Pineapple and Brown Sugar Baked Ham

Serve up the perfect meal with this Pineapple and Brown Sugar Baked Ham! Coated in a homemade brown sugar spice rub and covered with pineapple rings, this spiral cut store bought ham is transformed into the ultimate caramelized, moist, juicy ham perfect for holiday dinners like Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas.

This Pineapple and Brown Sugar Baked Ham makes an impressive main dish when it comes to holiday entertaining and nothing could be easier to prepare.

As a family that usually chooses ham over turkey when it comes to main holiday dishes, I have paid my dues when it came to serving up good ham.

Notice I didn’t say AMAZING ham.  Earth shattering ham. Marriage proposal worthy ham.

Yup… that’s a thing.

No, the ham I painstakingly laid out for Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners was good ham with a good rub and a good flavor. Perfectly acceptable and tasty… and good.

(cricket … cricket … cricket)

WHY THIS PINEAPPLE BROWN SUGAR BAKED HAM IS THE BOMB!

Forget serving up good ham for your holiday dinners, impress your family with this sweet and tangy yet smokey and savory spiral cut ham from your very own grocery store.

• Most store bought hams are sold with a rub seasoning pack to make your life easier.  Discard that rub pack and kick those spices up with your homemade spice rub.
• Be sure to grab a bone in ham. That bone adds a ton of flavor and the best part is that bone can be added to soup after your holiday dinner is over.
• Pineapple and brown sugar naturally compliment each other and adding both to your holiday ham makes your holiday ham burst with flavor.
• This brown sugar rub is perfectly spiced and even offers a bit of heat so this ham is delivering sweet, spicy, savory, tangy flavor with every bite.
• If you have the time and the refrigerator space, you can start flavoring this ham 24 hours before serving. That’s a whole lot of flavor-time!
• This brown sugar baked ham is perfect for holiday dinners but is so easy and tasty, you will want to serve it every Sunday!

To make this Pineapple and Brown Sugar Baked Ham, you will need:

• 15 pound bone-in ham
• Brown sugar
• Pineapple rings
• Maraschino cherries
• Assorted spices

HOW TO MAKE THE PERFECT BAKED HAM

Start by grabbing your roasting pan or even a large baking pan if your ham will fit in it.  Add a layer of 6 to 8 pineapple rings to the bottom of your pan for your ham to sit on.

Remove your ham from it’s packaging and place the ham cut side down on top your pineapple rings.

In a small bowl, combine brown sugar, cloves, mustard powder, pumpkin pie spice (yes, really!), cinnamon, allspice, smoked paprika, onion powder and cayenne.

Massage your brown sugar mixture all over your ham. Your sugar spice rub will start to become more like a paste and that’s OK just be sure to really cover everything.

Next, pour the juice of your opened pineapple ring can into the bottom of your pan.  Do not pour the juice over the ham as that will simply wash away all of your tasty brown sugar rub.

Cover your ham with foil and move it to the refrigerator.  You want your ham to really draw in that seasoning so let is sit anywhere from 10 hours to 24 hours before cooking.

After your ham has had time to chill, remove it from the refrigerator, uncover your ham and spoon some of the pineapple juice from the bottom of the pan lightly over the ham.

Next, start laying on the pineapple rings all around the ham. Depending on the size of your ham, you may need extra pineapple rings. I used 2 cans to make this ham and could have easily used 3.

Lay your pineapple rings in a pleasing pattern and secure them with toothpicks.  Once your pineapple rings are in place, add a maraschino cherry to the center of each pineapple ring and use toothpicks to keep them in place too.

Re-cover your ham and move to a 275 degree oven.  Store bought spiral hams do not need much cooking time, normally around 8-10 minutes per pound of ham.  

When your ham is about done, remove the foil and let bake uncovered for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and lightly recover with foil. Let your ham rest for 10 minutes before serving.

Transfer the ham to a large cutting board or protected counter top. Remove the pineapple slices and cherries,discard the toothpicks and stand your ham on it’s side.

Using a sharp knife, slice the ham and move your sliced pieces into the can with all of the pineapple/brown sugar juices. When you have enough ham, transfer the slices to a serving platter and serve.

HOW MUCH BAKED HAM DO YOU NEED?

When choosing which ham to buy, size matters. You want to make sure you have a ham large enough to feed everyone around you dinner table but also you want leftovers!

I always grab a bone-in spiral cut ham because the hard work is already done for me with it being pre-sliced and the bone is my favorite part of having ham because that leftover ham bone is always used for soup afterwards.

I like to portion out about 3/4 of a pound of ham per person so a 15-pound bone-in ham should serve about 10 guests and still have enough for leftovers.

PRO TIPS FOR PERFECT PINEAPPLE BROWN SUGAR HAM

• Be sure to grab a bone in ham. That bone adds a ton of flavor and the best part is that bone can be added to soup after your holiday dinner is over.
• The cayenne in the spice rubs adds just a touch of heat but can easily be left out if you prefer.
• Not a fan of pineapple? The pineapple rings and juice can be left off of this recipe and you will still serve up a delicious brown sugar rubbed ham.
• Plan ahead and make the time to rub this down and let it sit in your fridge for 24 hours, if possible.  You will be rewarded with the best ham you will ever eat!
• If you have some on hand, the toothpicks can be replaced by using whole cloves to secure your pineapple rings to you ham.

 

WHAT TO DO WITH LEFTOVER HAM

Leftover ham can be kept in a zip top bag or airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-5 days.  You can also move it the freezer where it will be good for up to 3 months.  Add in some of the juices to your bag to maximize flavor and avoid your ham from drying out when reheated.

 

WHAT TO USE YOUR LEFTOVER HAM FOR

Besides leftover next day ham sandwiches, add your leftover baked ham to:

• Add it to eggs and omelettes
• Stir your leftover ham into pasta with cheese
• Add it with some peas and cheese to tortellini
• Perfect to serve in savory breakfast scones
• Use that ham bone in soup and chop up some ham and add that too
• Make homemade chicken cordon bleu
• Break out grandma’s recipe and make a delicious ham and potato pot pie
• Broccoli, ham and cheese casserole anyone?
• Perfect to add to this breakfast casserole recipe
• Scalloped potatoes and ham

WHAT TO SERVE WITH BAKED HAM

• Loaded Cauliflower Casserole 
• Homemade Creamy Baked Macaroni and Cheese
• Crispy Brussels Sprouts with Bacon
• Easy Cheesy Scalloped Potatoes
• Green Bean Casserole with Bacon

Enjoy!