Cherry Sauce/Glaze for Ham

paula

11 years ago

I love cherries and I love ham, so it surprising that I did not like my mom’s cherry glaze for ham. After all, other people seemed to really like my mom’s cherry glazed ham. Even my dad, who did not usually like new or differently prepared foods, liked my mom’s cherry glazed ham the first time she made it.

When I came across her hand-written recipe a few weeks ago, I thought I should make and share it. However, I did not have the orange juice that the recipe required. Because I really should not have orange juice anyway, I decided to just make a substitution instead. So, after considering that one substitution changed the original recipe, I decided to make further changes to see if I could find a version that I like more.

After some experimenting, I made a version that I really like…yes, even more than my mom’s. Sorry, Mom.

Although it could be used as a glaze, I think my version is a cherry sauce. My mom’s glaze could be used as just a sauce as well.

Here are both recipes. You can pick just one, or you can try both to decide which you like better.
Either way, I hope you enjoy!

Recipe: Cherry Sauce

Ingredients:

1 – 24 oz. jar or 1 1/2 – 15 oz. cans of tart cherries
1/4 c. reserved cherry liquid+
3/4 c. apple juice+
1 Tbsp. corn starch
1/3 c. granulated white sugar*
1/3 c. brown sugar*
1/2 tsp. cinnamon*
1/4 tsp. cloves*
salt, to taste

Instructions:

Drain cherries, reserving about 1/4 cup of liquid.
Place cherries, reserved liquid, and apple juice into a sauce pan.
Place cornstarch in a small container, add three or four table spoons of apple juice or liquid from saucepan to make a slurry. Make sure it is lump free.
Add slurry to sauce pan contents, stirring constantly to prevent lumps.
Add sugars, cinnamon, cloves, and salt. Adjusting amounts to taste.
Bring mixture to a boil and cook until it thickens some.
Pour half over ham when it almost ready to remove from oven or serve it all so it can be placed over the sliced ham.

Notes

+ Amount of liquid can be adjusted to volume of cherries and/or desired amount of sauce.
* Tartness level of cherries and personal taste should dictate how much sugar and spices to use.

Recipe: Mom’s Cherry Ham Glaze

Ingredients

1 can cherry pie filling
1 cup orange juice
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. cloves

Instructions

Combine all ingredients and heat through.
Pour over ham in the last few minutes of baking and/or serve over sliced baked ham.