By Eric Kim
Updated Oct. 11, 2023
- Total Time
- 3½ hours
- Prep Time
- 5 minutes
- Cook Time
- 3 hours 25 minutes
- Rating
- 4(116)
- Notes
- Read community notes
Though this retro classic — bejeweled with rings of canned pineapple, cloves and maraschino cherries — is still beloved and can be found on many holiday tables, using fresh fruit and a punchy, sweet-tart glaze results in a much brighter pineapple flavor. Baking a bone-in half ham, cut side down in a lagoon of pineapple juice, means the sweet juice infuses the pork as the ham releases some of its saltiness into the liquid. Don’t bother decorating the outside of your ham with fresh pineapple, as the enzymes in the fruit will turn the meat to mush. Instead, add slices to the pan in the final moments of glazing, which burnishes the meat’s diamond scoring that mimics a pineapple’s quilted peel.
Featured in: Pineapple and Ham Belong Together
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Ingredients
Yield:12 servings
- 1bone-in, fully cooked unsliced half ham (7½ to 10 pounds)
- 2cups canned pineapple juice
- 1pineapple (see Tip)
- 6packed tablespoons dark brown sugar
- 6tablespoons lemon juice (from 2 lemons)
- 1½tablespoons Dijon mustard
- Freshly ground black pepper or ground cloves
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (12 servings)
823 calories; 56 grams fat; 20 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 27 grams monounsaturated fat; 7 grams polyunsaturated fat; 24 grams carbohydrates; 2 grams dietary fiber; 35 grams sugars; 55 grams protein; 3961 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
Step
1
Position a rack near the bottom of the oven and heat the oven to 325 degrees. Using a sharp paring knife, make parallel cuts across the surface of the ham, about a ½-inch deep and 1 inch apart, then repeat in the opposite direction to create a diamond pattern.
Step
2
Place the ham in a large roasting pan, cut side down, and pour over the pineapple juice. Cover the ham with parchment, then cover the pan tightly with foil. Bake until the ham is heated through, 2 to 2½ hours. The internal temperature should reach 135 degrees, which takes about 15 minutes per pound.
Step
3
While the ham cooks, trim the top and bottom off the pineapple, then cut off the peel. Halve the pineapple from top to bottom, then slice into ½-inch-thick half moons. Using a small circular cookie cutter or small knife, cut out and discard the core.
Step
4
Carefully remove the ham from the oven and raise the temperature to 425 degrees.
Step
5
Uncover the ham and ladle out 2 cups of the liquid into a large skillet. Add the brown sugar, lemon juice, mustard and a few generous grinds of black pepper or a pinch of cloves to the skillet and bring to a boil over high heat to make the glaze. Cook, whisking occasionally, until the glaze is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, 15 to 20 minutes.
Step
6
Scatter the pineapple around the pan. Using a spoon or a brush, apply half of the glaze all over the surface of the ham and some over the pineapple slices. Bake, uncovered, until the glaze is bronzed, 8 to 12 minutes. Transfer the ham to a cutting board to rest for at least 15 minutes before slicing and serving with the pineapple and extra glaze.
Tip
- In some markets, you can buy fresh pineapple already peeled, cored and sliced in the refrigerated produce section. You can use that as a shortcut here or prepare a pineapple as detailed in step 3.
Ratings
4
out of 5
116
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Cooking Notes
stephanie
while pineapple does contain an enzyme that tenderizes meat, it absolutely will not turn an entire ham (!!) esp one beneath a thick layer of skin and fat, to mush. that's ridiculous and those of us that have been cooking & eating pineapple studded hams for ages know it doesn't result in mushy ham. if this were true you wouldn't suggest cooking the ham in the juice, cut side down at that. the rest of the recipe is legit, but i just don't understand why that was put in the headnotes.
Ellen
Note that most pineapple studded hams are made with canned pineapple, and the canning process kills the enzyme.
Chuck
My wife's extended family has a long tradition of a special ham dinner.They soak the city ham overnight and then follow this recipe reserving the pineapple slices separately as a side. The juices from the ham are made into gravy with a mixture of flour/water added slowly to the pan over low heat bringing it to a boil while the ham rests. Served with mashed potatoes.
