Keto Baked Ham
Keto Baked Ham
Wait until you try this fabulous recipe for Keto Baked Ham! Just because it’s Christmas doesn’t mean you have to miss out on fabulous food because you’re watching your carb intake. When you can enjoy this delicious glazed ham with maple syrup (sugar free), Bourbon and freshly squeezed orange, life is good! These flavours combine to make the most perfect sticky glazed ham that everyone is going to love, low carb or not. Hints of spice together with wonderful sticky crisp edges makes this ham this perfect for your Christmas table. You’ll also get to have fun decorating it to tie in with your Christmas theme.
THE PERFECT SUGAR FREE HAM GLAZE
Glazed baked ham generally contains either honey, brown sugar or maple syrup, which when watching your carb intake is off limits. To make this recipe sugar free I’ve used a sugar free maple syrup, low carb sweetener, Bourbon and the juice of an orange. A hint of garlic, along with mustard and Christmas spices ties this dish together beautifully and makes it worthy of even the finest table. You’ll find the saltiness from the ham and the sweetness of this glaze complement each other so well; it truly is a delicious recipe.
Bourbon is fantastic in this recipe but feel free to switch it out for the same amount of orange juice. Please don’t worry about the carbs in the Bourbon either as it is a low carb spirit. Just make sure you don’t use a sticky bourbon, as it will have added sugar. Use any of the low carb powdered/granulated sweeteners in this recipe, so if you don’t have monkfruit on hand, please don’t stress.
SELECTING YOUR BAKED HAM
When you are following a keto diet, choosing a high quality ham becomes even more important. Try to choose a ham that uses as little amount of sugar in the curing as possible. Ham can be sourced from the supermarket, butchers and specialty stores and generally you pay extra for quality. As it’s Christmas and if you can afford it, you do want to select a quality ham.
Make sure you read the label on your ham so you know what ingredients are used. If you are looking at sugar, and it is higher up in the list ingredient then it contains more sugar. If sugar is the top of the ingredients list you may want to select another leg of ham. If you have the money to be able to afford a nitrate free smoked ham, it would definitely be worth it.
Make sure your ham has the rind on, because underneath the rind there is a beautiful layer off fat. This layer of fat is what turns into a beautiful crispy sticky coating when glazed. This is what makes a Christmas ham look so spectacular.
Allow about 1 kg/35 oz of ham for about 6-8 people. If the ham is your only meat option then you may need to reduce this to about 5 people per kg/35 oz. I have allowed for a large leg of ham in this recipe, but adjust the size if it is too large for you. You will also need to adjust the cooking time if it is smaller to ensure you don’t dry it out by cooking for too long.
TOP TIPS FOR A PERFECT KETO BAKED HAM
- Make sure you get the ham with the rind on as some hams come with the skin and fat removed. You want the layer of fat so you can create patterns in it and it browns up beautifully which is what you want in a Christmas Ham. The recipe is deal for half or whole hams.
- If you use a smaller or larger ham, you will need to adjust the cooking time accordingly. Because the ham is already cooked and you are effectively just reheating it, your main concern is to not dry it out.
- Buy the best ham you can afford as the more you pay,the better the quality. It is Christmas time so it’s an ideal time for a splurge if you can.
- Make sure you buy a cooked ham and not a raw one. If you have a raw ham then this recipe is not suitable.
- You can cook your ham ahead of time so it is easier on you on the day you want to serve it. To reheat your ham, remove from the fridge and bring it to room temperature. You can reheat your ham by covering it with foil and heat it at 160°C/320°F for about 30 minutes. Remove the foil and baste your ham with the pan juices, then bake at 220 C/425F for about 5-10 minutes or until the fatty surface becomes sticky and golden again.
MORE FABULOUS CHRISTMAS RECIPES
So there you have your Christmas ham recipe sorted or Christmas day. If you are looking for some more delicious low carb Christmas recipes, make sure you check these out-
Sugar Free Ice Cream Pudding
Ice Cream Celebration Cake
Pavlova Wreath
BerryTrifle
Low Carb Christmas Cake
Air Fryer Roast Stuffed Chicken
Stuffed Turkey
Rum Balls
Ferrero Rocher Balls
White Christmas
Shortbread
Cranberry Almond Shortbread
Pistachio Lemon Cookies
Rocky Road
Rocky Road Christmas Tree
So many to fabulous recipes to choose from….Happy baking!
