Heating and glazing a cured ham seems effortless, but many recipes yield leathery meat in a too-sweet glaze. We wanted moist meat in a nuanced glaze.

Bone-in hams, labeled “with natural juices,” have the best flavor and spiral-sliced versions make carving a cinch, but too much time in the oven can ruin even the best ham on the market, so we focused on reducing the cooking time. Soaking the ham in hot water shaved off a full hour, and using an oven bag further reduced the cooking time while also containing the ham’s moisture.

We heated a mixture of sweet and savory pantry staples for two tempting glaze options.

You could bypass the 90-minute soaking time, but the ham will be less juicy and the heating time must be increased to 18 to 20 minutes per pound.

Glazed Spiral-Sliced Ham

• 1 (7- to 10-pound) spiral-sliced bone-in half ham
• 1 large plastic oven bag
• 1 recipe glaze (recipes follow)

Leaving the ham’s inner plastic or foil covering intact, place ham in large container and cover with hot water; let sit 45 minutes.

Drain; cover again with hot water; let sit another 45 minutes.

Adjust oven rack to lowest position and heat oven to 250 degrees.

Unwrap ham; discard plastic disk covering bone. Place ham in oven bag. Gather top of bag tightly so bag fits snugly around ham, tie bag and trim excess plastic. Set ham cut side down in large roasting pan and cut 4 slits in top of bag. Bake ham until center registers 100 degrees, about 90 minutes, or 10 minutes per pound.

Remove ham; increase oven temperature to 350 degrees. Cut open oven bag and roll back sides to expose ham. Brush with 1/3 of glaze and return to oven until glaze is sticky, about 10 minutes.

Transfer ham to carving board; brush with another third of glaze. Tent with foil; let rest 15 minutes.

Add 4 to 6 tablespoons pan juices to remaining third of glaze and cook over medium until a thick sauce forms. Carve ham; serve with sauce. Serves 12-14.

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Maple-Orange Glaze

• 3/4 cup maple syrup
• 1/2 cup orange marmalade
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Combine ingredients in small saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until reduced to 1 cup, 5 to 10 minutes. Makes 1 cup.

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Cherry-Port Glaze

• 1/2 cup ruby port
• 1/2 cup cherry preserves
• 1 cup packed dark brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon pepper

Simmer port in small saucepan over medium heat until reduced to 2 tablespoons, about 5 minutes. Add remaining ingredients and cook, stirring occasionally, until reduced to 1 cup, 5 to 10 minutes. Makes 1 cup.

Approximate nutritional information, per serving (with orange glaze): 390 calories, 17 g total fat, 5 g saturated fat, 45 mg cholesterol, 1,914 mg sodium, 7 g carbohydrate, no fiber, 6 g sugar, 52 g protein.

Approximate nutritional information, per serving (with port glaze): 463 calories, 17 g total fat, 5 g saturated fat, 143 mg cholesterol, 1,908 mg sodium, 25 g carbohydrate, no fiber, 23 g sugar, 52 g protein.