Brown Sugar Bourbon Ham is the best way to celebrate the holidays! This ham is full of flavor and the leftovers are as good as it is right out of the oven!
Unwrap the ham and place it down on a cutting board. The skin of the ham should be up, facing you, while the cut side showing the meat should be down.
Use a sharp knife to score the entire surface of the ham, cutting down about 1/2-inch into the skin. Score evenly spaced lines all over the ham in one direction. Turn the ham 90 degrees and score even lines again to create a diamond pattern.
Place the ham on a roasting rack with the scored skin facing up, and then place in a roasting pan. Bake for 1 hour.
In a small mixing bowl, stir together the brown sugar, bourbon, and mustard with a fork until well combined (be sure to break up any sugar lumps).
Carefully remove the ham from the oven. Use a pastry brush to glaze the ham with half of the brown sugar mixture. Be sure to get in all the nooks and crannies and go over the whole ham a couple of times.
Return the ham to the oven and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the ham from the oven and glaze with the remaining half of the brown sugar mixture. Bake for 30 more minutes.
Remove the ham from the oven. Transfer to a cutting board, and cut the ham into slices of your desired thickness.
Serve warm or at room temperature. (It's pretty damn good cold, right out of the fridge too.)
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Notes
If you can't get your hands on Brown Sugar Bourbon, you can substitute whatever bourbon you prefer. Woodford Reserve and Buffalo Trace would both work well in this recipe.
If you buy a spiral cut ham, you do not need to score the outside of the ham.
As a general rule, you want to cook the ham for 15 to 20 minutes per pound. Please adjust your cooking time accordingly for the size ham you purchase.