Kxx
Ingredients
- 8-10 pound 4-5 kg bone-in fully cooked ham rind on or size to suit your needs
- 1 orange quartered
Sugar Free Maple Bourbon Glaze
- ¼ cup water
- ⅓ cup Bourbon (I used Jim Beam) or orange juice
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 3 tablespoons sugar free maple syrup or maple extract
- ⅓ cup monk fruit sweetener
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 2 teaspoons garlic minced
- ½ teaspoon all spice
- ¾ teaspoon cinnamon
Instructions
- Pull your ham out of the fridge and leave to sit at room temperature for about 1 hour.
- Make your sugar free maple bourbon glaze by adding all ingredients to a small saucepan. Simmer over medium heat until the sweetener granules have completely dissolved. Simmer the glaze gently for a further 5 minutes until it thickens slightly. Set aside and allow to cool.
- Preheat the oven to 150 C/300 F and position your rack to allow your ham to fit, on the lower rungs.
- Remove all packaging or netting from the ham. Score around the hock if you have one so you can leave the rind on it. Peel and trim away the rind on the leg of the ham and discard. You can use your fingers to get under the rind and peel this back. Use a knife in more stubborn areas and to trim off any uneven excess fat- ensuring you leave a nice layer of fat around the ham to be able to score.
- Using a long sharp knife create the pattern you desire on your ham. Cut about 75% of the way into the fat and avoid cutting into the meat if you can. Create either a diamond pattern or score your ham in narrow parallel lines as pictured. If you create a diamond pattern you can insert a clove into each diamond. I personally like to just place cloves around the hock so I don't have to pick them out as I slice the ham but the choice is yours.
- Line a large baking tray or dish with several sheets of aluminium foil to reduce the mess.
- Place the ham in the baking tray with the hock sitting on edge of the tray. Squeeze the juice of 1 orange over it (or pour ¼ cup of water into the base of the pan if you want to avoid using orange). Pour ⅓ of your glaze over the ham using a brush to get it into every crevice. Cover the ham with foil and bake for 30 minutes.
- After 30 minutes of baking, remove the ham from the oven and discard the foil that covers your ham. Increase the oven temperature to 220 C/425 F.
- This next step takes about 60 minutes of final baking in increments of 15 (I suggest setting one timer for 60 minutes and another timer for 15 minutes each time.) Pour ½ of the remaining glaze over the ham, basting it into the score lines. Return to the oven and bake uncovered for 15 minutes.
- Remove your ham from the oven again and brush with the remaining half of the glaze. Return again to the oven for 15 minutes.
- Cook for an additional 30 minutes, basting again after 15 minutes with the juices in the pan, until a dark golden-brown crust has formed. If your crust is not caramelized enough after the suggested baking time, turn on your oven grill and grill the top for between 3-5 minutes or until it has browned adequately. Watch it to make sure it doesn't brown too much.
- Use foil patches to protect the bits that brown faster than others. Press it on lightly. The browned bits shouldn't peel off when you remove the foil.
- Remove ham from the oven and let it sit for about 20 minutes before slicing. Baste your ham with the juices again just before serving. You can also use any juice/glaze leftover to drizzle on your ham once served.
Serving and Presentation tips
- You can serve your ham either warm or cold. Serve and drizzle with any leftover pan juices. You don't need to use a lot as the glaze is quite strong in flavour. As the glaze thickens as it cools, you may need to warm it up and perhaps thin slightly with water if required, prior to serving.
- Wrap the hock handle with brown or white paper, or fabric and use herbs and Christmas decorations/ribbons to decorate. Serve on a large serving platter and decorate with festive items such as greenery, oranges, sprigs of holly, rosemary etc.
- Reheat instructions- you can cook your ham ahead of time so it is easier on you on the day you want to serve it. To reheat your ham, remove from the fridge and bring it to room temperature. Cover it with foil and heat it at 160°C/320°F for about 30 minutes. Remove the foil and baste your ham with the pan juices, then bake at 220 C/425F for about 5-10 minutes or until the fatty surface becomes sticky and golden again.
Storing Your Ham
- Your ham will keep for at least a week in the fridge if properly stored using a ham bag.
- Use any leftovers to make Quiche Lorraine or Okonomiyaki. You can also freeze it in slices or diced ready to use in recipes.
- Don't forget that you can use the bone to make soup etc.
Recipe Notes
Nutritional Information
