Maple Honey Baked Ham

This Easter was a first for me. It was the first Easter that I spent eating Paleo and it also was the first Easter where I actually had to do all of the cooking. In years past, I had always had the pleasure of being with my extended family during Easter. The food was made by others in my family and the ham was usually left to my Uncle or Grandmother to bake.

I had never had the opportunity to actually see what goes into making an amazing Easter ham before. So, this year, having to make it myself, I was a bit in the dark. I had no idea how to make a ham, let alone a PALEO ham.

But, through research, I found that to make the ham truly Paleo, it needed to have 2 characteristics. These were:

1. It must be uncured, with no additives or preservatives outside natural preservatives. Most hams are loaded with salt and other additives to give it flavor and texture. The one that I picked up, I ironically found at Aldi‘s. It was a Simply Natural all-natural spiral sliced ham.
2. The traditional glaze contained way too much sugar and additives. I had to find a more natural alternative. By using the naturally occurring sugars in the pineapple, maple syrup, and honey, I was able to create an amazing glaze for the ham.

The ham cooked up just right and was a PERFECT first Easter meal. My husband and kids are still raving about it. We still have leftovers and I am planning on making wonderful dishes this week with them–bone stock, salads, etc. Oh the possibilities. This meal turned out so well, I think it might even make an amazing Mother’s Day dinner idea, as well.

Maple Honey Baked Ham

Christina Bhattacharya

A delicious paleo-friendly twist on the traditional baked ham.

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Prep Time 5 minutes mins

Cook Time 3 hours hrs

Total Time 3 hours hrs 5 minutes mins

Servings 10

Ingredients

  

• 1 smoked fully cooked, 5 to 7 pound ham.
• 1/4 can 15 ounces pineapple slices in 100% pure juice (no sugar added)
• 1/8 cup Grade A pure maple syrup
• 2 tbs raw honey

Instructions

 

• Place ham on a rack in a baking pan, fat side up.
• Loosely cover with aluminum foil.
• Bake at 325 degrees for about 20 minutes a pound (140 degrees on meat thermometer).

While ham is cooking

• Drain pineapple and reserve 1/4 cup of juice.
• Combine the reserved juice, maple syrup, and honey in a saucepan.
• Cook over low heat until completely dissolved, stirring occasionally.

After ham has baked

• Remove foil from ham.
• Brush ham with pineapple-honey mixture.
• Arrange pineapple slices in a pattern over the top of the ham, securing with toothpicks.
• Brush again with pineapple-honey mixture.
• Bake an additional 30 minutes at 325°.