Hams are a beautiful centrepiece on any holiday table. Whether smoked or baked, It’s so easy to prepare a gorgeous and gleaming ham. Here’s how:
It’s perhaps one of the most iconic holiday images – a plump round ham glistening with a sticky sweet glaze, sitting as the showpiece of the table. You know, the one that’s all rosy and shiny, putting all the side dishes to shame? Yeah, that’s the one. And unlike the Thanksgiving turkey, which is rather difficult to cook to perfection, hams areeasy.Like, nearly laughably easy. When I first discovered that in most cases all you’re really doing is reheating a precooked ham, I was flabbergasted that it was just so simple.
Cooked or uncooked ham?
Not all hams come precooked, though. The ready-to-heat hams that are most popular are actually cured, and all you’re doing is reheating them. It takes a while because you still want to make sure it’s heated all the way to the centre, without drying the outside too much. That’s why some folks prefer putting some water in the bottom of their roasting pan to help keep moisture during the reheat. If you choose to purchase an uncooked ham, you’re essentially buying a raw pork thigh. It will cook much like any other piece of roast pork – and have a greyish inside appearance with a lovely roast crust developed during cooking . But, if you’re looking for that signature pinkish hue to the meat, then you want to choose a cooked or cured ham.
Buying smoked versus baked ham
This is truly a matter of personal preference. Both have been cured, cooked and cooled, it’s just the cooking method that differs. One is oven baked, and one has been smoked. In the majority of cases, unless you are buying from a small batch craft supplier, the ham will have been smoked in a big industrial smoker. This gives a very different taste from a restaurant-style pit smoker, as the smoke can taste quite acrid and nearly artificial. Another common complaint is that they sometimes don’t even taste smokey enough. But, I have a solution for that too.
Technique: smoking versus baking a ham
Whether you purchased a pre-smoked ham or a baked one, you still have choices as to the reheating. For subtle smoke, you may choose to buy a baked ham then warm it in the smoker. For a double smoked ham, simply purchase a smoked ham then heat it up using a smoker or pellet grill so you’re giving it that good shot of smoke twice. And if you want to shy away from a smoke flavor profile altogether, go for a baked ham and use an oven for reheating.
[As a side bar, I also find it really unusual that we call it baked ham. Shouldn’t it technically be roast ham?! Anyway, let’s carry on…]
Cooking your ham safely
Your ham will likely come with instructions for cooking it (and a guide for temperature and time per pound). Both for safety AND enjoyabilty factor (no one likes half warmed ham that’s cold in the centre), you’ll need a thermometer. Once your ham reaches 135-140f internal temperature, it’s both safe to eat AND warm all the way through. I recommend a Thermapen instant read thermometer that gives you fast and accurate results.
When you do glaze a ham, your glaze is going to have a very high sugar content. And that’s an understatement. So what you do have to be cautious of is having that glaze burn. That’s why I prefer to allow my ham to develop the traditional roasty colors, then apply the glaze 20 minutes before it’s done cooking.
For a glaze, I recommend this Mexican inspired Savory Caramel Glaze.
So now we come to the actual “how to glaze a ham” part. You can use store bought or even something as simple as honey, but if you’re on this website you’re probably into cooking, so why not have a crack at making something delicious from scratch?
Print
The basics: how to glaze a ham
5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star
No reviews
Author:Jess Pryles
Print Recipe
Ingredients
Scale
1 x 6 lb boneless ham
2–3 cups of water
1 portion of Savory Caramel Glaze (or other glaze)
Instructions
Preheat an oven to 350f.
Line a roasting pan with foil for easy cleanup. Place a roasting rack on top of the foil, then your ham on the rack. Carefully pour the water into the bottom of the roasting pan to create steam and keep your ham moist. Place the entire pan into preheated oven.
Cook for 15 to 20 minutes per pound (so for a 6 pound roast, you’re looking at a cook time of at least an hour and a half). If your ham begins to brown too much, rotate it to account for any hot spots, and lower the heat by 15-20f.
About 20 minutes prior to the end of cooking time, begin glazing the ham but applying it with a silicon brush. Continue to glaze every 5 minutes until the ham is done. The ham is ready when a thermometer reads an internal temperature of 135-140f.
