Sweet Baked Ham
Hands down, this is the best ham I’ve ever had in my life, and I can almost guarantee it will be the same for you. With a completely out-of-the-box cooking method, ham has never been this tender or this delicious!
*Instant Pot Version of this Sweet Baked Ham HERE!*
Does the world really need another recipe for ham? Ham is ham. Right?
How many ways can you really recreate Easter ham, especially when you have a fabulous slow cooker version and an equally fabulous classic version. I mean really.
Well, when your awesome friend, Mel, who has some of the best food judgment ever, sends you a recipe for sweet baked ham, stating it is the best ham ever, you decide you definitely have room in your heart for another ham recipe.
You guys. I have never had ham like this. Ever. I don’t even know how to describe it in a way that will convince you it’s life-changing. It is incredible.
What makes sweet baked ham so amazing
Here’s where this ham recipe differs from every other traditional baked ham recipe out there.
You take a bone-in ham (not spiral sliced!) and boil it in two parts water to one part white vinegar for a few hours. Stick with me here, because I was skeptical, too.
You definitely want to use a large pot that can accommodate the ham AND the liquid (you’ll need vinegar and water to cover). A lot will depend on the size of ham you have.
What type of ham to use
For this recipe, there are two factors that are really important:
- do NOT use a spiral sliced ham. You want a ham that is not sliced or else it won’t shred easily (and will be dry)
- try to find a bone-in ham; it will be more tender as it cooks. However, several people in the comment thread have used unsliced boneless hams and reported back with decent results. So this criteria isn’t as important as the spiral sliced advice.
I usually look for shank hams – that’s what my grocery store carries that fits this criteria. Bone-in and unsliced.
As the ham cooks in the vinegar/water mixture, the meat becomes super tender. Like, fall off the bone tender.
Yes, your house will smell like vinegar. It’s not the worst thing in the world, but if it bothers you, open a window and turn on the vent above your stove, or do what my friend Mel does and use an outdoor propane stove (pretty good idea if you have one).
The exact cooking time will depend on the size of the ham and how high the heat is during cooking, but you want to cook the ham until it is so tender, it’s basically shredding itself for you.
I let the ham cool until I can carefully extricate it from the pot and put it on a sheet pan or a large cutting board. (The sheet pan is nice because it contains all the juices.)
And then I pull the meat off the bone and shred into pieces.
Make-Ahead Tip
This step can be done several days ahead of time! Cook the ham, shred it, and place the meat in the refrigerator until you are ready to assemble and bake.
When ready to bake, layer the ham with a mixture of brown sugar and dry mustard.
The shredded ham bakes for about an hour. It’ll come out of the oven tender as can be coated in a succulent, sweet sauce that contrasts beautifully with the tangy ham.
This sweet baked ham is unbelievably delicious, it’s unreal. I promise I’m not overselling this. It’s amazing. I’ve been making ham this way for years now, and it’s the only way we like our Easter ham anymore!
If you want a new ham recipe to knock the socks off you and your guests, this is the one.
Sweet Baked Ham FAQ’s:
- Can I make this with a boneless ham? I prefer using a bone-in ham (I look for a shank ham usually) – it cooks up the most tender, but a boneless ham will work as long as it isn’t already spiral sliced.
- Can I make this in the Instant Pot? Yep! Instant Pot directions here. I use the Instant Pot for cooking the ham until it is shreddable and then cook the shredded ham with the brown sugar mixture in the oven (although you could probably throw it all back in the Instant Pot and warm it that way).
- Can I cook the ham in the vinegar and water in the slow cooker? I haven’t tried this, but in the comments several people have and say it works great (as long as your ham fits in the slow cooker).
- Can this sweet baked ham be made ahead of time? Yes! The ham can be boiled and shredded several days in advance and refrigerated. It can also be assembled with the brown sugar/mustard mixture a day ahead of time. I think it is best baked right before serving.
- Can the shredded and baked ham be frozen? Yes! We freeze the leftovers of this ham all the time.
- What if my ham isn’t falling apart tender after cooking? Add more time and more liquid as needed.
