This Rosemary Brown Sugar Baked Ham is a wonderful way to enjoy a glazed ham for the holiday without all the carbs from traditional glazes. It is perfect for any family gathering and no one will be the wiser that it is low sugar!

What Is The Best Type of Ham To Use For The Holidays?

Choosing a ham for your holiday meal could be a bit hard with all the different types of hams in the grocery stores, but there are a few ways that you can make the decision easier. Let’s talk about those.

Shank or Butt: Generally speaking, hams comes from the hind legs of the pig. The typical whole ham will be the butt portions and the shank, but most of the time when you pick up a ham from the grocery store it will be just half of the ham portion, either the shank or the butt.

The Shank is what you will see on most holiday tables and is leaner than the “butt” portion. It contains one long bone that can sometimes be whole or sliced in spirals. If you are familiar with ham hocks these come from this shank section too.

When it comes to the “butt” portion, well that is fattier and found on the upper part of the pig’s hind leg. I think the meat is more tender than a shank ham, but both are rich in flavor.

You may wonder how you can tell the difference, well that will come down to the shapes of the hams since not all labels on ham’s say Shank or Butt. So just consider how you plan to present your ham and what you would like it to look like on your holiday planner.

How Do How Long To Cook A Holiday Ham?

It’s important to make sure your ham is cooked properly to prevent any food born illnesses. Nobody wants to be remembered for making everyone sick on the holidays, right?

This means it is crucial that you identify if your ham is fully cooked and just needs to be warmed through before serving or if the ham you purchased is completely raw and needs to be cooked thoroughly.

Thankfully it is easy these days to tell if the hams are fully cooked or raw by simply reading the packing carefully. All brands will specify this on their labels and provide the proper cooking instructions to ensure you have a delicious ham dinner.

Just read carefully and follow their cooking instructions and you’ll avoid any unsafe practices. Remember that if you are using a frozen ham you’ll need to take it out of the freezer and thaw it slowly in the refrigerator for several days before cooking, so plan accordingly.

Which Keto Brown Sugar Should I Use For This Recipe?

There are many great options out there for replacing the brown sugar in your baked goods and this glaze. If you would like to buy it already made you can shop around and find a couple of brands on Amazon.

Here are a few Store-Bought Options:

I have tried many of these brands and like each of them, but if I had to choose a favorite, I would choose the Sukrin Gold brown sugar. I use it for this ham and on the other recipes that I make around the holidays like my Keto Pumpkin Bread.

As with many of the low-carb brown sugars the Sukrin can’t be purchased at any store near me, so there are times I don’t always have it, so then I turn to the brands that my Walmart carries if I need one quickly like the Truvia or the Swerve.

These types of sugars can be a little pricey if you don’t have them on hand already, so if you want to avoid going out to purchase a bag just for this recipe there are some great homemade versions of low-carb brown sugar.

Like these two recipes below from some Trim Healthy Mama Bloggers, you may know. I’ve used the one from Gwen’s Nest quite often and my family loves it.

- Sugar-Free Brown Sugar, by Gwen’s Nest
- How to Make Brown Sugar, by My Montana Kitchen

Baking and Glazing the Keto Holiday Ham

For my family of three, I usually get a ham weighing around 9 or 10 pounds. That is a perfect size for us to have lunch and dinner and then several days of leftovers to enjoy.

The best part of this recipe is that there are no hard parts to this making this recipe. All you do is bake your ham according to the directions on your package and prepare your glaze.

Once your ham has only 30 minutes left take it out brush or spoon your glaze all over the top of your ham. Then return the ham to the oven to bake for the remaining time.

I like this glaze because it has just the right amount of sweetness. I am not a fan of those sticky sweet glazes that come with the hams when you buy them, but this glaze won me over!

More Ham Goodness!

If you love ham and would like a choice of glazes you can hop over and take a look at my friend Sarah’s Baked Ham Glaze on her blog Mrs. Criddles’s Kitchen! It sounds pretty darn good too! Don’t you love having all these delicious choices?

Got leftover ham that you need to use up, check out these delicious Keto Quiche, from my friend Tayrn over at Joyfiled Eats.

Will Vary

Rosemary Brown Sugar Baked Ham, Low Carb

A holiday ham glazed with a sugar-free Rosemary and Brown Sugar Glaze. It is the perfect Keto Holiday Ham for any table.

Ingredients

Brown Sugar Rosemary Glaze

3/4 cup of Brown Sugar Alternative
1/4 cup of Allulose Sweetener
1 stick of butter
2 tablespoons of lemon juice
1 tablespoon of chopped rosemary
1/4 teaspoon of garlic powder

Ham

1 Ham, sized to fit your family's needs

Instructions

Prepare and bake the ham according to the package instructions. I like to score my ham so that the glaze can later run down into the cracks but that is optional.
To prepare the ham glaze simply add all the ingredients into a saucepan and place on medium heat.
Let the butter and all the sweeteners melt, stirring often while the glaze comes to a boil. and boil for 3 minutes.
Next, turn the heat down and let the sauce simmer for about 5 more minutes.
Once the glaze is ready, remove it from the heat and set it aside until you are ready to glaze the ham.
When the ham has 30 minutes left to bake, remove it from the oven and remove the foil. If the oven was at a lower temp you may want to raise it to 375 degrees Fahrenheit at this time. This will help caramelize the glaze on the ham.
Spoon or brush some of the cooked ham glaze all over the surface of the ham. Make sure to cover every inch of the ham with the glaze.
Place the ham back in the oven and cook for 15 minutes then repeat the glaze steps and cook for the remaining 15 minutes.
Let the ham rest for at least10 minutes before slicing to serve.

Keri Bucci

I am a southern girl through and through that loves to laugh, cook, read and spend time with family. My passions outside of home schooling my son are ministering to those in need and creating art in the kitchen! Every day is an adventure in our little house and I wouldn’t trade it or the chance to share here with you for anything!