Learn how to cook ham steak on the grill, fried on the stovetop, or broiled in the oven for a delicious dinner for two or more. This recipe requires only 5 minutes of prep time and about 10 minutes of cooking time. Add the delicious brown sugar glaze for an easy dinner for two.
🐖Ingredients
Ham steak—precooked ½ to ¾ inch thick
Butter or oil
Optional Brown Sugar Glaze—brown sugar, mustard, butter, and apple cider vinegar. Optional additions: ground cloves (suggested) and ground cinnamon. Honey may be substituted for brown sugar.
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Featured Comment by Andi:
"I just made this ham steak sauce, and we both loved it. It was easy to make and very tasty, a keeper for sure."
I loved honey-baked ham during the holidays. This economical, fast, and easy recipe for ham steaks allows us to enjoy it anytime with pantry ingredients for the glaze and a ham steak from any market.
Ham steaks (ham slices) are perfect for a dinner for two. They are thick slices of ham, the right size for two servings. They can be scaled up or down, simple to prepare, and the leftovers are versatile and easy to store.
Check out some other ham recipes, like Smaller Crock Pot Honey Glazed Ham, Scalloped Potatoes and Ham, and What to Do With Leftover Ham.
👨🍳How to Cook Ham Steak—Step-by-Step Photo Instructions
1. For the grill, preheat the grill to a surface temp of 400° to 450°.
For the stovetop, use a large skillet with butter over medium heat.
For the oven broiler, use an oiled broiling pan or a pan lined with foil and a rack.
2. Pat dry with a paper towel and trim any trimmable fat. Cut the steak into half for easier handling.
3. Optional glaze: Mix brown sugar, butter, dry ground mustard, cider vinegar, and ground cinnamon or cloves. Microwave, stirring every 10 seconds, until the mixture is liquid.
4. Brush the ham with the optional the glaze or vegetable oil.
5. Cook to a good color, 140°, and brown some—about 4-5 minutes per side. Be sure to cook to 145° if the ham steak is not labeled as fully precooked.
6. For a great meal, serve it in a sandwich, salad, or plate with side dishes. It also makes a great breakfast meat.
For more details, keep reading. See the Recipe Card below for complete instructions and to print.
🐖Ingredient options and variations
Choose a ham steak that is about ½ to ¾-inch thick. Trim and cut in half to make handling easier during cooking.
If the ham is 1 inch thick or more, cook it for a few minutes on each side before applying the optional glaze.
If you don't want the glaze, skip it, bush it with oil, and cook it to add some taste from a Maillard reaction.
If you want, you can use honey to replace the brown sugar, using about ¾ of the volume of brown sugar. If using maple syrup, use the same volume as the brown sugar.
You can replace the dry mustard with prepared mustard (such as yellow or Dijon mustard). The ratio is 1 teaspoon of dry mustard to 3 teaspoons of prepared mustard.
✔️Tips to make it right every time
Do not try to "cook faster" by using high heat—the ham can quickly dry out, and the sugar will burn if you use a glaze.
Use a generous amount of oil to prevent the sugar from sticking as it browns.
If not using the glaze, brush the ham with oil or butter.
Buy vacuum-sealed ham steak with a long expiration date to keep in the refrigerator for a quick meal.
Cooking time will vary by the thickness of your ham steak and cooking temperature. So, use the final internal temperature as the endpoint. For precooked steaks, cook to 140°; for raw ham steak, cook to 145*, then rest for 3 minutes.
🍽️What to serve with glazed ham steak
You can serve glazed ham steak on a plate with side dishes, a salad, as breakfast meat, or on a sandwich—I like it in a sandwich with tomato and mayo.
The best side dishes for ham steak are like an Easter meal, including Easy Dinner Rolls, Crock Pot Cheesy Potatoes, Roasted Asparagus, Green Beans with Almonds, and Corn on the Cob.
❄️How to store leftover glazed ham?
Store leftovers in an airtight container. Refrigerate for 4 days or freeze for 4 months.
Use leftovers in a sandwich, on a salad, a main dish, breakfast meat, or with eggs in an omelet.
🤔What is ham steak?
ham steak is an almost perfect "cooking for two" meat, weighing about a pound and making about 2 large servings. It is a slice of ham cut through the center of the ham. weighs about a pound and is usually ½ to ¾-inch thick and frequently has a ring of bone.
