This soul food brown sugar-glazed ham is your go-to Easter ham recipe.African Americans are famous for our flavorful ham and sweet ham glaze recipes, especially with pineapple and brown sugar. Seasoned to perfection, you'll be convinced that this recipe should be served year-round!
Instant Pot baking sling or heavy-duty aluminum foil & the Instant Pot trivet rack
Roasting pan (if not using the Instant Pot)
Ingredients
6poundhampre-cooked, pre-spiraled 4-6 pound ham
1 ½cupswaterfor the Instant Pot
1cuppineapple juice
½cupcrushed pineapplefresh pineapple or canned pineapple
3cupslight brown sugar
2tablespoonsground cinnamon
1teaspoonground cloves
2tablespoonsvanilla extract
3tablespoonscornstarch
Instructions
Open the Instant Pot lid and pour the water into the stainless steel inner pot.
Prepare the ham’s glaze by whisking together the pineapple juice, crushed pineapple, brown sugar, cinnamon, clove, vanilla extract, and corn starch, and set the mixture aside.
Place the ham in the Instant Pot baking sling. (If you don’t have a baking sling, you can use heavy-duty aluminum foil folded up to make a hammock-like sling shape around the ham.)
Gently separate the slices of the spiraled ham, and use a large serving spoon to pour the pineapple glaze over the ham and in between the spiraled slices.
Secure the Instant Pot baking sling around the ham. (If using foil, make sure it’s securely wrapped around the ham, and there’s enough foil for ‘handles’ to lift the ham.)
Using the handles of the baking sling, place the ham in the Instant Pot stainless steel inner pot. (If using an aluminum foil sling, first place the Instant Pot trivet rack in the stainless-steel inner pot. Then using the aluminum foil sling handles, place the ham on the trivet rack inside the pot.)
Close the Instant Pot lid (make sure the valve is up – in the position for sealing) and pressure cook on high for 2 minutes per pound of ham (For example, pressure cook a 5-pound ham for 10 minutes). *Add an additional 5 minutes of pressure-cooking time if you’re using a heavy-duty aluminum foil sling. (Ex. 15 minutes for a 5-pound ham in a foil sling).
When the cooking time is finished, allow a natural pressure release for at least the same amount of time as your pressure cooked the ham. (For example, allow a 10-minute natural pressure release for a 5-pound ham. 15 minutes of natural pressure release if the 5-pound ham is in a heavy-duty foil sling.)
To open the Instant Pot lid, move the valve to ‘venting’ and manually release any remaining pressure, if applicable.
In the rare case that your ham is not done when the pressure-cooking time is complete, add an additional 3-5 minutes and pressure cook on high again.
After the pressure is released, remove the ham from the Instant Pot using the baking sling handles (or the aluminum foil sling handles). You may need to use oven mitts.
Place the fully cooked ham on a large platter and remove the baking sling (or aluminum foil) by gently sliding it from under the ham.
Optionally, garnish your Black folks’ pineapple glazed ham with a medley of festive fruits around the platter like cut pomegranates, figs, clementine’s, oranges, cranberries, or apples. Pearl onions, fresh parsley, and baby arugula also add a beautiful touch!
Serve the finished, pre-sliced brown sugar glazed Easter ham right away, and enjoy! Happy Easter!
Video
Notes
This soul food brown sugar glazed ham recipe is for a pre-sliced, pre-cooked Easter ham.
This recipe is for a 4–6-pound ham. If you're making a larger ham, simply use the dynamic recipe card below to double the ingredients.
For a ham larger than 6 pounds, use an Instant Pot larger than the standard 6-quart size.
Or you can use the same recipe ingredients for baking your ham in the oven.
You can use the remaining glaze from the pot or pan juices to brush on the ham, baste the ham, or for dip on a serving tray.