Easy Apricot Bourbon Glazed Ham Recipe

If you are looking for a really easy and tasty glaze for your next ham, try this apricot bourbon glazed ham recipe. You only need 4 ingredients to make a glaze that is spicy, sweet and has that extra flavor boost of bourbon. All of these flavors taste wonderful on a baked ham. 

You might also like this keto brown sugar & spice glazed ham recipe.

Last year I tried my first ham glaze for our Easter ham and it was so easy that I wanted to try another one this year.

So with my husband in mind, I came up with this apricot bourbon glazed ham because those are two flavors he loves. And I used the hot pepper flakes he makes and added some extra heat.

It was great and so easy to make. I used it twice while baking the ham so it’s a double glazed ham. Let’s check it out.

About cooking with bourbon.

I’m sure you have seen many recipe that use bacon. Well the reason is that bourbon has smoke flavors of caramel and vanilla and goes so well with both sweet and savory dishes like this ham.

If you wanted to experiment with different flavors and bourbon, it goes well with brown sugar, maple, pecans, apples, pears and even chocolate and vanilla. (FineCooking.com)

Can I substitute whiskey or use something else for bourbon?

Bourbon is a type of whiskey but not all whiskey is a bourbon. However for this recipe you could substitute bourbon with whiskey or brandy however if you can stick to bourbon.

If you are looking for a non alcoholic subsitution for bourbon try 1-2 teaspoons of vanilla extract. (source)

The 4 ingredients I used.

The 4 ingredients I used for this ham glaze were apricot jam, bourbon, apple cider vinegar and hot pepper flakes.

The apricot adds sweetness and thickening, the apple cider vinegar has a little tang, the hot pepper flakes adds spice and heat while the bourbon has it’s own unique smoky vanilla flavor.

If you want to make this a keto recipe.

I initially wanted to make this a low carb recipe because that is primarily what I cook these days.

All you need to do it use a sugar free apricot jam. The only reason I didn’t do it today is that I had a hard time finding it in stores.

Had I had more time I would have ordered this Nature’s Hollow apricot jam or Smuckers apricot preserves. I have used both brands and they are very good.

Let’s make our apricot bourbon glazed ham recipe!

First let me say that this is a double glazed ham. I bought a fully cooked spiral-cut ham from Aldi and it was about 10lbs.

1. To make the glaze, add the bourbon, apricot jam, apple cider vinegar and hot pepper flakes to a small pan and use a medium heat.
2. Whisk to combine the apricot jam mixture as it’s heating up and bring to boil. Let it simmer and thicken for 5 – 8 minutes. Take it off the stove and it will thicken up.
3. Place your ham on the baking dish you want to cook it in. Brush the glaze all over the ham. Use about ⅓ or half of the glaze.
4. Cover with aluminum foil and cook for about 2 hours. The baking time is usually 10-12 minutes per pound of ham in a 325°F and an internal temperature of 140°F.
5. About 30 minutes before the ham is done, take it out and use the rest of the glaze on the ham. Place it back in the oven with out the foil but save it for later.
6. When done, tent with foil and let it sit for 5-10 minutes before carving.

This ham had sweetness, heat and that delicious bourbon flavor. My family loved it! Note you can use this delicious glaze as a topping on a sandwich!

Bourbon glazed ham frequently asked questions.

We really enjoyed this apricot bourbon glazed spiral ham. The combination of apricot and bourbon is just delicious!  I’m really enjoying make these homemade ham glazes so look for a new one next Easter!

The nutrtional information for ½ lb of ham with glaze is:
374 calories / 13g fat / 4g carbs / 56.7g protein