What to Serve With This
- Tender biscuits like these Buttermilk Biscuits or Cream Biscuits
- Homemade Baked Tater Tots
- Classic Deviled Eggs
Sweet Baked Ham
Ingredients
- 5-7 pound precooked bone-in ham (see note)
- White distilled vinegar
- Water
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1 ½ tablespoons ground dry mustard
Instructions
- Place the ham in a large pot (larger than you think – the liquid is splashy while cooking) and cover with 2 parts water to 1 part vinegar until the ham is covered by at least an inch or two of liquid.
- Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce the heat to medium and continue to simmer vigorously for 2-3 hours, until the meat easily falls off the bone. Add more time, as needed until the meat is tender. Also if the liquid reduces, add more during cooking so the ham stays mostly covered.
- When finished cooking, carefully remove the ham from the pot to a rimmed sheet pan, discarding the liquid. Let the ham cool until it is easier to remove the meat from the bones.
- In a small bowl, stir together the brown sugar and mustard.
- Shred the ham, discarding the fat and bones, and place half of the ham in a 9X9-inch baking dish (or a similar size). Sprinkle half of the brown sugar mixture over the ham. Layer the rest of the ham on top and sprinkle with the remaining brown sugar mixture.
- Cover the dish tightly with foil and bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Notes
Recommended Products
Recipe Source: from my friend with impeccable food tastes, Mel B.
Thank you sharing such an amazing ham recipe. My family absolutely loved it! I actually served it with your favorite yummy BBQ sauce recipe. SO GOOD!
Hi Mel,
I’m thinking of making this for a family reunion dinner coming up (with your cousin-in-law/my sister, Amy!) and eating it on rolls or biscuits. We have 12 adults and 16 kids (28 total), and I’m just not sure how much ham I need for that many people. Do you have any thoughts on this? Thanks!
Hi Heidi! It’s always hard to know how much to cook for big groups like that. The ham will go a long way if served on rolls (vs eating it on its own with a side of potatoes or something like that). How big of a ham can you get? Because I always worry about running out, I’d probably do two average sized shank hams (bone-in). That should be plenty!
Thanks, Mel! You’re the greatest!
BOOYAH. So delicious. We made this for dinner and I love it with all my heart. I asked my husband if we could put it into the monthly dinner rotaysh and he said we could eat it daily. Thanks for all your awesome recipes–they are always a success.
Yessssss!
GG and Barbara thank you for your replies. I put the lid on partially. Followup on the ham, Mel it was outrageously delicious! Many compliments today about the ham. Even members of my family who are not huge ham fans loved it. It is definitely a real keeper!
Glad it was a hit, Pam! Sorry I didn’t get to your comment earlier, we had company in town this weekend for Easter. I agree, though – I boil it partially covered.
No problem at all Mel. It was such a hit that my daughter (who is not a big fan of ham) asked me to make it as one of her dishes for her wedding reception. I am so glad I found your site just recently, I look forward to trying many recipes. Thank you for your hard work and dedication to us foodies! 🙂
Making ahead this ham for Easter Sunday and I should have asked earlier, I wanted to make sure I understood correctly…you do not put a lid on the pot but just boil the ham and add water/vinegar mix as needed?
I put a cover on partially and it works fine. I have made this many times and its now Easter (Christmas, New Years etc.) tradition. So delicious and a bargain to boot!
This is a little late for today’s dinner, but I completely covered mine since it is too cold here to open the windows very wide or for very long…. I also used a spiral sliced ham. It was 12 lbs, and I boiled it for an hour and a half. It worked fine. It’s delicious!
I am making this for the 3rd time in a year. I just LOVE this recipe! My mother in law actually gave me the go ahead to make the ham this year for Easter, which is a huge compliment. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe! My family just loves the flavor.
Hi Mel! I have really been enjoying your pressure cooker recipes and would love your feedback on converting this awesome recipe to work in my instant pot. I am assuming I would still cover with the water/vinegar mixture. How long would you suggest cooking it for? Thanks!
