Fig and Balsamic Glazed Spiral Ham

There is something so regal and traditional about seeing a spiral glazed ham as the centerpiece on holiday buffets. I prefer a bone-in spiral cooked ham for the ease of serving the pre-cut spiral slices.

Most often, spiral hams are fully cooked and ready to eat, but the flavor is elevated when heating it brushed with a glaze like the one I've used here on my Fig and Balsamic Glazed Spiral Ham. Salty ham is perfectly complemented with sweet figs and honey with the bright notes of balsamic and Dijon -- all caramelizing over the ham.

I love serving spiral ham as part of my holiday buffets, and not just because they are so easy to prepared, but because of all the fab things that can be done with the leftovers -- including that coveted ham bone!

Here are just a few recipes I've created that use leftovers:

• Pinto Bean Soup with Ham and Andouille
• Ham, Cheddar and Chive Scones
• Aromatic Lentil and Ham Soup with Apples and Mushrooms

Ingredients

• spiral ham
• fig preserves or jam
• balsamic vinegar
• honey
• Dijon mustard
• dried thyme
• black pepper
• fresh herbs, for garnish

See recipe card for quantities.

Instructions

Preheat oven to 325°F with oven rack placed in lower third of oven. Allow ham to come to room temperature for 30 minutes.

Place a rack into the roasting pan and pour 1 cup of water into bottom of pan. 

Place ham on rack, cut side down. 

Cover ham by tenting foil securely over the roasting pan. Bake for an hour.

Combine fig preserves, balsamic vinegar, honey, Dijon mustard, thyme and pepper in a small saucepan over medium heat.

Whisk to combine. Reserve.

Remove ham from oven. Brush ham all over with half of the glaze and bake uncovered for 15 minutes. Increase temperature to 400°F and continue baking uncovered for 15 minutes. Brush with remaining glaze. Bake until golden brown and a thermometer inserted into thickest portion of ham registers 140°F, about 15 minutes. 

Allow to rest for 20 minutes before serving.

Hint: If serving the spiral ham for sandwiches on a buffet, to make serving easier and manageable, cut the ham into smaller pieces by simply cutting perpendicular to the slices and all the way through the ham slices down to the bone. Make 3 or 4 cuts like this around the periphery of the ham.

Substitutions

• Dried Thyme - substitute 2 to 3 tablespoons fresh minced thyme
• Honey -- substitute ½ cup maple syrup or agave nectar -- or ½ cup brown sugar
• Fig Preserves - substitute Peach, Apricot or Plum Preserves -- or use cherry or black currant jam for more robust flavor profile

Variations

• Peach, White Balsamic and Rosemary -- swap out the fig preserves, balsamic and thyme and replace with peach preserves, white balsamic and 2-3 tablespoons minced fresh rosemary.
• Cherry, Balsamic, Chipotle and Cumin - swap out the fig preserves and thyme and replace with cherry preserves/jam, one minced chipotle pepper in adobo, 1 tablespoon adobo sauce and 1 teaspoon cumin.
• Apricot, White Balsamic, Rosemary and Stone Ground Mustard -- swap out the fig preserves, balsamic, thyme and Dijon mustard and replace with apricot preserves, white balsamic vinegar, 2 to 3 tablespoons minced rosemary and ⅓ cup stone ground mustard

Equipment

• roasting pan
• roasting rack or silicon roasting rack (I like mine by Norpro)
• aluminum foil
• brush

Storage

It is nearly inevitable that there will be leftovers -- if even not that prized ham bone.

A cooked spiral cooked ham can safely be stored in the refrigerator for up to five days. After that, consider wrapping it well and storing in the freezer for up to two months.

I freeze leftover ham in multiple zip lock bags both sliced and diced -- the diced is great to take out for use in omelettes, quiches, pasta, salads and baked goods.

🍽️ Recipe

Fig, Balsamic and Thyme Glazed Spiral Ham

The Savory Tart

Elevate the flavor of a spiral ham with a glaze like the one used here where salty and savory ham is perfectly complemented by a glaze of sweet figs and honey with the bright notes of balsamic and Dijon.

 

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 2 hours hrs

Total Time 2 hours hrs

Course Appetizer, Main Course

Cuisine American

Equipment

• baking sheet or roasting pan
• baking rack
• aluminum foil
• brush

Ingredients

  

• 7 to 10 pound spiral ham
• 1 cup fig preserves
• ¼ cup balsamic vinegar
• ¼ cup honey
• 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoon dried thyme
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• Optional: Fresh herbs for garnish

Instructions

 

• Preheat oven to 325°F with oven rack placed in lower third of oven. Allow ham to come to room temperature for 30 minutes.
• Combine fig preserves, balsamic vinegar, honey, Dijon mustard, thyme and pepper in a small saucepan over medium heat, whisking to combine. Reserve.
• Place a rack into the roasting pan and pour 1 cup of water into bottom of pan. Place ham on rack, cut side down. Cover ham by tenting foil securely over the roasting pan. Bake for an hour.
• Remove ham from oven. Brush ham all over with half of the glaze and bake uncovered for 15 minutes. Increase temperature to 400°F and continue baking uncovered for 15 minutes. Brush with remaining glaze. Bake until golden brown and a thermometer inserted into thickest portion of ham registers 140°F, about 15 minutes.
• Allow to rest for 20 minutes before serving.

Keyword buffet, buffet manu, Christmas buffet, Christmas menu, Easter Buffet, Easter menu, fig, fig preserves, glazed ham, ham, spiral ham

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