Eric Kim
Thanks for the input, Stephanie. One question: Were those hams studded with fresh pineapple rings? Also, please note that the pineapple juice I call for is canned, not fresh (for good reason). I talk about this in the accompanying column: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/23/dining/pineapple-ham-recipes.html
Susy
I read this recipe two days ago and couldn’t stop thinking about it. I made it tonight, almost to the letter, and it was scrumptious beyond belief. I just drained the pan of almost all the jus to make the glaze and not just the two cups in the recipe. Plenty more came out during resting and burnishing. Just too delicious. Thank you!
Tammi
Because it takes time for 7-10 pounds of ham to "just" heat."The internal temperature should reach 135 degrees, which takes about 15 minutes per pound."
Bkln Mom
I made this for Christmas with a small (4.6 lb), locally grown, smoked and cured heirloom ham. Wasn't super salty, but also wasn't super wet like a city ham, so maybe it defies categorization. Point is that I used Eric's 15 minutes/lb for cooking time and at 1.5 hours, it was not enough. Still cold inside and the fat did not render. Took the full 2.5 hours (we ate the sides for dinner, ham was too late). Time it to render the fat, not heat the inside!
Amber
Used a fresh Maui pineapple for this, and it was a great departure from the same old Christmas ham. In response to Susy's note: if you use more than 2 cups of the liquid, it will take that much longer to boil down the glaze to where it is thick enough. Also: heat will denature enzymes, but this doesn't heat very fast so a good idea to use *canned* pineapple juice and roast the fresh pineapple at the end. I also recommend Eric Kim's pineapple pizza recipe!
RK
I'm not a big fan of ham myself but the half dozen other people who ate this, including some hyper critical eaters, raved about how much they liked it.
Bob
This was sensational. Wouldn’t change a thing.
Doug W.
That is a delicious ham. So simple and better than it has any right to be. It’s one of my favorite things I’ve cooked or eaten in recent months. Seriously can’t wait to make it again. Thank you for this throwback recipe that I had no idea I needed.
Debra
Used a spiraled ham because that's what I had, and canned pineapple slices. Delicious.
sheri
Made this tonight, and it was phenomenal. Did not divert from the recipe.
what went wrong?
Fifteen minutes per pound at 325 led to a overcooked and partially scorched 185 degree ham. What went wrong? Holiday dinner ruined!
Milan
Mindful of Dorothy Parker’s definition of eternity as ‘two people and a ham’, I assume this method works with a small, good-quality boneless ham? Often hard to find a small bone-in one.
LaPoodella
Living in Florida, pineapples are often on sale. I have a pineapple spiral cutter. I also don’t buy canned pineapple juice. So reading that fresh pineapple juice turns ham to mush, I used brown sugar, mustard powder and apple cider vinegar for my glaze 20 minutes before finishing the ham. I didn’t cover the ham. I cooked it in a convection oven at 320 degrees. I do wish the NYTimes would put in temperatures and times for convection ovens as they are becoming more and more common.
AC
Do you change up anything if your ham is already spiral cut?
Dan
I am wondering the same thing. It has gotten way more difficult to find non-spiral sliced hams the last couple years. This Easter I called Bristol Farms, Whole Foods, Sprouts, and the local butcher shop and most of them said they don't get them in any more and one legit laughed at me "no one wants those"Super frustrating.
LaPoodella
I do not like spiral hams. Just like I do not like seedless watermelon. The seeds are a pain, but the fruit is sweeter. Spiral hams are no easier to cut and when you get close to the bone they are awful. Also, some of us like thickly sliced ham. I found an unsliced ham on sale at Winn Dixie. I noticed Target had them even cheaper.
Caron
Simply delicious. The leftovers are scrumptious too. Definitely a keeper
Caron
Delicious. It was a hit. The leftovers were divine too. Will make again.
NA
Can I start that same recipe with gammon? (when you say ham, do you mean al already cooked one?)
Richard
The recipe says "fully cooked" ham. Gammon is typically not cooked.
R.V.
So I made an Easter practice version of this, and I have some thoughts...First and foremost, it's Easter, and we all know Jesus was a Jew, so I had to sub the ham for lamb, cause Jesus would never eat ham. Then I read the "tip" about store bought sliced pineapple, and I thought, jeez NYT, I can do you one better! I just got a couple of cans of CRUSHED PINEAPPLE and used it for the marinade AND the glaze!! Boom, it worked like a charm! Add cheese and Hawaiian buns and I made it perfect for you!
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