Pineapple and Brown Sugar Glazed Ham
The mid-century "Hawaiian" ham: a spiral ham pinned all over with canned pineapple rings, wrapped tight and baked low, then roasted hot with a brown sugar, pineapple juice and two-mustard glaze until sticky and golden.
Edited by JP Lambiase
Change the estimate
Swaps change the price only: cook any meat to its own safe temperature. Where these numbers come from
Pineapple ham is called "Hawaiian", but it was built in mainland kitchens with canned fruit. Dole says James Dole founded the Hawaiian Pineapple Company in 1901 and in 1907 ran one of America's first nationwide consumer advertising campaigns, in US magazines. TASTE's Kenzi Wilbur traced the ham: the Hawaiian Pineapple Packers Association published "How We Serve Hawaiian Canned Pineapple" in 1914, and a 1925 booklet, "99 Tempting Pineapple Treats", included baked ham with pineapple; by the 1950s, Del Monte was selling a "Hawaiian Luau" booklet to make the look at home (December 7, 2017:). The classic platter TASTE describes, a rosy ham studded with pineapple rings, whole cloves and maraschino cherries, is the image most Americans still have. When it was invented, and by whom, is DISPUTED (see Rules).
🇺🇸 This one is American
The mid-century "Hawaiian" ham: a spiral ham pinned all over with canned pineapple rings, wrapped tight and baked low, then roasted hot with a brown sugar, pineapple juice and two-mustard glaze until sticky and golden.
🇺🇸 The original
The old American ham is the salt-cured country ham: soaked, simmered and sliced thin, a Virginia tradition older than the country. See the Virginia Country Ham, Soaked and Simmered recipe.
📖 Myth check: Is Hawaiian Pineapple Ham From Hawaii? →
Why it works the kitchen science
Wrapped tight, then roasted hot
ATK keeps the ham sealed in foil so the meat stays moist while it heats, then opens it at 450°F so the sugar browns fast.
Canned, not fresh
ATK chose pineapple canned in juice because it holds up in the oven and does not dry out the way fresh rings can.
🧰 You'll need 10 items
Everything the steps call for. Tick off what you have before you start.
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Step by step
- Step 1
Drain the pineapple, saving 3/4 cup of the juice. Whisk the juice, brown sugar and both mustards in a bowl.
- Step 2
Set a rack in the lowest position and heat the oven to 325°F. Line a 13 by 9-inch baking dish with two 24-inch sheets of heavy foil laid crosswise. Unwrap the ham, discard the plastic disk on the bone and set the ham cut side down in the dish.
- Step 3
Brush the ham generously with glaze. Pin pineapple rings over the top and sides with toothpicks, leaving the ends sticking out. For the retro look, press a clove into the ham at the center of each ring or set a cherry in the hole. Brush with more glaze and wrap the foil tightly over the ham.
- Step 4
Bake about 15 minutes per pound (about 2 hours), until the center reads 120°F.
- Step 5
Open the foil to expose the ham and raise the oven to 450°F. Brush generously with glaze and roast 30 to 40 minutes, until golden and sticky and the center reads 140°F.
✓ What it should look like - Step 6
Brush with the last of the glaze, cover loosely with foil and rest 30 minutes, basting once or twice with the dish juices. Pull the toothpicks and carve.
Pineapple and Brown Sugar Glazed Ham
Serves 16 · one 8 lb ham, about 16 servings · 3 hr 30 min total
Ham
- 1 fully cooked, bone-in spiral-sliced half ham (about 8 lb), preferably the shank end
Glaze and fruit
- 2 cans (20 oz each) pineapple slices packed in juice
- 1 cup packed dark brown sugar
- 1/3 cup Dijon mustard
- 1/4 cup whole grain mustard
- Toothpicks
Optional, for the 1950s look
- Whole cloves
- Maraschino cherries, drained
Equipment: Oven, Baking dish, Instant-read thermometer, Chef's knife and cutting board, Measuring cups and spoons, Mixing bowls, Whisk, Pastry brush, Aluminum foil, Toothpicks
Method
- Drain the pineapple, saving 3/4 cup of the juice. Whisk the juice, brown sugar and both mustards in a bowl.
- Set a rack in the lowest position and heat the oven to 325°F. Line a 13 by 9-inch baking dish with two 24-inch sheets of heavy foil laid crosswise. Unwrap the ham, discard the plastic disk on the bone and set the ham cut side down in the dish.
- Brush the ham generously with glaze. Pin pineapple rings over the top and sides with toothpicks, leaving the ends sticking out. For the retro look, press a clove into the ham at the center of each ring or set a cherry in the hole. Brush with more glaze and wrap the foil tightly over the ham.
- Bake about 15 minutes per pound (about 2 hours), until the center reads 120°F.
- Open the foil to expose the ham and raise the oven to 450°F. Brush generously with glaze and roast 30 to 40 minutes, until golden and sticky and the center reads 140°F.
- Brush with the last of the glaze, cover loosely with foil and rest 30 minutes, basting once or twice with the dish juices. Pull the toothpicks and carve.
Adapted from America's Test Kitchen (Cook's Country), "Pineapple Mustard Glazed Ham" (December 10, 2012), as written for 16 (ATK says 16 to 20). Three changes for USDA FSIS (Ham and Food Safety): we skip ATK's 1 1/2 hours of standing at room temperature, bake at 325°F instead of 300°F (FSIS's minimum oven for reheating ham), and finish at 140°F instead of ATK's 100°F center; the 325°F timing of about 15 minutes per pound is our estimate. The optional cloves and cherries are the retro platter TASTE describes, not ATK's. America's Test Kitchen. Ingredient list follows the source; the method is in our own words.
Tips
- Toothpicks only partway in, so you can find them all before carving.
- Use pineapple packed in juice, not heavy syrup; the glaze is already sweet.
- Leftover glazed slices go into fried rice or sandwiches; reheat to 165°F.
The rules people argue about
What the sources agree on, what they don't, and what is just a good story.
- Hawaiian ham comes from Hawaii. Disputed: the pineapple was Hawaiian, but the recipes we found are mainland marketing booklets (TASTE, 2017); we found no source for ham with pineapple as a traditional dish in Hawaii itself.
- It was invented in the 1950s. Disputed: it is remembered as a 1950s dish, but TASTE dates baked ham with pineapple to a 1925 booklet and Garden & Gun to a 1925 Hawaiian Pineapple Packers Association campaign.
- Dole invented pineapple ham. Folklore: Dole's own history names no ham recipe; the 1914 booklet was the packers' association's.
- The Hawaiian Pineapple Company was founded in 1900. Disputed: TASTE says 1900; Dole's history says 1901.
- Cloves and maraschino cherries belong on it. Folklore: a mid-century decoration (TASTE), not part of ATK's tested recipe.
- Bake ham at 300°F. Disputed: ATK bakes at 300°F; USDA FSIS says to reheat ham in an oven no lower than 325°F. We use 325°F.
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