-boneless ham in this case), don't worry. It's not that hard to carve a ham. If you're a bit rusty or never carved a ham before then check out my tutorial, How to Carve a Whole Ham. I break down how to carve a ham, step by step with photos and featured is the same Smith's semi-boneless ham used to make this recipe.
Creating a Bed of Orange Slices to display your ham is easy to do! Try using a mandoline slicer to get your slices nice and smooth. It's not necessary, but as you can see if you look closely I did not use one and my husband lovingly pointed out that I should have, ha!
Locally, I prefer Smith’s ham. While they’re known for hot dogs, their hams are a hidden gem—slow-smoked for 12 hours over real sugar-maple wood with a time-tested brine and fresh, natural herbs. No added water means rich, standout flavor. They come uncut and unglazed so you can customize, and they’re gluten-free too. In my opinion, it's the best ham you’ll ever eat—worth it for the quality, not the gimmicks.
★ More Ham Recipes ★
This recipe for orange marmalade glazed ham was featured on Sweet Little Blue Bird!
Orange Marmalade Glazed Ham
Equipment
Ingredients
- 13 lbs semi-boneless ham
Glaze
- ½ cup orange marmalade
- ⅓ cup honey Dijon mustard
- ¼ cup butter
- ¼ cup crushed pineapples optional
Garnish
- 6 oranges
- 1 pomegranate for garnish
- 1 bunch fresh rosemary
Mighty Mrs. is a #WalmartPartner.
Instructions
- Prepare glaze. In a bowl, using a fork, mix together the orange marmalade, dijon mustard and room-temperature butter.
- Bake ham. Do not glaze ham right away! First, place the unglazed ham in a large roasting pan or cast iron skillet and bake in a preheated 325˚F oven for 3 and 30 minutes.
- Apply glaze and continue baking. Remove ham and apply glaze 30 minutes prior to it being done. Spread the glaze over the entire surface of the ham and return to the oven for 30 minutes. The ham should cook for a total of 4 hours or until an internal temperature of 140˚ is reached.
- Garnish. Slice pomegranate in half and squeeze to loosen seeds.Sprinkle seeds onto ham along with fresh rosemary.Arrange orange slices on your serving platter. When ham is done cooking, place onto your bed of oranges.
- Carve your ham and serve.
Notes
- Warning: Ham may be hot to touch so use a spatula to spread the glaze.
- You may want to make an additional batch of the glaze and serve it as a spread.
- Pomegranate seeds can be purchased by the cup at many stores.
- Not sure how to carve your ham? Check out my step-by-step tutorial: How to Carve a Whole Ham
Mary says
Good afternoon! I loved this recipe. Easy party appetizer.
jen smith says
this glaze makes an already amazing smith's ham even more amazing. wow.
Angela G. says
Couldn't agree more, Jen! 🙂