Honey Baked Ham (Glazed)
Singapore-style honey-glazed baked ham — a sticky, caramelised oven roast perfect for festive family makan or zi char-style sharing.
About this dish
This Honey Baked Ham (Glazed) is the kind of show-stopping centrepiece you’ll see on a Singapore festive table — think Christmas dinner in an HDB living room, a weekend potluck at East Coast Park, or a hotel-style buffet in Tiong Bahru. Using a bone‑in, pre-cooked ham and a sticky honey-brown sugar glaze studded with cloves, the result is sweet, savoury and slightly caramelised, with a glossy crackle that’s irresistibly sliceable.
Locals will appreciate how easy it is to pick up a ready-smoked ham from Cold Storage or FairPrice and turn it into something special without fuss. The method is straightforward: score the skin, stud with whole cloves, slow-roast to warm through and baste repeatedly with a honey-mustard glaze, then finish under high heat for that lacquered exterior. The flavour balances sweet honey, mellow brown sugar, tangy mustard and a hint of citrus — exactly the kind of comfort profile Singaporeans love alongside rice, roast veg or even a cheeky slice in a kopi-shop sandwich.
Serve this ham for family-style sharing at Deepavali, Christmas, birthdays or a multi-generational reunion in the heartlands. Leftovers are great in fried rice, omelettes or sliced thin for kaya‑toast-style sammies in the morning — a local twist on Western leftovers. The recipe below walks you through scoring, glazing and carving like a pro, with tips for buying ham locally and adjusting sweetness for Singapore palates.
Ingredients
- 1 bone-in smoked ham, about 2.5–3.0 kg (pre-cooked)
- 150 g clear honey (preferably local wildflower or multi-flower honey)
- 100 g light brown sugar, packed
- 2 tbsp Dijon mustard or English mustard
- 1 tbsp whole-grain mustard (optional for texture)
- 60 g unsalted butter, melted
- 120 ml pineapple juice (or orange juice as alternative)
- 2 tbsp dark soy sauce (adds colour and umami) or 1 tbsp light soy for lower sodium
- 1 tsp Chinese five-spice powder (optional local twist)
- 20–30 whole cloves for studding
- Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- Zest of 1 orange (adds bright citrus lift)
- Pineapple rings and maraschino cherries for garnish (optional)
- Aluminium foil and a shallow roasting pan with rack (not an ingredient but essential)
- Parsley or coriander leaves for garnish
Step-by-Step Method
- Preheat oven to 160°C (fan). Remove ham from packaging and pat dry. If the ham has a thick rind, trim excess skin leaving about 5 mm of fat.
- Score the fat in a diamond pattern with a sharp knife, about 1 cm apart—don’t cut into the meat. Stud each diamond intersection with a whole clove.
- Place the ham on a rack set in a shallow roasting pan. Pour 120 ml water (or a mix of water and pineapple juice) into the pan to keep the ham moist while it heats.
- Make the glaze: in a saucepan combine honey, brown sugar, melted butter, Dijon mustard, pineapple juice, dark soy sauce, orange zest and five-spice (if using). Bring to a gentle simmer until sugar fully dissolves and mixture is glossy, about 3–5 minutes. Keep warm.
- Brush a generous layer of glaze over the scored ham. Cover loosely with foil and roast at 160°C for about 60–75 minutes for a 2.5–3 kg pre-cooked ham, or until internal temperature reaches 60–65°C (for pre-cooked). If using a raw ham, cook to 71°C internal.
- Every 20 minutes, remove foil and baste the ham with more glaze (use a spoon or brush) and re-cover to build layers of flavour. Tip: reserve about 1/3 of the glaze for the final finish.
- Increase oven to 220°C (or switch to grill/broil) for the last 8–12 minutes. Brush with remaining glaze and caramelise the surface until deeply golden and sticky — watch closely to avoid burning.
- Remove ham from oven and tent with foil. Let rest for 15–20 minutes to allow juices to redistribute — this makes carving easier and slices neater.
- Carve against the grain into thin slices using a sharp carving knife. Arrange on a platter with pineapple rings and parsley, spooning any pan jus over the top.
- Leftovers: refrigerate sliced ham in an airtight container for up to 4 days. Reheat gently in the oven at 160°C with a splash of pineapple juice or pan-fry slices in a hot wok for fried rice or omelettes.
Tips & Serving Ideas
- Buy a pre-cooked smoked bone-in ham from FairPrice, Cold Storage or Sheng Siong to save time; the recipe is designed for reheating and glazing rather than cooking raw pork.
- If you prefer less sweetness for Singapore tastes, reduce brown sugar by 25% or swap half the honey for orange juice; taste the glaze before brushing.
- Use a probe thermometer to check doneness: 60–65°C for pre-cooked ham (just to warm through), 71°C if cooking raw. This prevents overcooking and dryness.
- To get a lacquered finish, reserve part of the glaze for the final minutes under high heat or grill — but watch carefully as sugars can burn quickly.
- Make-ahead: glaze and roast the ham earlier in the day, then reheat at 160°C for 20–30 minutes before serving. Leftover slices work brilliantly in fried rice, sandwiches or a quick wok-fried noodle dish.
- For extra local flair, serve with achar (pickled vegetables) or a tangy pineapple chilli relish to cut through the sweetness.
You might also like
More recipes to save for later.