Prepare at least one cup of glaze per five to 10 pounds of ham. To glaze the ham, pull the roasting pan out of the oven and place it on a cooling rack; make sure to close the oven door so heat doesn't escape. Using a basting brush or spoon, coat the ham with the glaze, then return it to the oven.
After the ham has cooked for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, brush the surface with some of the glaze. Then pop it back into the oven, uncovered, for another 20 minutes or so.
About 20 minutes prior to the end of cooking time, begin glazing the ham but applying it with a silicon brush. Continue to glaze every 5 minutes until the ham is done. The ham is ready when a thermometer reads an internal temperature of 135-140f.
If you don't cover your ham while cooking it will quickly dry out. Instead: Put some aluminum foil over your ham while it's cooking. It is recommended that the ham is covered for at least half of the cooking process and only removed during the last half when you glaze it.
Add water as needed to prevent pan juices from drying out (we want a syrupy sauce at the end to serve with the ham!) You shouldn't need oven time with the foil off to re-caramelise the glaze but you can if needed.
Top Tip: Just remove the rind and leave as much of the fat on as you can. Fat = sticky glaze! This part is easy – the skin WANTS to come off! Your ham will come with a thick, rubbery skin which is called the rind.
While baking a show-stopping ham is simple and easy, be sure to leave yourself plenty of time to bring the ham to room temperature for an hour (for even heat distribution) as well as up to 2 1/2 hours to bake it long, low and slow, depending on your ham's size.
The sugars in the glaze will burn if you add it too early. This is why it's best to glaze your ham 15-30 minutes before you take it out of the oven. The extra time you give your ham to cook low and slow will result in a more flavorful meat that isn't dried out.
If you're just learning how to cook a ham, here's the most important part: Avoid overcooking it. Remember, the ham is already cooked, so all you need to do is gently reheat it in the oven.
Cook it cut-side down: Place the ham cut-side down in your pan to prevent it from drying out while baking. Cover it while cooking: Help the meat retain moisture by covering the ham or pan with aluminum foil before putting it in the oven.
Place in a 325-to-350-degree oven, brush with some glaze if desired and bake until heated through and the internal temperature reaches 135 degrees. Again, figure no more than 10 minutes per pound. An 8-pounder will take 1 hour and 20 minutes.
Heat oven to 325ºF. Remove all packaging materials and place ham on its side, fat side up, on rack in shallow roasting pan; cover loosely with aluminum foil. Heat approximately 15 to 20 minutes per pound until heated through. Remove ham from oven and let stand, covered, 20 minutes before serving.
You can use water, but if you want to add more flavor, you should use wine or beef, chicken, or vegetable stock. Most of this liquid will cook off, but your tinfoil cover will help your meat absorb those juices.
Basting – As the brown sugar ham glaze cools, it thickens so it sticks better to the ham as you baste during the cook time. 7. Internal temp – Ham is already cooked and ready for eating, so glazed hams are really about extra flavour + glazing.
Add water to the bottom of the pan and cover the whole thing tightly with foil. Bake at 325F for 16-20 minutes per pound, until a meat thermometer registers 135F. Unwrap the ham and apply the glaze; increase the heat to 400F and bake for 15-20 minutes longer until the glaze is burnished.
Place the ham on a baking tray or in a roasting dish and pour a cup of water or fruit juice into the base of the oven dish (along with other aromatics such as garlic, cloves and onion). As your ham cooks, the glaze will drip off as it heats up and the liquid will prevent your glaze from burning!
In shallow roasting pan, place ham. In large saucepan, stir together glaze packet contents, 2 cups water and brown sugar. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, 2 to 3 minutes or until brown sugar is dissolved.
Your ham must be allowed to completely cool before stage two, Glazing. When glazing use a liner in the bottom of the tray as caramelized or burnt sugars can be a real pain to get off. Make sure rind is removed before basting.
Address: 58866 Tricia Spurs, North Melvinberg, HI 91346-3774
Phone: +50616620367928
Job: Real-Estate Liaison
Hobby: Graffiti, Astronomy, Handball, Magic, Origami, Fashion, Foreign language learning
Introduction: My name is Lilliana Bartoletti, I am a adventurous, pleasant, shiny, beautiful, handsome, zealous, tasty person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
We notice you're using an ad blocker
Without advertising income, we can't keep making this site awesome for you.