Hey Kelsey! I was actually going to do the same thing this week. I’m going to use a much smaller cut of ham (probably boneless) and still use the same proportion of vinegar to water to cover the ham and then pressure cook it on high for 20 minutes. I’ll let you know how it goes!
Hi Mel, did you end up trying this with the smaller, boneless ham in the Instant Pot? I’ve been eyeing this recipe on your site for awhile now, but have never managed to find a bone-in, not-already-spiral-cut ham! I just recently bought an Instant Pot and would love to try out your recipe in it for Christmas with my family, but with limited ham options and no Instant Pot experience whatsoever, I’d love to know how yours turned out before stumbling my way through it!
I posted an Instant Pot update to this recipe here:
http://www.melskitchencafe.com/sweet-baked-ham-how-to-cook-in-the-instantpot/
I’ve made this recipe at least twice and my family LOVES it!! I’m planning to make it for Christmas dinner this year but I have someone coming who is allergic to mustard. Have you ever done it without the mustard? Do you think it would taste as good?? Or is there a good substitute for the dry mustard? Thanks in advance!
I haven’t tried it without the mustard, Rachel. I think it needs a contrast to the sweetness of the brown sugar. You might try vinegar?
I made this ham when I hosted thanksgiving last year and it was a huge hit but I forgot to save the recipe. I was just asked last night to bring it tomorrow. I have been googling using various search terms for probably an hour and I’m so happy I finally found this recipe again! I’m definitely saving it this time because I’m pretty sure it’s now my signature Thanksgiving dish lol
My picky kids will eat this whole ham before it’s on the table – combined with home made buttermilk biscuits it becomes heaven on a plate. Hog heaven?
Mel, I put the ham on the stove to boil it and while it was boiling my hubs walked in the kitchen and when he saw I was boiling the ham, he looked at me as though I’d grown an extra head!!!! He walked away saying he trusted me, but I could tell he was thinking of where we could eat dinner tonight if I’d ruined our ham.
Fast forward to the shredding stage, when I asked him to shred it for me. He was pleasantly surprised that it was still tasty and I hadn’t boiled the flavor out of the ham. I can’t wait to taste it after it cooks in all that sugar!! I’m sure he’ll be raving for weeks!!
Thanks for the yummy meals!!! So often I meal plan solely from your site. Please, never stop!! 🙂
Mel, we made this Sunday and it was divine! We loved it. We have a powerstove and cooked it outside like you recommended, which was nice, and the flavor was awesome. I actually ran out of dry mustard, so I used half wet and added some water to the mixture since it wouldn’t sprinkle very well, worked great. We made some yummy pizza with the leftovers last night, I’ll share the recipe with you soon. 🙂
I could only find a 10 lb fresh uncooked ham. How long should I boil it in the water/vinegar mixture?
To be honest, Rachel, I’m not sure. I’ve never cooked a completely uncooked, fresh ham. You might try googling to see how long a ham like that needs to safely cook.
Help! Getting a head start on this lovely ham for Sunday. I have a 10-pound bone-in ham that I boiled today for three hours. When it came time to shred it, about two-thirds of it came apart easily and appears moist and delicious, ready for the second stage in the oven. The rest of the meat is not as tender and won’t shred as easily. I was in a hurry and tossed these less tender chunks of meat into a covered bowl to deal with later. Should I just cut these portions down with a knife and proceed with the recipe, or should they go back into a boil for a while? Any advice?
Hey Tami – if it were me, I’d cut the larger pieces down and just use them in the recipe. Have you tasted them? If they are juicy and tender, they should be fine (even if they aren’t shredding quite as easily).
After boiling so long in the vinegar and water can the ham bone still be used to make ham broth for beans or soup? When I brine a turkey the carcass is too salty to make stock. I wonder if that will be the case here as well.
Good question; I’m not entirely sure since I’ve never repurposed it for soup since I had the same concerns about the flavor/taste.
Mel,
This is probably a silly question but I want to be sure that I’m getting the right ham. I’m buying an “uncooked” bone-in ham, correct?
