Recipes

Maple-Glazed Christmas Ham with Orange & Cinnamon Bark Essential Oils

Name: Maple-Glazed Christmas Ham with Orange & Cinnamon Bark Essential Oils
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 1 h 30 min
Total time: 2 h
Yield: 8 – 10
Ingredients: 1 (approx. 7 kilos) whole leg ham (pre-cooked & bone in); whole cloves (optional for decorating the ham); Glaze Ingredients; 150gm (2/3 cup) butter or coconut oil; ½ cup orange marmalade or apricot jam; ½ cup maple syrup (to taste); ½ cup (60ml) fresh orange juice; ½ tsp sea salt (to taste); ¼ tsp ground cloves (to taste); ¼ tsp ground cinnamon or 1 drop Cinnamon Bark essential oil (to taste); ½ tsp orange zest (optional); 4 drops orange essential oil (to taste)

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This ham recipe is perfect for the holidays with its delicious orange and maple glaze. You can find pre-cooked hams pretty easily during the Christmas holidays from your butcher or most grocery stores. You can even find certified organic hams. We have used a pre-cooked bone in ham, however you can use a boneless ham, if you prefer and the baking time will be less.
If you have leftover try cutting the ham in small cubes/pieces and adding to a frittata, scrambled eggs or thinly slice some for eggs Benedict to serve for brunch the next day or two. You can easily freeze the ham and use later in soups especially split pea, toasties, ham and cheese croissants and fried rice. Freeze in smaller amounts so it’s easy to thaw and use just what you need.
For vegetarians and vegans: This glaze is great when baking any of these choices; sweet potatoes, pumpkin slices, onion slices, baked brie or sliced firm tofu. For a vegan friendly glaze use coconut oil in place of butter.

TIP The ham is technically already cooked when you buy it so you’re just heating it through and crisping up the outside. This should take between 1 hour 15 minutes and 1 hour 30 minutes for a 7 – 8 kg bone-in ham in a 180C oven. If one side of the ham is getting darker than the other, rotate the roasting pan in the oven and cover with baking paper, if needed. When the ham is done baking take it out of the oven and allow it to rest for 10 – 15 minutes and then pierce with a long skewer and look for juices that run clear and a golden, caramelised glaze.

NOTE You’ll need plenty of space in your oven to bake the ham on a lower rack so plan ahead if you are planning on baking other dishes.
When you are trimming off the outer rind of the ham leave as much of the fat layer as possible, but if you trim a little too much it’s ok as you can score the meat a little if you have to and it will still be wonderful.

November 30, 2025

by adminaustralia

Category Recipes

Persons

Serving Size

3-4 slices

Prep Time

30 minutes

Cook Time

1 hour, 30 minutes

Total Time

2 hours

Ingredients

1 (approx. 7 kilos) whole leg ham (pre-cooked & bone in)
whole cloves (optional for decorating the ham)
Glaze Ingredients
150gm (2/3 cup) butter or coconut oil
½ cup orange marmalade or apricot jam
½ cup maple syrup (to taste)
½ cup (60ml) fresh orange juice
½ tsp sea salt (to taste)
¼ tsp ground cloves (to taste)
¼ tsp ground cinnamon or 1 drop Cinnamon Bark essential oil (to taste)
½ tsp orange zest (optional)
4 drops orange essential oil (to taste)

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 180C and prepare a large roasting pan by lining with baking paper and rubbing with butter or coconut oil.
2. Remove the ham from its packaging and pat dry with paper/kitchen towels and set in the prepared roasting pan.
3. To prepare the ham: Using a small sharp knife, cut around ham shank/bone, then run the knife under the skin, around edge of the ham. Gently lift off the skin in one piece by running your fingers between the rind and fat. Discard skin and wrap the shank in in baking paper and tie with baking string. (It may be possible to ask your butcher to prepare the ham for you removing the rind and scoring it).
4. Score the fat in a diamond pattern, approx. 5mm deep being careful not to go to deep down to the meat. Stud the centers of the diamonds with whole cloves. See the baked ham photo for an example of the scoring and cloves.
3. To prepare the glaze: In a medium sauce pan on medium high-heat, heat all the glaze ingredients and stir until well blended and the butter has melted and then remove from heat. You can prepare the glaze 1 – 2 days ahead and refrigerate until you’re ready to bake the ham, you will need to gently reheat the glaze if you have chilled it before using.
4. Using a pastry brush coat the ham well with 1/3 of the glaze and reserve the rest of glaze for basting the ham while is baking (approx. every 20 – 25 minutes) and once when it’s done baking.
5. Place the ham in the oven and bake for 1 hour and 15 – 30 minutes or until heated through and the edges are crispy and golden brown. Remove the ham from the oven and baste with the rest of the glaze. You can stir in another 3 drops of orange oil to the remaining glaze adding a fresh burst of citrus, if you like and then allow the ham to rest for 15 minutes before cutting/serving.
6. Slice the ham and sever with your favourite side like potatoes, veggies and a salad or two.
7. The leftover ham with keep refrigerated for up to 4 – 5 days and if you’re planning on freezing some do it within a day or two of baking.