Glazed Ham Steaks

We're never ones to waste food, so this recipe for ham steaks is designed to use up leftovers from a big holiday roast. We dress up the slices with a bourbon-infused sauce, and serve the ham with a fresh and bright spring vegetable sauté to cut through the natural richness and saltiness of the meat.

Even if you don’t have leftovers, you can pick up ham steaks from the meat case at the grocery store and enjoy this meal on any old weeknight—it’s that effortless and quick. 

Learn how to make classic ham steaks, and relive some childhood dinners with this nostalgic meal.

What Is a Ham Steak? 

A ham steak is a sliced piece of ham. It includes part of the center and outer edge of a whole ham for a mix of lean and fatty meat. You can use leftover cuts of a holiday roast for this recipe, or source the steaks from the meat section of the grocery store next to hams and other pork products.

Ham steaks are versatile enough to be served for breakfast, lunch, or dinner, whether grilled, pan-fried, baked, and more.

Ingredients for Glazed Ham Steaks 

You can never have too many ideas in your back pocket of ways to repurpose leftovers, and this ham steak recipe is one of the best. To make glazed ham steaks, you'll need:

• Olive oil: Used to pan-fry the ham slices. You can easily swap it with another oil, like vegetable oil. 
• Cooked ham slices: If you don't have leftovers to make this dish, purchase fully-cooked ham steaks from the grocery store. 
• Cold unsalted butter: The butter helps form the base of the glaze. Adding it cold to the pan at the end helps emulsify the sauce.
• Shallot: Although you could use an equal amount of onion, shallot has a lovely, delicate onion flavor.
• Garlic: Like the shallot, garlic helps round out the glaze. 
• Black pepper: We aren’t just finishing this dish with a crack of pepper, we also use a decent amount to add a subtle heat to the ham steak glaze.
• Bourbon: Not just for sipping, this well-rounded spirit adds depth to the glaze. If you aren't a bourbon aficionado, know that you certainly don’t need anything top shelf to make this sauce sing. 
• Ham juices: If you are making this recipe from leftovers, use up those flavorful juices for the glaze. Otherwise, you can use lower-sodium chicken stock.
• Whole-grain mustard: Whole-grain mustard adds zing and texture to the glaze.

How To Make Glazed Ham Steaks 

Reheat any leftover side dishes you have on hand, and this speedy supper can come together in just 25 minutes. Full instructions are below, but here's a brief recap before you get started:

• Step 1. Brown ham steaks: Heat oil in a large cast-iron skillet and brown ham slices on both sides. Wipe skillet clean.
• Step 2. Make sauce: Melt butter in the skillet, then add shallot, garlic, and pepper and cook until fragrant. Add bourbon off the heat, then return to heat and simmer to reduce by half. Swirl in remaining butter.
• Step 3. Plate ham slices with glaze: Divide warm ham between plates and top each with a spoon of bourbon glaze.
  

Tips for the Best Glazed Ham Steaks 

When you're ready to get cooking, keep these helpful pointers from the experts in our Test Kitchen in mind:

• Crowd the pan if you must: It's totally okay if your ham slices overlap a bit in the pan. You'll still get some nice, crisp browning. 
• Don't sweat the split: If your leftover ham steaks aren’t perfectly formed “steaks," that's OK. The pieces may separate when cooking. 
• Prep ahead: This recipe moves quickly! Have all of your sauce ingredients lined up and ready to go. 

How To Store and Reheat Leftover Ham Steaks 

Since this recipe makes use of leftovers to begin with, make sure to only make as much as you plan to serve for the freshest results. If you do have leftovers, store the ham steaks well-wrapped or in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to four days, or freeze for up to two months. Store any leftover glaze in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to one week, reheating in the microwave or on the stovetop when needed. Reheat the ham steaks on the stovetop or in a preheated oven (wrapped in foil) until hot throughout.

If you have leftover glazed ham steaks and want to make good use of them, chop them up to add to a potato hash, quiche, stir-fry, fried rice, or an omelet. They also make a hearty lunch option when layered into sandwiches.

What To Serve With Ham Steaks 

This versatile recipe lends itself to a wide variety of accompaniments. We recommend serving it with our spring vegetable sauté (pictured above), but here are a few other options to explore:

• Honey-Glazed Spiced Carrots
• Sautéed Sugar Snap Peas with Orange Zest and Buttery Almonds
• Oven-Roasted Asparagus
• Classic Buttermilk Mashed Potatoes 
• Green Beans with Garlic
  
• Scalloped Potatoes
• Southern Skillet Cornbread
• Best Homemade Macaroni and Cheese