Honey Bourbon Glaze with Yellow Mustard

About This Recipe

Honey and bourbon make a sweet, aromatic glaze, with yellow mustard and cider vinegar for tang. A small amount of brown sugar adds depth, then butter is whisked in off the heat for a smooth finish.

Brush thin layers over cooked ham or roasted vegetables near serving time. This recipe makes eight small glaze portions and uses a measured 80-proof bourbon input; it does not establish an alcohol-free result after simmering.

What this glaze is for

Use a few thin coats to give the food a sheen without leaving a heavy puddle of glaze. It can be brushed onto cooked ham near the end of its reheating schedule or tossed through roasted vegetables for the final minutes. Watch the color closely once the glaze is on a hot surface.

The glaze does not provide the cooking schedule for the food beneath it. Follow the complete ham or roast recipe for quantities, temperature and doneness; its ingredients are separate from this eight-portion sauce calculation.

Flavor intensity uses an editorial culinary scale: 1 is mild and 5 is bold. These are tasting suggestions, not laboratory measurements.

Sources: Using Honey in Cottage Foods (UC ANR); FoodSafety.gov: 4 Steps to Food Safety; FoodSafety.gov: Safe Minimum Internal Temperatures; USDA FoodData Central: broad 80-proof spirit reference.

• Brush over roasted carrots, parsnips, or winter squash in the last few minutes of roasting.
• Use as a finishing coat on scored, already-cooked ham.
• Spoon sparingly over roasted pork loin at serving, not as a braise.

The Measured Bourbon Input

Use 42 g of bourbon at 80 proof, or 40% alcohol by volume. The USDA reference is a broad 80-proof distilled-spirit record that includes whiskey, not a bourbon-specific laboratory analysis. A different proof or sweetened flavored whiskey would change the ingredient estimate.

A short simmer does not show how much alcohol remains. No retention percentage has been measured or subtracted, and the nutrition calculation includes the full spirit input. Measure into the cool pan away from an open flame; the recipe has no flambé step.

Choosing the honey

Honey brings sweetness, flavor, and body, so the type matters more than the amount. Mild clover or orange blossom honey keeps the bourbon and mustard forward; buckwheat or wildflower pushes a darker, more assertive note. Crystallized honey is fine and simple to measure by weight.

The 84 g honey gives the glaze its main sweetness and floral aroma. The smaller 28 g brown-sugar portion brings a darker note beside the bourbon. Keep those written amounts for the base batch before adapting it to a particular food.

• Clover: mild, lets bourbon and mustard lead.
• Wildflower: rounder and slightly floral.
• Buckwheat: dark and strong; use if you want it to dominate.

Storage and leftovers

Keep the clean, unused glaze in a shallow container and refrigerate within 2 hours. Use it within 3 days, and reheat leftovers to 165°F (74°C). Do not return a used basting brush or bowl to the clean container; that is how cross-contamination creeps in.

Treat the glaze as perishable once it has been out of the refrigerator, not as a shelf-stable jarred sauce. There is no jar shelf life for this recipe.

• Refrigerate unused clean glaze within 2 hours.
• Use within 3 days.
• Reheat any leftovers to 165°F.
• Never double-dip a used brush into the clean bowl.

Reading the nutrition numbers

One serving is one-eighth of the finished glaze batch. The estimate includes all honey, sugar, butter, mustard and bourbon; it does not include ham or other food underneath. Actual sauce left on the pan or brush is unmeasured and has not been deducted.

These are ingredient-input estimates rather than measurements of the finished sauce. In particular, the amount of alcohol retained during simmering is unknown, so the calculation counts the full 42 g spirit input.

Choosing the Honey

Use Clover honey or Wildflower honey or Buckwheat honey for the flavor described in this recipe. See our honey selection guide for other culinary choices.