Moist, tender Fresh ham roast loaded with juicy flavor, and incredibly delicious… It’s the perfect ham for Easter, Christmas dinner or any special occasion!
Fresh Ham vs. Other Hams
Fresh Ham roasts are available around holidays at the grocery store. I have the meat department at Albertsons special order one in for me. You can get them bone-in ham or boneless. Bone-in adds more flavor and helps to keep the roast moist. But, boneless fresh hams are easier to carve and can cook faster. These are different from other types of ham like pre-cooked ham, spiral ham, ham steaks, country ham, city ham, cured ham, whole ham, and half ham. Fresh Ham Roast is fresh because it’s uncured, uncooked, and unsmoked…
Ham Roasts are leaner cuts of pork, they aren’t naturally tender and it has longer meat fibers. It also has less fat marbling inside the meat than a pork shoulder and Boston butt roast. Ham Roast comes from the hind leg of pork, and have a nice fat side on the outer layer, great for scoring and seasoning.
Ingredients & Tools
Tender Juicy Fresh Ham Tricks
Brining your pork roast boosts the moisture level of meat and makes it more tender and flavorful! This is really good with fresh ham roast because it’s such a lean cut of pork. Brining fresh ham roast before cooking holds in moisture, improves texture and flavor for great results! It helps water to get into the muscle for extra moisture while cooking, and makes the final meat “juicier,” with a more tender texture, and much more flavorful!
How to Serve Fresh Ham Roast
To serve ham roast, place your finished roast on a carving board or a serving platter, and slice across the grain…. Enjoy! To serve your ham roast in “pulled pork” style, shred it with two forks, put it in a dish and drizzle it with pan juices and serve!
Use a spoon and take the remaining liquids from the bottom of the pan and cover your baked ham roast with them.
Let me know what YOU think!
Leave a review on the recipe card or in the comments below!
Maple Glazed Fresh Ham Roast – Brined & Oven Roasted
Ingredients
- 1 fresh ham roast, 3-5 lb not cured, not cooked
- 3 cups water cold, plus more for brine
- 3/4 cup Salt
- 3/4 cup Sugar
- Fresh Ground Black Pepper
- 3/4 cup real maple syrup
- 1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
Instructions
- Add 3/4 a cup salt and 3/4 cup sugar to a large pot with 3 cups hot water.
- Stir mixture till salt and sugar are dissolved.
- Then, fill your pot with cold water, enough to totally cover your ham.
- Cover the brine and ham pot with plastic wrap (or foil). Soak the raw ham in your brine in the refrigerator for 3 – 6 hours.
- Remove the roast from the fridge and rinse it with fresh water. Dry your roast with a paper towel napkin.
- Prep your ham! Cut the top fat layer in a diamond pattern or in parallel lines for seasoning!
- Preheat oven to 350º and move the oven rack to the lowest position.
- Place ham into a 13×9 inch baking dish.
- Season generously with salt and pepper on all sides (see optional seasonings below) of your ham roast. Make sure to rub the seasoning into the diamond-shaped or parallel lines cup on the fat layer!
- Add 3 cups of cold water to the baking pan… The water level needs to come up 1 inch on the sides of your roast.
- Tightly cover your shallow roasting pan or baking dish with foil to seal in the steam.
- Place prepared roast into the oven for 2 hours, until the internal temperature reaches 160º (For food safety make sure your ham reaches at least 145 degrees internally)
- After about 2 hours of roasting, (when ham reaches 160 internal temp) remove the roast from the oven.
- Turn the oven temperature up to 450º
- Remove foil from pan.
- Mix the maple syrup and the balsamic vinegar together in a small pan and simmer on low for about 10 minutes till it's thickened slightly (like honey) and baste your roast with your mixture.
- Place ham roast in the oven, and set the timer for 10-15 minutes of cook time. Baste roast with the maple and balsamic mixture every 5 minutes.
- Turn the ham roast over and baste the other side of the roast every 5 minutes for 10-15 minutes total, or till brown on both sides. (The water will ALMOST be cooked out, but there should be a little left for serving.)
- Remove roast from the oven and let it rest for 30 minutes before cutting! (Don't skip the resting step!)
- For best results, use a spoon and take the remaining liquids from the bottom of your baking dish and cover your baked ham roast with them…. This gives the roast back all those yummy flavors that have cooked down through the roasting process!
Notes
Nutrition
About Juliea
Juliea Huffaker is the creator of Farmhouse Harvest, and dedicated to teaching from-scratch cooking, sourdough baking, gardening, and food preservation. With over 25 years of hands-on experience she has preserved hundreds of jars of produce, mastered the art of meats and sourdough baking, and nurtured a thriving organic garden. Her recipes and articles have been featured across the web. And she’s passionate about inspiring others to embrace a simpler, self-sufficient life style.
16 comments
Beth
I made your recipe for Easter dinner my family loved it ♥️
Thank you
Beverly
I’m wanting to prepare this raw roast from a farm pig. I want to do it in advance for Easter as I’m recovery from an illness and need to reduce fatigue by making things slowly leading up to the holiday. How would you do this recipe in advance?
Juliea Huffaker
Hi Beverly, Farm pigs are the best! Here’s the best way to make your fresh ham roast ahead of time for Easter and ensure it’s still delicious and well-glazed:
Timeline:
Today (Monday, April 14th): Brine the ham.
Tuesday, April 15th: Roast the ham until it’s almost fully cooked. Let the ham cool completely and refrigerate.
Sunday, April 20th (Easter Sunday):Prepare the glaze, finish coking and glazing. Enjoy your delicious ham!
Day 1 or 2 Before Easter (Monday or Tuesday): Brining and Initial Roasting
Brining: Follow steps 1-4 of the recipe. Make sure the ham is fully submerged in the brine and refrigerate for the recommended 3-6 hours.
