Pineapple Glazed Ham

This boneless glazed ham is super easy to prepare and everyone loves it! The ham is tender and moist; it is salty, sweet and a little tart too, which makes it the perfect Easter main! Serve this retro-inspired dish the easy way – no need for carving and fancy presentation. Pineapple Glazed Ham has all the flavour without all the fuss!

A few weeks ago, I shared my Brown Sugar Mustard Glazed Virginia ham recipe with you. If you read that in detail, you might see many similarities and word-for-word instructions in this Pineapple Glazed Ham recipe. They both start off the same way but end up being two very different recipes. I have to say, I absolutely love this ham! Normally, I find ham to be a bit too salty for my personal tastes. But, this one is not, because not only is it baked and basted in a homemade glaze, it is boiled first, which helps to not only cook and tenderize the ham, but it will also remove some of the saltiness.

This recipe is quite easy to follow and shouldn’t be intimidating at all. In fact, once the ham is boiling, you can go ahead and prepare your side dishes. And, when the ham is set to bake in the oven, it requires very little attention, so you can finish up those sides, or maybe get yourself all gussied up before your guests arrive!

VIRGINIA OR BONELESS HAM

A Virginia ham is a specialty ham, which is also more commonly known as a country ham. It is sometimes called Virginia ham because its origins can be traced back to the state of Virginia. This ham is dry-cured and slowly smoked to add aging and a deep, rich flavour. Since Virginia ham is boneless and already fully cooked when you buy it, there’s less cooking time and carving is super easy! If you are not using a Virginia ham, you can use any ham that is boneless. In fact, you could buy a bone-in ham and cut the bone out after you boil the ham.

Virginia hams are prized for their sweetness. They are cured, then smoked over apple and hickory wood fires, and hung to age in the smokehouse. Perhaps the most widely known style of country hams are those of Smithfield, Virginia. They are processed from hogs which have a diet consisting of acorns, nuts, and corn.

These hams are cured in a dry mixture for a month, then spiced with black pepper, and cold smoked for a further two weeks. Once smoked, the ham is aged and mellowed for a minimum of one year. It is worth noting that if you source your ham from a butcher, in most cases, the butcher will have washed the ham and would have removed any mold. (Mold is very common when aging, so don’t be alarmed!) If you have sourced a ham with mold, you will need to wash the ham well and trim the mold away.

INGREDIENTS NEEDED TO PREPARE THIS RECIPE

The following is a list of the ingredients needed to prepare this Pineapple Glazed Ham recipe. For exact amounts and measurements, refer to the printable recipe card located near the bottom of this post.

• Ham – Bone in ham or boneless ham, such as the Virginia ham that I’m using, is what you will need. Do not use cottage roll, deli, or any of those spiral-cut types of ham.
• Green Onions – Whenever I boil meat of any kind, I like to include a bunch of green onions. It not only helps to flavour, but also eliminates that boiled meat smell. It is completely optional.
• Brown Sugar – It might seem like a lot, but the saltiness of the ham will balance out the sweetness.
• Flour – Just regular all-purpose flour.
• Mustard – The tartness of classic yellow mustard works so well with ham!
• White Vinegar – This adds so much flavour to the sauce. Also, the acidity balances out the sweetness.
• Pineapple Juice – Canned pineapple juice is great for this recipe. Also, please see my notes about pineapple juice in the next section.
• Ground Black Pepper – No salt is needed. Ham is already salty enough.

HOW TO MAKE PINEAPPLE GLAZED HAM

This recipe comes together quite easily, but it does require two cooking techniques. I don’t want that to scare you, because they are quite easy to do and I will walk you through it step by step. The two techniques are boiling and baking. So, let’s break it down into sections so that it is less daunting.

Step 1: Boiling the Ham

If your ham has any mold on it, you will need to wash the ham well and trim away the mold. Almost 100% of the time, ham will be purchased from a grocery store or butcher, so there will be no need to worry about doing that. The mold which forms during the ageing process would have been already removed. In the case that it is not, you can read how to do it here. If your ham has string (a net) on it, leave it on at this point.

Lower the entire ham into a large stock pot. Add enough cold water to cover the ham by at least one inch. If you are including the optional green onion, do it now. Wash the green onion under cold running water. Cut off the root end and tie the whole bunch into a knot. Alternatively, you can chop it into two inch pieces. Toss it in the pot. Over medium-high heat, bring the ham to a boil. Once boiling, reduce the heat to medium and boil for one hour.

Place a large colander in your sink and carefully transfer the pot with the ham. Drain the water out of the pot and allow the ham to fall gently into the colander. Allow the ham to cool for five minutes so that it is easy to handle. Collect the green onions and discard them. While the ham cools, prepare the glaze.

Step 2: Preparing the Glaze

I love this glaze, because not only does it flavour the ham and make the outside all sticky and sweet, it also acts as a sauce when you’re ready to serve. Once the ham is baked, you can remove the pieces from the baking dish and then scoop up all of that delicious glaze. Spoon it into a serving dish and place it on the table with the ham for those who like more sauce.

This glaze is super easy! Add the brown sugar, flour, mustard, vinegar, pineapple juice, and the ground black pepper to a bowl. Whisk the glaze ingredients together until they form a thick, sugar sauce. Set this aside for now. Let’s go back to the cooled ham.

Step 3: Preparing & Baking the Ham

Once the ham has cooled, transfer it to a large cutting board. Unlike with a whole ham that you are going to baste, in this case, you do not need to score the ham first. So, that will save you some time.

If you’re working with a boneless ham, this step will be super easy. If, however, you have a bone-in ham, you will need to get a little bit more creative with cutting the ham into pieces. It’s important to remember that while the ham bakes, it will shrink a little, so be sure to cut your ham into one-and-a-half-inch chunks. If you cut them too small, the ham will dry out.

Once you cut the ham into pieces, it’s time to start baking. Lightly brush your baking pan with olive oil and transfer all of the ham pieces into it. Bake the ham in a 400 degrees F oven for 45 minutes. Be sure to move the ham around every 15 minutes. Finally, pour in the glaze and toss to coat. Cook for another 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes or until the glaze has thickened.

WHAT TO SERVE WITH PINEAPPLE GLAZED HAM

This ham is sweet and savoury, so when it comes to serving a side dish or two, you will want to keep that in mind. Sides should always complement the main and not fight or contradict it. What that means is that you should not serve a side dish with a lot of complex flavours if your main is already extra flavourful as it is. So, in this case, I served the following sides.

I had to have mashed potatoes and my go-to mashed potato recipe is this one. It has lots of fresh herbs and salted butter – it’s so yummy! Next, I have to serve a brightly coloured side dish. John.e will always complain if a meal is “too brown.” So, how about corn, like this beautiful Skillet Confetti Corn, or this absolutely addicting Stovetop Cream Cheese Corn.

Now, traditionally, when my mom would make this type of ham recipe, she would serve it with cold plates. If you’re up to the task, you should take a look at how it is served and what it includes. It’s a lot of work, but it’s totally worth it!