They are generally vacuum-sealed and located in the meat department of your supermarket. This makes them excellent meat for a quick meal in your refrigerator. They generally have a long shelf life in the fridge.
Most are pre-cooked, but some are smoked or cured. Which type you choose affects how you should process and consume the ham for safety.
⚕️Ham Steak Safety
Ham steak may come precooked; they are safe to eat out of the package. If they say "smoked" or "cured" but do not say precooked, consider it raw.
If the ham is raw or does not say precooked, the USDA recommends cooking it to 145° and resting for 3 minutes after cooking for safety.
❓FAQs
No, not if it is precooked. You may eat them just as they are out of the package. However, cooking, especially with a glaze, will enhance the flavor.
However, any ham steak that does not explicitly state it is fully pre-cooked, even if smoked or cured, must be cooked to 145° and rest for 3 minutes for safety.
There are two keys. First, use some oil or butter if cooking without the glaze.
The second is to not cook at too high of temperature or too long. Cook to 140° if precooked and 145° otherwise.
📖 Recipe
How to Cook Ham Steak
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Ingredients
- 1 pound ham steak - ¾ to 1-inch thick
- vegetable oil or butter
Optional Glaze
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon butter
- ½ teaspoon dry ground mustard
- ½ teaspoon cider vinegar
- ⅙ teaspoon ground cloves and cinnamon - optional
Instructions
- For the grill, preheat the grill to a surface temp of 400° to 450°. For the stovetop, use a large skillet with butter over medium heat.For the oven broiler, use an oiled broiling pan or a pan lined with foil and a rack.
- Pat the steak dry with a paper towel and trim any trimmable fat. Then, cut it in half for easier handling.
- Optional glaze: Mix brown sugar, butter, dry ground mustard, cider vinegar, and ground cinnamon or cloves. Microwave, stirring every 10 seconds, until the mixture is liquid.
- Brush the ham with the optional the glaze or vegetable oil.
- Cook on a 400° grill, large skillet with butter over medium heat or under a broiler. You are cooking to a good color, 140°, and heated through—about 4-5 minutes per side. Be sure to cook to 145° if the ham steak is not labeled as fully precooked.
- For a great meal, serve it in a sandwich, salad, or plate with side dishes. It also makes a great breakfast meat.
Recipe Notes
Pro Tips
- If you are worried about burning the sugar, you can brush it on the last few minutes.
- If your ham steaks are not pre-cooked, cook them to 145* for safety.
- You can replace the brown sugar with honey or maple syrup.
- As discussed in the post, the dry mustard may be replaced with prepared mustard.
- Great served straight up or like a BLT.
Your Own Private Notes
To adjust the recipe size:
You may adjust the number of servings in this recipe card under servings. This does the math for the ingredients for you. BUT it does NOT adjust the text of the instructions. So you need to do that yourself.
Nutrition Estimate
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Editor's Note: Originally published September 3, 2010. Updated with expanded options, refreshed photos, and a table of contents to help navigation.
Diane says
We left dry mustard out & I was still delicious! We didn’t have that on hand. The ground cloves was a nice addition! We doubled the recipe of the glaze & served on baked. sweet potatoes. Great pairing with a white wine too. 😊
Angie says
By ground mustard do you mean dry mustard or like the stone ground liquid mustard?
Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan says
Hi Angie,
Welcome to the blog.
That is dry ground mustard. I updated the ingredient list to be more specific.
Dan
Angie says
Thanks!
Betsy Beecher says
I used this glaze a few weeks ago but neglected to print it so just spent 1/2 hour desperately trying to find it again. I loved the glaze as did everybody else. We concluded it's the ground clove that gives it the great flavor. Am making it again tonight and will use a little more than 1/8 tsp. .
DrDan says
Thanks for the note. This was one of my first just dive in and do it recipe.
DrDan
Andi says
I just made this ham steak sauce and we both loved it. It was easy to make and very tasty a keeper for sure Thanks Andi
DrDan says
Thanks for the comment
DrDan
Smokingmeat says
I use Dizzy Dust on my Ham Steaks..and they come out excellent!!
Dr Dan says
Thanks, I though it add a nice taste simply.
The rating system something I would like to see on most cooking blogs. All recipes can't be wonderful.