Rinsing and Drying: Remove the ham from the brine, rinse thoroughly with cold water, and pat it completely dry with paper towels. This step is crucial for good browning.
Scoring and Seasoning: Proceed with step 6 of your recipe, scoring the fat layer and generously seasoning the ham with salt and pepper, rubbing it into the scores.
Initial Roasting:
Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C) and place the rack in the lowest position.
Place the ham in a 13×9 inch baking dish and add 3 cups of cold water to the pan (about 1 inch up the sides).
Tightly cover the dish with foil.
Roast for approximately 1 hour and 15 minutes to 1 hour and 30 minutes. The goal here is to get the internal temperature to around 145-150°F (63-66°C). You are not aiming for the final cooked temperature at this stage.
Remove the ham from the oven and let it cool completely at room temperature. This is important to prevent condensation buildup when refrigerating.
Cooling: Once the ham is no longer warm to the touch, transfer it to an airtight container or wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and then foil.
Refrigeration: Store the cooled ham in the refrigerator. You can also strain the cooking liquid from the pan and store it separately in the refrigerator. This flavorful liquid can be added back during reheating to keep the ham moist.
Easter Day (Sunday): Reheating and Glazing
Preheat Oven: Preheat your oven to 325°F (160°C).
Prepare for Reheating: Place the chilled ham in a clean baking dish. If you reserved the cooking liquid, pour some of it (about 1/2 to 1 cup, depending on the size of your ham and the pan) into the bottom of the dish to help keep it moist.
Reheating: Cover the baking dish tightly with foil and reheat the ham in the preheated oven for approximately 45 minutes to 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until the internal temperature reaches 160-165°F (71-74°C). Use a meat thermometer to ensure accuracy.
Prepare the Glaze: While the ham is reheating, prepare your maple-balsamic glaze according to step 13 of your recipe: simmer the maple syrup and balsamic vinegar in a small pan until slightly thickened.
Glazing:
Once the ham reaches the desired internal temperature, remove it from the oven and remove the foil.
Increase the oven temperature to 450°F (232°C).
Generously baste the ham with the maple-balsamic glaze.
Return the ham to the oven (uncovered) and baste every 5 minutes for a total of 10-15 minutes, or until the glaze is nicely browned and slightly caramelized. You can turn the ham over halfway through the glazing process to ensure even coverage.
Resting: Remove the glazed ham from the oven and let it rest for at least 30 minutes before carving.
Serving: Spoon any remaining glaze or pan juices over the sliced ham before serving for extra flavor and moisture.
Why this method works best:
Moisture Retention: The initial lower temperature roasting and covering with foil helps to keep the ham moist during the make-ahead process.
Flavor Development: The brining process infuses the ham with flavor and helps it retain moisture.
Reduced Stress on Easter Day: By doing the bulk of the cooking ahead of time, you significantly reduce your workload on Easter Sunday.
Fresh Glaze: Applying the glaze just before serving ensures a beautifully shiny and flavorful final product.
Even Heating: Reheating at a lower temperature ensures the ham is heated through evenly without drying out.
Cooling Time: Allow the ham to cool completely before refrigerating to prevent bacterial growth and condensation.
Tight Wrapping: Wrap the ham tightly for refrigeration to prevent it from drying out and absorbing other odors in the refrigerator.
Adjust Reheating Time: Reheating times may vary slightly depending on the size and thickness of your ham and your oven. Always use a meat thermometer to check for doneness.
Barry
Your fresh ham roast is incredible! Thank you for this recipe!
juliea
Hi Robin! yes you can use a dutch oven instead of the baking pan and foil! Thanks for asking!
juliea
Yes of course! The flavor will be a bit different becasue honey has a strong flavor, but if you like honey (most people do) it should be delicious!
Peter
Hi Juliea,
In the recipe, the times at the top are incorrect. It says: “cook time: 3 MINUTES additional time: 30 MINUTES total time: 48 MINUTES”
Otherwise, this looks like a great recipe. Thank you for sharing it!
Kelli
Can I do this recipe with a fully cooked ham? But I would probably minus the brine? Because I love the ingredients of balsamic and maple syrup. ? Thanks.
Juliea Huffaker
Hi Kelly! Thanks for stopping by the farmhouse and asking! You can do this with a fully cooked ham… I’ve never tried doing it that way before, but I don’t see why not, you will have to cut the cooking time down though. Let me know how it goes!!!
Christina Bartlett
Did you season it with the easiest flavoring rub or just salt and pepper?
Akil Kotawdekar
This is a great recipe! I made it tonight and it was so good. I didn’t have any rosemary, so I just used some fresh thyme. Thanks for sharing!
Brenna
Hi! I’m preparing to make my first fresh ham from one of our own pigs, and am so grateful for this recipe! However, it weighs closer to 7-8 lb, and I’m wondering how much to reduce the salt by for the brine, and also how you think the roasting time and then the basting/cooking time/temp might be affected by the size. What would you recommend I expect? Thank you!!
juliea
Hi Brenna! That’s awesome… Meat from your own pig is always the best! The brine I would reduce salt by half and brine twice as long. As far as roasting time, your roast is pretty big (almost twice the size) so I’m thinking twice the time, but it’s best to go by temperature. Make sure you get an instant read thermometer. The rule of thumb is 25 minutes per pound.
Brenna
Thank you! This made for a delicious, simple Easter entree that made the whole house smell amazing.
Sheila
Where’s the brine recipe for fresh ham roast?
Kathy
Look at the bottom of the post – below the recipe. 1/2 to 3/4 cup salt, put roast in a pot, and cover with water. refrigerate 3-6 hours. i’m trying it for the first time