- Serves: Bone-in half ham, ⅓ to ½ lb per person — an 8 lb ham feeds 12 to 16
- Active time: 15 minutes
- Make ahead: Glaze days ahead; the ham reheats well, so it can be done the day before for a crowd
- The one thing that matters: The ham is already cooked. Heat it to 140°F, no further.
What you’ll need
- Roasting pan with rack. Deep enough to hold the ham and glaze
- Meat thermometer. To check internal temperature reaches 140F
- Basting brush. For applying the glaze evenly
- Aluminum foil. For tenting during roasting
- Carving knife. Long and sharp for clean slices
A spiral-cut holiday ham is fully cooked when you buy it. Every dry, leathery Thanksgiving ham is a ham that was roasted as if it were raw. Your job is to warm it through gently, keep the moisture in, and glaze it near the end so the glaze caramelizes instead of burning or running off. It is the easiest centerpiece of the day, and it makes a good partner to the turkey or a full stand-in.
[Photo: a glazed spiral ham on a board, the slices fanned slightly, the glaze dark and glossy in the cuts]
Why this works
The ham has already been through a full cook. Heating it past 140°F just drives out moisture, and a spiral-cut ham has enormous surface area for that moisture to escape from. So you heat it low and slow, wrapped, in a little liquid, and you stop at 140°F — which is a serving temperature, not a safety threshold, because safety was handled at the packing plant.
The glaze goes on only in the last 20 to 30 minutes. Ham glazes are mostly sugar, and sugar over a sustained oven heat burns. Applied late, over a ham that is already hot, it melts, clings, and caramelizes into a lacquer in the time it has.
What you need
- 1 bone-in, spiral-cut, fully-cooked half ham, 7 to 9 lb
- 1 cup (240ml) water, apple cider, or ginger ale, for the pan
Glaze
- 1 cup (220g) light brown sugar, packed
- ⅓ cup (110g) honey or maple syrup
- ¼ cup (60g) Dijon or whole-grain mustard
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 tablespoons cider vinegar or orange juice
- ½ teaspoon each: ground cloves, cinnamon; pinch of cayenne
How to make it
- Set up. Heat the oven to 300°F (150°C). Put the ham cut-side down in a roasting pan, pour the liquid into the pan, and cover the whole thing tightly with foil.
- Heat. Bake about 12 to 14 minutes per pound, until the center reads 130°F on a thermometer, roughly 1½ to 2 hours for an 8 lb ham.
- Make the glaze. Simmer all the glaze ingredients in a small pan for 3 to 4 minutes, until slightly thickened.
- Glaze. Remove the foil, brush a third of the glaze over the ham, and raise the oven to 400°F (200°C). Bake 10 minutes, brush again, bake 10 more, brush a final time, and bake until the internal temperature is 140°F and the glaze is dark and set.
- Rest. 15 minutes before serving. Spoon the pan juices, thinned with a little water, over the slices.
The details that decide it
- Cut-side down. This protects the cut face from drying and keeps the slices moist.
- Wrap it tight. The foil traps steam and is the difference between juicy and jerky.
- 140°F and stop. Use a thermometer. Going by time alone on an already-cooked ham is how it dries.
- Glaze in three thin coats, not one thick one. Thin layers build a lacquer; one heavy coat slides into the pan.
Scaling for a crowd
Plan ⅓ to ½ lb of bone-in ham per person. A single 8 lb half ham feeds 12 to 16 as one of two centerpieces, or 10 to 12 if it is the only one. For very large groups, two smaller hams heat more evenly than one whole ham.
Ham is forgiving of being made ahead: heat and glaze it the day before, refrigerate, and rewarm the sliced ham covered with a splash of cider at 300°F. That frees the oven entirely on the day. If you are serving it alongside turkey, the per-person meat math for the whole meal is in our Thanksgiving dinner planning guide, and the ham sits naturally next to a roast turkey for a table that has both light and dark, poultry and pork.
Make ahead, storing and leftovers
- Glaze: up to a week ahead, refrigerated; rewarm to loosen.
- Whole ham: heated and glazed 1 day ahead, then reheated gently.
- Leftovers: 5 days refrigerated, or 2 months frozen. Save the bone for split pea or bean soup.
From my kitchen
People treat a holiday ham like a roast that needs hours of attention. It needs almost none. Wrap it, warm it, glaze it at the end, and pull it at 140°F. The most common mistake is leaving it in “just to be safe”, it was safe before it went in the oven.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to cook a spiral ham?
No. It is fully cooked. You are only warming it to a serving temperature of about 140°F, which takes 12 to 14 minutes per pound in a low oven.
How much ham per person for Thanksgiving?
About ⅓ to ½ lb of bone-in ham per person. An 8 lb half ham serves 12 to 16 when there is also turkey on the table.
Why did my ham come out dry?
It was heated too hot, too long, or uncovered. Wrap it tightly in foil with a little liquid, keep the oven at 300°F, and stop at 140°F internal.
When do I add the glaze?
Only in the last 20 to 30 minutes, in two or three thin coats, with the oven raised to 400°F. Added earlier, the sugar burns.
Can I make the ham ahead?
Yes. Heat and glaze it a day ahead, then reheat the sliced ham covered with a splash of cider at 300°F until warm.
The bottom line
Wrap it, warm it low to 130°F, glaze it in thin coats while the oven is hot, and pull it at 140°F. A Thanksgiving ham is the centerpiece that asks the least of you.
Save it, the pull temperature and the per-person number are all you really need.
Thanksgiving Ham
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Set up. Heat the oven to 300°F (150°C). Put the ham cut-side down in a roasting pan, pour the liquid into the pan, and cover the whole thing tightly with foil.
- Heat. Bake about 12 to 14 minutes per pound, until the center reads 130°F on a thermometer, roughly 11/2 to 2 hours for an 8 lb ham.
- Make the glaze. Simmer all the glaze ingredients in a small pan for 3 to 4 minutes, until slightly thickened.
- Glaze. Remove the foil, brush a third of the glaze over the ham, and raise the oven to 400°F (200°C). Bake 10 minutes, brush again, bake 10 more, brush a final time, and bake until the internal temperature is 140°F and the glaze is dark and set.
- Rest. 15 minutes before serving. Spoon the pan juices, thinned with a little water, over the slices.