Holiday Ham with Maple Bourbon Glaze (Recipe) updated 11/4/25

One Straw Ranch hams must be fully cooked - not just reheated. 

But don't worry, it's easy!

In general, you want to cook this ham fairly low and slow until it reaches an internal temperature of about 160 degrees. This will give you a tender, sliceable roast.

At 350 degrees, this takes approximately 30 minutes per pound. 

If you have the time, cooking as low as 250 degrees will give even more time for the fat to render deliciously through the meat. A slow cooker works great.

To  ensure the ham will stay moist, cook it covered with a bit of water and then remove the cover and turn up the heat for the last few minutes.

This keeps the meat moist and then browns up the top for a beautiful finish.

You can add a glaze or not, as you prefer.

Holiday Ham Recipe

Ingredients

3-4 lb One Straw Ranch Ham

splash of water

Optional Glaze:

2 T bourbon

1 T maple syrup

1 tsp dijon mustard

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Place thawed roast in a roasting pan, fat side up.

Add enough water to just cover the bottom of the pan, and cover with foil.

For a tender, sliceable ham, roast until the internal temperature reaches 160 degrees, approximately 30 minutes per pound. A 3.75 lb roast will take a little over 2 hours.

At this point, the ham will be cooked through and is ready to eat, but it will not have a nice brown crust.

Finishing the ham - you can brown the ham as-is without a glaze, but adding a glaze adds a flair of holiday flavor to a special meal. Use my glaze recipe or your own favorite.

To make the optional Glaze: while the roast is cooking, whisk together in a small saucepan the bourbon, maple syrup and mustard.

Heat over medium high, stirring, until the glaze reduces a bit and becomes slightly syrupy. Be attentive - there's not much liquid here and it can burn - it only takes a few minutes.

Next, remove the roast from the oven. Turn the heat up to 450 degrees.

Remove the foil, then cut the twine and carefully remove it from the ham.

Brush the top and sides with the glaze before returning to the oven to finish browning.

Roast uncovered until the top has browned nicely - check every 5 minutes. 

It took 10-15 minutes for the ham pictured below. It could have used a little more time to brown more thoroughly. Tent with foil and let set 10 minutes before slicing and serving.

Kitchen Tip - Don't discard those pan juices! Pour the remaining cooking liquid into a jar to cool in the refrigerator and save it to make ham and beans!

Enjoy!

Note: If you see a small lighter circle in the center of the roast - as seen in this picture - no worries.

Our hams are a small-batch, handmade, artisan product - which naturally results in variation. Sometimes the brine does not quite make it through the entire roast.

This is purely aesthetic and does not affect the quality of the ham. Your roast will still be perfectly delicious!

For a little inspiration, check out this recipe review from a happy customer:

Charlotte hit the nail on the head with this recipe. I make my own stocks, so with a tiny splash of water to the baking dish, I added a frozen cube of pork stock, (made from OSR bones). Then I cooked my 3.1 lb. One Straw Ranch ham roast at 280 degrees for 2 hours 40 minutes, and it came out perfectly at 175 degrees, and super soft and tasty. . Next time I would add 150% of the specified ingredients for f the glaze, and to apply it both before and during the final broiling  stage, i.e. a second coat. it's a great glaze, perfect proportions. After a 10 minute rest, the ham sliced thinly with a very sharp chef's knife.   I froze the drippings and a few ounces of ham in a container for a future use in f ham and beans..Delightful.  Thank to One Straw Ranch!!- Bill Higgins, Port Townsend

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