Maple Bourbon Glaze for Ham, Chicken, Pork, or Salmon

This Maple Bourbon Glaze is perfect on grilled chicken or pork, smoked or baked ham, and even on salmon! It's the perfect combination of sweet and savory and easy to throw together in no time.

Jump to:

• Ingredient Notes
• How to Make Maple Bourbon Glaze
• Expert Tips
• Variations
• Recipe FAQs
• Storage
• What to serve with Maple Bourbon Glaze
• 📖 Recipe

There is something so wonderful about the combination of maple syrup and bourbon. They team up to make a flavor that tastes like fall, which is why I love to make dishes with those ingredients. My Maple Bourbon Butternut Squash has been a beloved favorite for Thanksgiving dinner for years!

Cooking with bourbon is something we love to do around here. When you cook bourbon down, it gives it an almost caramelized taste that just can't be replicated. If you love cooking with bourbon, check out our Honey Bourbon Chicken, Bourbon Bacon Cheeseburger (better than Wendy's), or even Banana Bread Bundt Cake with Bourbon Glaze!

This smooth glaze comes together easily and has so many uses! Not only do we love to use it like a barbecue sauce on all sorts of proteins, but it's also a great addition to side dishes like sweet potatoes, brussels sprouts, and carrots.

Ingredient Notes

• Pure Maple Syrup- Make sure you don't use "maple-flavored" syrup for this recipe!
• Brown Sugar- You can use light or dark brown sugar to add more sweetness and a caramel-like quality to your sweet glaze.
• Bourbon- We love cooking with something simple like Jim Beam, but you won't need much for this recipe so don't be afraid to bust out the good stuff!
• Yellow Mustard- I used yellow mustard, but you can also substitute dijon mustard if you prefer.

See recipe card for full glaze ingredients and quantities.

How to Make Maple Bourbon Glaze

1. Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan. Bring to a low boil over medium-high heat, stirring frequently to ensure the sugar dissolves completely. 
2. Lower the temperature to a simmer for 10-15 minutes, or until it reaches the desired thickness.

Expert Tips

• Brown sugar and maple syrup can both burn easily, so let the mixture heat up slowly and stir frequently to avoid sticking and burning.
• When simmering, go for whatever glaze consistency you prefer. If you want it to stick to meat, the glaze should coat the back of a spoon. Keep in mind it will thicken up further when it cools.
• When using on a meat like a pork tenderloin or a salmon, brush the glaze on in the last couple minutes of cooking or after you finish the cooking process to avoid burning the glaze.

Variations

• Add a splash of orange juice for a little tang or apple juice for a bit more sweetness without thickening the mixture too much.
• Add a bit of a sweet BBQ rub to the sticky glaze to give it more of a barbecue flavor.
• Add soy sauce to give this great glaze a saltier, Asian twist.

Recipe FAQs

Storage

Refrigerate: Allow the Maple Bourbon Glaze to cool to room temperature before storing. Transfer the glaze to an airtight container and keep it in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.

We do not recommend freezing this recipe.

What to serve with Maple Bourbon Glaze

I love this maple-bourbon glaze on a delicious ham recipe like our Smoked Ham on the Big Green Egg, pork chops or pork tenderloin, and on chicken drumsticks!

You can even add it to a brussels sprouts or a sweet potatoes recipe and it goes great as a finishing sauce on salmon.

📖 Recipe

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