Thank you ,
Hi Linda – I always buy a cured bone-in ham (it’s really hard to find an uncooked ham so most hams sold in the grocery stores are precooked/cured).
I made this yesterday as a trial run for Easter. It is soooooooooo good! I can’t wait for our whole family to try it.
Great….Thanks! Will try this method over the weekend.
Just wondering how long you cooked the Ham in the slow cooker? I always have to borrow my mothers large stock pot to cook this ham on the stove, however I have an extra large slow cooker that would fit a big ham wonderfully. Also, did you use the same ratio of water/vinegar and enough to cover the ham?? Thanks!
Hey Anne – yes, I use the same water to vinegar ratio; last time I cooked it about 8 hours on low but you can really play around with cooking time (different slow cookers can cook hotter or cooler than others).
This ham took us about 3 days to get around to eating. When I first made my store note, I wrote “bone in ham” forgetting about the weight. So at the store I found only one bone-in ham that wasn’t spiral cut and it was a “shank” it was giant, but I bought it anyway. I compared the poundage to the recipe and was shocked. My ham was 12 pounds. It took almost 2 quarts of vinegar to make an almost 2:1 ratio. I was still short a couple cups of vinegar. (I also used my canning pot) I had no idea how long it would take to cook, but I started at about 12:30pm. A sudden trip to the ER left the ham cooking on the stove the entire time! We got home at 6:30 that night to turn the stove off. most of the water had cooked off, but when I got around to shredding it, it shredded beautifully! (thank goodness! I didn’t like the idea of throwing out $20 worth of ham) but it tasted remarkably like pulled pork. Did cooking it too long do that? or maybe the cut? or too much vinegar? Just wondering, should I try this recipe another time, with a normal sized ham.
Sorry to hear about an ER visit! Hope everything is ok. I think the texture/taste of your ham was probably affected by the 6 hour cooking time. The longest I’ve ever simmered the ham for is a little over 2 hours and I think the longer it boils the more it will take on a “jerky” like taste and texture. I just made this a couple days ago with a bone-in shank-cut ham but it wasn’t a 12-pounder – it fit into my large slow cooker. Hopefully you’ll like it better if you can find a smaller ham or even if you do get a large ham, sticking with the 2 hour boiling time as much as possible.
Can I use a fresh, un-cured ham for this recipe? Should I change cooking times?
To be honest, I’m not really sure, April, since those types of hams are impossible to find in my area and I’ve never used one. You might need to google or search online for cooking/boiling times for fresh, uncooked hams. Good luck!
I also used a spiral cut ham I found marked down. I boiled in the vinegar-water mix for just 2 hours. Nicely shreds but I will cook a bit less next time since some of the thinner cuts were a bit dry. I noticed they got a bit moister during the baking step. I have made this ham and variations 4 times now. It gets rave reviews every time and every way. My friend even commented on liking the vinegar smell in the house!
Mel, I just wanted to let you know that I made this for Thanksgiving by cooking it in my crockpot for about 2.5 hours on high (with the same 2:1 ratio of vinegar to water), with a spiral sliced cut. It shredded perfectly. This really is an incredible recipe, just wanted to let you know it can work in a crockpot too!
Thanks for checking in to let us know – glad it worked out great like this!
Do you think this would work well with apple cider vinegar instead of white distilled vinegar? Just curious!
It will change the flavor slightly, but that should work just fine.
I told my mom to get me a ham for this, and she got the wrong one. She got me a smoked pit ham. It’s boneless as well. Do you think it will still work?
I hate to be “that person” who won’t just follow the recipe, but I could not find a non-spiral sliced ham at the store. Do you think we could just cook it for a shorter time?
I’m not certain a spiral sliced ham will shred into the type of texture you’d get if using a non-spiral sliced ham (I’m a little worried, it might all just fall to pieces). Having said that, I haven’t tried it myself so you could definitely experiment. Good luck!
inwas wondering if you have ever tried this recipe in a pressure cooker to reduce time cooked and possibly less liquid?
I haven’t so I’m afraid I won’t be able to offer any advice; I like the thought, though! Good luck experimenting.
