This marmalade glazed Christmas ham is a festive Australian tradition that’s simple to master. With just three ingredients for the glaze, you’ll create a stunning centrepiece for your Christmas table with a golden, citrusy shine that’ll have everyone coming back for seconds and thirds.
Perfect for hot Australian summer Christmases, this marmalade glazed ham recipe can be served warm or cold and feeds 12 people. Our Food Director Fran Abdallaoui walks you through every step in the video tutorial below the recipe – from scoring the fat to achieving that perfect caramelised glaze.
Ingredients
Method
Preheat the oven to 180°C (160°C fan-forced).
Cut through rind about 10cm from shank end of leg in decorative pattern. Run thumb around edge of rind just under skin to remove rind. Start pulling rind from shank end to widest edge of ham and discard rind.
Using sharp knife, make shallow cuts in one direction diagonally across fat at 3cm intervals, then shallow-cut in opposite direction, forming diamonds. Do not cut through top fat or fat will spread apart during cooking.
Stir marmalade, sugar and juice in small saucepan over a low heat until sugar dissolves.
Line a large baking dish with overlapping sheets of baking paper (this will make cleaning the dish easier). Place ham on a wire rack in baking dish. Brush ham well with marmalade mixture and cover shank end with foil.
Bake ham 40 minutes and decorate with cloves. Bake ham a further 40 minutes or until browned all over, brushing occasionally with marmalade glaze during cooking. Serve warm or cold.
Test Kitchen tips
- You can also use lime or blood orange marmalade.
- Rest the ham for about 15 minutes before carving it to allow the juices to be absorbed back into the meat.
- Only carve as much ham as you need, then store the rest. This helps keep the leftover ham moist and makes it last longer.
How to glaze a ham (video)
The beauty of this recipe is its simplicity. You only need a few ingredients for the glaze, and most Australian supermarkets stock pre-cooked leg hams throughout November and December.
Watch our Food Director Fran Abdallaoui’s video below to see the complete process, including her expert tips on removing the rind and storing your ham to keep it moist for up to two weeks.
You’ll need these…
Why you’ll love this marmalade glazed ham recipe
Easy citrus glaze: Just marmalade, brown sugar, and orange juice create a sweet-tart glaze with minimal effort. No complicated ingredients or techniques required.
Foolproof method: Our step-by-step video shows you exactly how to score and glaze like a pro, even if it’s your first time making Christmas ham.
Make-ahead friendly: Glaze and bake your ham on Christmas Eve and serve it cold the next day, freeing up your oven and reducing Christmas Day stress.
Feeds a crowd: A 7kg leg ham serves 12 people with plenty of leftovers for Boxing Day sandwiches and these delicious leftover ham recipes.
Test Kitchen approved: This marmalade glazed ham recipe has been perfected by The Australian Women’s Weekly Test Kitchen, trusted by Australian families for over 90 years.
Do you take skin off ham before glazing?
You take the ham rind off before glazing as this part is not edible, which means you’d also miss out on enjoying a crisp, delicious glaze if you didn’t remove it. When you’re taking the rind off the ham, make sure you leave as much of the fat on the meat as possible.
Food Director Fran Abdallaoui also suggests you could keep the rind that you remove and use it to store the ham, if you don’t have a ham bag.
“Once you’ve glazed your ham and you’ve carved as much as you need, [the rind] is really fantastic to keep the ham that you’re going to store very, very moist,” she said.
“So give that a rinse and then just keep it for later.”
You can watch Fran glaze a ham and get more tips in the video here, too.
How to keep leftover Christmas ham in the fridge
To store ham on the bone it needs to be wrapped in a seasoned cloth. Ideally, a clean tea towel, a clean pillowcase, large piece of calico fabric, or a purpose-made ham bag.
Rinse your cloth of choice in a solution of two cups white vinegar and two litres of water and allow it to dry before wrapping the whole ham in the fabric before storing in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.
Of course, around Christmas it can be hard to find room in the fridge to accommodate a whole ham leg.
If this is the case, you can remove the meat from the bone in large chunks and store, wrapped in plastic and then foil, in the fridge or freezer.
