Follow our complete, step-by-step, photo illustrated recipe to make this old Southern favorite style of glazed ham. Perfect for Sunday dinner, or any holiday get together.
Coca-Cola Glazed Ham recipe
Our favorite Southern style Glazed Ham.
Using Coca-Cola to make a glaze for a ham may sound a bit strange if you’re not from the South. Around here though, we use one of our favorite sodas several different ways. Ever heard of a Coca-Cola cake?
It really does give a good flavor to the glaze and it’s somewhat hard to describe. You get a little taste of the carbonated soda, along with the sugary taste of the glaze and the saltiness of the ham. I use just a bit of Apple Cider Vinegar for a very lite tartness as well. I think you’ll enjoy it if you decide to try it.
We’re using a fully cooked Butt Ham Portion for the recipe. We’re basically just heating it up and applying the glaze along the way for added flavor enhancement.
My family has pretty much given up on the spiral glazed hams. They just seem to dry out so quickly as they heat up, even if you watch the temp really close.
Besides, with ham this way, you can cut a slice as thick as you like. Now that’s really good.
I can enjoy a slice or two with a meal, but I much prefer the leftovers and placing some ham between two slices of white loaf bread. Add a little Duke’s Mayonnaise on the ham and you’ve made this old Southern boy a happy camper. Just saying.
You might even be able to squeeze out enough of the leftovers to make our Ham Salad.
Ready to try some? Alright then, grab a can of Coke and head to the kitchen.
Let’s Get Cooking!
Coca-Cola Glazed Ham. You’ll need these ingredients.
I’m using a fully cooked, bone in, butt ham portion for this particular recipe. You could use a whole ham or a ham shank as well. This is what was on sale in my area at the time, and at .97 cents a pound, you can’t pass up a deal like that. Smile.
Even though you could eat it as is, we’re going to heat it up to 145F degrees and brush it with our glaze several times along the way prior to serving.
Coca-Cola is the preferred favorite for making ham glaze here in the South. But, we’re open to some others as well. May I suggest you try it sometime with Cheerwine or Pepsi-Cola for a slightly different flavor. They’re all good.
Unwrap the ham and place it in a foil lined baking pan, making sure to put the cut side down.
I suggest you remove the ham from your refrigerator for an hour before baking so it can begin to reach room temperature. This way, it will heat up more evenly once it starts baking.
This was my very first experience with a FRICK’S brand ham. As mentioned, it was on sale at one of our local grocery stores and it turned out to be a very good bargain.
I must admit, this particular ham really doesn’t need an additional glaze as it tasted great right out of the package. But, I was intent on adding the cola glaze, so I moved forward with it.
Cover the ham tightly with aluminum foil. This will help keep it from drying out while it’s in the oven.
Place the foil covered ham in your oven, on the lowest rack position.
Let it bake for about one hour.
Coca-Cola Ham Glaze: While the ham is in the oven, go ahead and start making the glaze.
Place the brown sugar in a medium sized sauce pot.
Add the yellow mustard.
If mine looks a little thin, it’s because it IS. I had to rinse out the bottle to get all I had. Turned out to be just enough. Reminder to self: add mustard to the shopping list.
Add the vinegar. This will make it just a little bit tart, but I think you’ll like it.
The ground clove goes in next.
Cloves always remind me of being at my Grandmothers house for some reason. I’ve never really known why, but it must have been that she used it in something we ate at her house.
I only remember eating a couple of things that she prepared as she was on up in years and cooking was getting more difficult for her.
Pour in the Coca-Cola.
Stir everything together and place the pot over Medium heat on your stove top.
Let it come to a slight boil, then REDUCE THE HEAT, and let it simmer for about 15-20 minutes.
Don’t let it boil over. Trust me. You don’t want it to boil over on your stove top. It might become a sticky mess that is hard to clean up. Just saying. I’m not admitting that it happened with me, but it COULD have happened.
So much for a pot not boiling over with a wooden spoon laying across the top.
Stir it often and let it thicken up some to make a nice glaze.
After one hour in the oven.
Remove the foil from the ham and baste it with a good coating of the glaze.
Leave the foil off the ham and return it to the oven.
You will want to let the ham continue to warm up, basting it every 20-30 minutes until it’s ready to remove from the oven.
Depending on your ham, you might only have to baste it a couple of times before it reaches the needed temp.
Almost there.
Your ham should be allowed to bake until it reaches an internal temperature of 145F degrees.
You can test this with a digital thermometer. Insert the thermometer into the thicker part of the ham, but make sure you’re not hitting the bone.
Once it’s done, remove it from the oven and let it rest for about 15 minutes before carving and serving. This will allow the juices to redistribute through the meat and make it more moist.
Enjoy!
Carve the ham into slices about 1/4 inch thick and serve while warm.
Doesn’t that thick glaze look good? It was. Smile
