Raspberry Chipotle Glazed Ham: A simple roast dressed up in a shiny, ruby-hued finish

Raspberries, brown sugar, red wine vinegar and aromatics simmer into a shiny glaze for basting a bone-in ham roast until it’s perfectly shellacked. Any leftover ham is great to use in eggs Benedict, a breakfast hash or the most epic ham sandwich.

Tip: This recipe makes 12 to 16 servings. If you’d like to scale that back for a roast that serves 6 to 8 people, for a smaller gathering, purchase a 4 pound ham and reduce roasting time to 1 ½ to 2 hours. You can save extra glaze for coating ribs, chicken thighs, pork chops, meatballs or for sides like sweet potato wedges.

Raspberry Chipotle Glazed Ham

Ingredients

• 4 cups frozen raspberries (one 400 g bag)
• ⅔ cup granulated sugar
• ⅔ cup brown sugar
• ¼ cup red wine vinegar
• 3 tbsp orange juice
• 2 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, minced or 1 ½ tsp ground chipotle powder (adjust to taste)
• 1 shallot, halved
• 1 sprig fresh rosemary
• 1 cinnamon stick, about 3-inches
• ½ tsp salt
• ½ tsp coarsely ground black pepper
• 1 tsp orange zest
• 8 lb cooked, bone-in ham (rump or shank)

Preparation

First, make the glaze: In a medium saucepan, combine the raspberries, both sugars, vinegar, orange juice, chipotle, shallot halves, rosemary, cinnamon stick, salt and pepper. Set the pan over medium heat and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer, stirring often, for 8 to 10 minutes or until it’s a deep red and has thickened. Remove from heat, cover and let stand for 3 minutes. Carefully strain the sauce into a bowl and discard the solids. Stir in the orange zest. Measure out ½ cup and reserve for serving. 

Preheat the oven to 325F degrees and arrange the rack in the centre position. Using a sharp knife, score the ham into a diamond pattern using ½-inch diagonal cuts. Arrange flat-side-down, in a large roasting pan. Add enough water to cover the bottom of the pan and come ¼ inch up the sides. Brush the ham with half of the glaze. 

Bake, basting every 30 minutes, for 2 to 2 ½ hours or until the ham is shiny and sticky, and the internal temperature registers 160F degrees on a meat thermometer when inserted into the centre of the roast (away from the bone). Tent with foil and let stand for 10 minutes. Then carve the roast into slices, arrange on a platter and serve with the reserved glaze. 

Yield: Makes 12 to 16 servings

Sabrina is owner and Chief Culinary Officer of SF Creative Culinary Services, an all-inclusive content marketing agency, based just outside Toronto serving food & beverage brands all over the world. Follow along on Instagram @sf_creativeculinaryservices.