Baked Rum Pineapple Glazed Ham

Baked Rum Pineapple Glazed Ham ~ with a tropical rum-pineapple glaze for a delicious sweet-salty blend. A delicious treat at Easter and all year.

I’m not sure how Easter is already upon us, but the calendar says it’s so. In our house that means ham, an Easter egg hunt and Easter baskets for both my adult children and grandchildren. Every year I swear it’ll be the last for the adults but like the ham, it’s tradition. 

This year we’re switching up the traditional Vernor’s ginger ale ham recipe for one with Caribbean flair. It’s sweet, it’s savory and just like your favorite tropical drink, there’s rum. It doesn’t get much better.

For years I’ve simply poured Vernor’s ginger ale over the top of the ham, covered it with foil and baked it. It makes a pretty tasty ham and for those of us who grew up on it, we believe in its magic healing powers for the flu to a hangover and pretty much everything in between. 

This Rum Pineapple Glazed Ham recipe was adapted from James Beard award-winning Chef Douglas Rodriquez’s recipe.  I added a few ingredients, left others out and the result is over-the-top good.  

Vernor’s also makes a mean Vernors float: vanilla ice cream in a tall glass topped with Vernor’s.  For Michiganders, it’s our own little piece of home.

The glaze for this ham comes together in under 10 minutes in a saucepan while you create the crosshatch and add the cloves. 

Rum Pineapple Glazed Ham Ingredients:

• butter
• brown sugar
• cinnamon
• nutmeg
• dark rum
• Dijon mustard
• grapefruit juice (Indian River brand used)
• crushed pineapple with juices
• fully cooked/smoked ham approximately 9-10 pounds
• whole cloves

INSTRUCTIONS:

Over medium-low heat simmer the butter, brown sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg, stirring frequently 8-10 minutes. Remove from the heat and blend in the rum, Dijon mustard, grapefruit juice and crushed pineapple then set the glaze aside.

TIP: You can buy either a whole ham or half but you’ll want 9-10 pounds.  

Remove the wrapper from the ham and using a sharp knife, create a shallow crosshatch pattern on the skin of the ham through the fat without cutting into the meat. Insert the cloves into each diamond cut shape. 

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Put a rack in the bottom of a roasting pan, place the ham in the rack and pour about ½” of water into the pan. Roast 30 minutes, uncovered.

Reduce the heat to 325 degrees, baste the ham with some of the glaze and return to the oven. Bake for 1 hour and 10 minutes at 325 degrees, basting every 20 minutes.  Increase the oven temp to 400 degrees, baste with the remaining glaze and bake for 20 minutes.

Let the ham rest 30 minutes before slicing but make sure to save the bone for bean soup for later in the week.

Happy Easter ~ enjoy the day!

If you tried this Rum Pineapple Glazed Ham recipe or any other on the blog, I’d appreciate a comment or star rating from you!

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