Mel, I just have to share with you how you helped make our Wedding day so special. We came across your recipe 6 months ago and KNEW it would be the hit at our backyard rustic early Fall wedding on Sept. 27th and it soooo was! We spent 5 weekends boiling hams, shredding and freezing them. Two days before we thawed them and the day of roasted them in the oven with the sugar mixture. Guests raved about the ham and still talk about it a month later. I feel as if my weekends are incomplete without smelling the savory sweet aroma of ham and vinegar in the air. You have an uncanny way with food which we completely adore. I feel like I need to become like the movie Julie and Julia and cook my way through your repertoire of scrumptious recipes…Today is the shrimp enchiladas and cinnamon roll cake, yes I know they do not go together but I have all the ingredients on hand….Thank You Mel!!!
Oh, Renee – this comment completely put a huge smile on my face! Thank you! What a lot of work to get ham prepared for your wedding; I am super thrilled your guests loved it so much. Thank you for making me feel so great on an average Saturday afternoon!
🙂 Warm fuzzies all around…You are a fabulous cook Mel and my husband and I are enjoying your recipes! Not to mention his co-workers too. Thank you for taking the time in between being a mom and a wife to share your love for food with all of us <3
This is just scrumptious. Have never made ham before and found this amazing in flavour. Thanks for sharing
I’ve been wanting to make this for a long time now but I’m having trouble finding a ham. I’m a total ham novice but the only non spiral hams I can find are smoked. Is that just the way they come or should I be looking for a non smoked shank ham??
That’s ok if the ham is smoked – the most important part is making sure it isn’t spiral sliced.
Could this be frozen after cooking??
Yes, I’ve frozen and then thawed and gently reheated with good results.
So I wish I had gone with the slow cooker idea! I opted for the oven at a low temp for a few hours (since I was away from home for the afternoon), and ended up with dry ham! It tastes okay, but I’ll try the crock pot next time! Thanks for your reply!
Hi Mel. I’m making this ham today and wondering if the baking portion could be done in the slow cooker? Have you tried it? Or maybe baked for a longer time at a lower temp? Thanks!
Vicky – I haven’t tried the baking portion in the slow cooker but actually think it would work just fine as long as it doesn’t get overcooked.
is there ham temperature that i can check for with my thermometer, so to not over cook?
Hi Jim, I’m not sure of the temperature for ham but you might try googling to find out.
I made (and enjoyed) this again yesterday. Just wanted to share an update about what I did with the leftovers- I made this breakfast hash. http://www.plantoeat.com/blog/2011/11/farmers-breakfast-hash/ This ham makes anything it touches magical, and the hash was no exception! 🙂
Yum, Michelle! I love breakfast hash recipes and I bet it was divine with that ham. Thanks for sharing!
Mel, this ham was absolutely DELICIOUS! I made it last weekend and, boy, was it great! This is Bonnie from PTO, by the way 🙂 Really love your site – it’s a frequent reference for me!
I made this for Easter dinner and it was met with groans of delight!! Definitely a keeper!
I made this for Easter dinner. Cooked & shredded the ham 2 days before. My ham shank was almost 9 lbs, and I used about 1 gallon of vinegar and 2 gallons of water. I didn’t increase the glaze mixture, however, the result was still too sweet for our family. I guess we’re not too hip on sweet meat. I did like that method of cooking a ham shank, though, and may try it again with no glaze! I also made your amazing Carrot Sheet Cake with Whipped Cream Frosting – LOVE IT! Thanks for all you do, Mel. Love your blog and your recipes!
I made this today for Easter and it’s delicious every time!! My family just raved! When I said I was making ham I could see it in their faces they weren’t excited. But they really really loved it.
I also made it yesterday. I also made it on Thursday. Need I say more? We’ve been eating it like crazy and I have spoiled my man sending it to work with him for his lunch. He always wants me to make this and he never asks me to repeat ANYTHING and I definitely haven’t three times in a week. That means out of all my years of cooking this goes in top ten all time favorite dishes! Which you monopolize as owning at least 7 of those.
