Ham it up this vacation time of year with our tutorial on different types of ham , plus how to cook a tender , gamy jambon in the oven , in a boring cooker , or on a grillwork .

A gorgeous scorched gammon is the estimable centerpiece we can intend of forholiday meal . It looks impressive ( specially with a glisteningham glaze ) , but takes very little work to get on the table . fortunately , there are many ways to misrepresent a ham actor . you may broil ham , grillroom it , or evencook it in a slow cooker ! So even if your oven is full ofholiday sidesor pies , you ’ve catch other appliance pick . We ’ll tell you how to cook ham all those ways , plus offer peak on carve and how to choose a ham when you ’re at the grocery store fund .

Andy Lyons

Holiday ham with cranberry-orange glaze

Credit:Andy Lyons

How to Bake a Ham in the Oven

Step 1: Prep Ham

Preheat the oven to 325 ° F . You do n’t need to wash a gammon before baking . If you require us , broil ham is delicious even when you leave it plain ; however , scoring a diamond form with a sharp tongue in the forbidden level and brush on a glaze during baking makes the ham a showy centerpiece and supply feeling .

Jason Donnelly

How to Score a Ham

Using a sharp knife , cit through the rind ( Earth’s surface ) of the ham into a diamond pattern , making shallow sloping cut of meat 1 in aside and 1/4 - in rich . Score the top and side . If desired , insert whole cloves into the ham for decoration and flavor . It ’s easier to dig them in where the cuts cross . ( withdraw the cloves before eating the ham actor . )

Step 2: Bake Ham

set the jambon on a rack in a shallow roasting pan . Insert an oven - safe thermometer into the center of the ham . ( It should not affect the off-white of a pearl - in ham . ) Bake , exposed , in the preheated oven until ham record the desired temperature ( 140 ° F for pre - cooked gammon ) . Because cooking time vary free-base on the sizing and eccentric of ham , practice the timing below as a guide .

Brie Goldman

Step 3: Add Glaze (If You Want)

If you ’re using a glaze , the unspoiled time to put it on is during the last 15 to 20 minutes of baking time . If you glaze the ham sooner , the saccharide in the glaze may induce it to burn . Pull the oven single-foot out , and use a basting thicket or spoonful to cover the ham with glaze . Continue bake . appropriate any remaining glaze to serve with the gammon .

How Long to Bake Ham

How long to cook a ham depends on the exercising weight and eccentric of ham actor . practice these rule of thumb for how long to bake ham for your special occasion :

Boneless misrepresent jambon

Bone - in cooked ham actor

Whole ham scored diagonally

Credit:Jason Donnelly

Bone - in jambon ( misrepresent before consume )

  • Note : Hams librate more than 8 pounds should be loosely covered with foil midway through roast .

How to Cook Ham in a Slow Cooker

Yes , you could make tedious cooker ham . For a 5½- to 6 - quart wearisome cooker , choose a boneless gammon that ’s about 5 Irish pound , brush it with a glaze , and deadening prepare it , cover , for 8 to 9 60 minutes on low - heat setting . Get footstep - by - step direction for ourCherry Cola Ham recipein the slow cooker .

How to Grill Ham

Insert ameat thermometerin the thickest part of a cooked ham shank . For a oxford gray or gas grillwork , cook indirectly by arranging medium coals around a drip goat god . Test for medium - down in the mouth heating above the pan . commit the ham on the grill stand over the pan , cover , and grille until ham reaches 140 ° F ( timing guideline below ) , brushing ham with desired glaze once or doubly during the last 20 minutes of cooking . deal with foil and let stand for 15 minutes before carving . ( The temperature will rise 5 ° F during this metre . )

How Long to Cook Ham on the Grill

As with all roast , how long to grill ham depends on its weight .

psychometric test Kitchen Tip : If your grilling a born ham , you may need to grill 45 to 60 minutes longer to reach 140 ° F .

How to Cook a Stuffed Spiral Ham

Preheat your oven to 325 ° farad . short letter a shallow roasting pan with foil . Between the cut of one 8- to 10 - pound spiral - slice ham insert half a thinly sliced orange ; four garlic cloves , slivered ; and sprig of refreshed rosemary and/or thyme all the means around the ham actor . Transfer ham matted side down to the disposed pan . treat with foil . Bake 2 to 2½ hours or until browned and heated through ( 140 ° F ) . For the last 45 minutes of cooking , uncover and spoon glaze over ham ( if you ’re using a glaze ) . conveyance to a phonograph record using two large , broad spatula .

How to Cook a Ham Steak

When you do n’t involve to fudge a full ham actor , ham steaks are a good option . softly coat a heavy frying pan with nonstick cooking spraying or use a nonstick frying pan . Preheat over intermediate - high heat until very hot . Add ham steak , and reduce heat to medium . Cook , uncovered , for 9 to 11 minutes ( for a ½-inch thick steak ) or until heat through ( 140 ° fluorine ) . ham actor steaks are ideal for grill and oven broil too .

How to Carve a Bone-In Ham

Place the gammon on its flattest side . If there is n’t a flat side , use a cutting knife to slice off a small piece of ham from the bottom so the jambon will sit unconditional . cut of meat fade down to the os , then snub along the bone to discharge the slices .

image out how tocarve a hamthat does n’t have a osseous tissue ? merely slit it . There ’s not a thing to worry about here except maybe making sure you have a carving knife and fork to hold everything still .

Types of Ham

Ham is a cut of pork from the hind leg . Although most ham it up at the grocery storage are fully cooked , you do have a few pick to make whenselecting a gammon .

How to Buy and Store Ham

When buy a cooked , cured ham , choose one that is immobile and fatten out with flushed - pink meat . For a pearl - in ham , such as a rump one-half or waist portion , figure about three entrée servings per pound . For a boneless ham , plan on four to five serving per pound . Unless the recording label tell otherwise , assume your ham need to be refrigerate . A boneless , uncanned jambon can be refrigerated for up to one week ; shank and rump portions can be refrigerate for up to 2 weeks .

trial run Kitchen Tip : You may want to purchase extra ham so you willhave leftoversforsandwiches , egg dishes , soups , salads , andcasseroles .

Frequently Asked Questions

to achieve a juicy , moist ham , you ’ll want to keep it cover the legal age of the time . Depending on the sizing , uncover the gammon for at least 15 minute of arc and up to an hour at the oddment of the preparation time so as to attain a courteous brown exterior .

It ’s not necessary , but our Test Kitchen finds scoring the top and side of the ham allow the glaze to penetrate the ham , making it more flavorful .

While it ’s not always commend toroast a turkey with water system , you may add up to 1/2 - inch water to the base of the roasting pan before bake . This can prevent any glaze drippings from burning to the bottom of the roaster as well as keep moisture in the ham .

brushing ham with glaze

Credit:Brie Goldman

Stuffed Spiral Ham serving platter oranges

Credit: Jacob Fox

carving whole baked ham

Credit:Jason Donnelly