I only wish I could have made the Parker house rolls I planned on, but I was busy and it takes so much time, and bread is the only thing I can’t just read the recipe once and wing it, I have to go back and keep reading again, and being extra careful. But it is divine by itself. This ham really is life changing!
I have to admit I was skeptical so I decided to do it in advance just in case I needed to rush out and get a spiral sliced ham for Easter. I boiled and shredded it yesterday. Mine was an 8.5 lb. ham. I covered my pan with the lid askew so I didn’t lose much liquid. It only took a little over 2 hours before the top bone was exposed. I shredded it, refrigerated it and took it out today to do the glaze. I am no longer a skeptic. I am not really a ham eater, but I believe this recipe has changed my mind. I can’t wait for the family to eat it (if there is any left. I keep sampling) Thanks to you and your friend Mel.
Also, I did mine inside the house and while there was a little hint of a vinegar smell it was not overpowering and there is just a hint of vinegar in the meat that I tasted before baking it with the glaze.
This may be a silly question, but I am in the process of boiling the ham now and have noticed that the liquid is reduced by at least 1/2 (it’s been boiling for 2 hours). Was I supposed to keep adding liquid to keep it covered? As it is, I used 8 cups of water and 4 cups of vinegar for a 6 pound ham. Thanks!
Hi Karen – if the liquid has reduced enough that the ham is pretty exposed without liquid covering it, then yes, gradually add liquid again until the ham is mostly covered.
‘Im thinking of trying this amazing sounding ham this weekend. I wondered if you’ve ever done it in stages? I would like to boil it on Saturday night, shred it and refrigerate it. Then add the glaze ingredients Sunday after church for the final step. Would you advise against this?
Thank you!!
Hi Joanna – yes, you could definitely do this in stages! I’ve done that before…boiling the day before and the refrigerating after it has been shredded. Then top it with the glaze and bake it on Sunday. Should work great!
Hi Mel,
I am going to look for a precooked bone in ham tomorrow when I do my groceries, but my husband is a vegetarian so it would just be for me and thankfully I can freeze it nicely as you pointed out earlier. My question is, if I buy a smaller ham, should I just keep the amounts for everything else the same? Thank you.
Melissa – if your ham is close to the size in the recipe, you should be good, but if it’s half as big, then I would go ahead and decrease everything by half. Good luck!
I don’t think I commented last year, but I made this for Easter and it was so delicious I can’t wait to make it for Easter again! I know… I don’t have to wait for Easter, but I think it might become a tradition now. Thank you!
Just made this yesterday with a 7.5 # ham, it was great. I will try the slow cooker method next time, it sounds convenient. Thanks Mel, my family loved it. And I also talk about your website a lot, and my husband knows exactly who I am talking about when I talk about Mel. 🙂 I am learning a lot from you.
Ann in Indy
Hey Mel! I made this your way 2 weeks ago and it was fabulous! However, we don’t have a camp stove and the smell was rough and it took ALOT of vinegar as my pan was huge in order to fit the ham. Today, I put it in my slow cooker. It was a huge ham so it didn’t require as much vinegar to cover it. I cooked it on high for about 7 hours and the ham was much more tender than on the stove. I am putting it back in the slow cooker with the brown sugar to finish it off. We are having a family Christmas this weekend and I am dumping it all in ziplock bags to munch on all weekend. Thanks for a great recipe. OH, and I have a locking lid on my slow cooker and there was no smell AT ALL (which was the main reason I wanted to try it this way.) By the time it was done, the vinegar was so mixed with ham juice that it didn’t have alot of odor left either. YUM YUM!
Love this, thanks Beth!
I just pull this out of the oven and it is fantastic! I made it ahead of time for tomorrow. I took a risk and used a boneless 5lb dinner ham and it worked perfectly. I cut off the outside dark casing(?) before cooking it and otherwise followed all the instructions as you listed. Thanks Mel!!
Have you heard of anyone doing it with a partially cooked ham? How many versions of ham can there be!
Made this last night for dinner it was delicious!!!!
wow! I’ll never be the same!!