Cooking A Ham: {Timetable & Tips}

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Make Sure To Cook Lots Of Extra Ham--Leftovers Can Be Used In So Many Delicious Ways!

To Cook A Ham:

• Place meat in a shallow roaster, uncovered, in a preheated oven (325°). Do not add water.
• Cook until internal temperature of meat is at 160° (for fresh and cook-before-eating cured hams).
• If you’ve purchased a cooked ham it should be heated to an internal temperature of 140° to 165°.
• Cooking times are listed below for various types of hams.

Glaze Recipes

Baking with glaze will add more flavor and help keep the meat moist, it’s not necessary to do but it does add a nice touch. Here are two easy recipes, baste the meat with glaze during the last 45 minutes of cooking:

• Basic Brown Sugar Glaze: Melt 1 tablespoon of butter in a saucepan then stir in 1 1/2 cups dark brown sugar, 1 tablespoon dry mustard, 2 tablespoons flour. Cook over medium heat for 2 minutes, stirring often. Add 2 tablespoons orange juice concentrate and 1 tablespoon water. Continue cooking over medium heat until glaze is smooth and thick (stir often). Allow to cool a bit before covering meat.
• Basic Honey Glaze: Mix 1/4 cup brown sugar (firmly packed) with 1/4 cup honey, 3 tablespoons of unsweetened pineapple juice and 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard. Bring to a boil and cook for 1 minute (stirring well). Allow to cool before spreading this over the meat (glaze during the last 45 minutes of cooking).

For best results, diamond-scoring the meat before cooking it will help the glaze soak into the ham. Remove meat from the oven about 10 minutes before covering it with glaze. Return to oven and baste twice (every 15 minutes).

Tips

• If you find they are usually dry and tough when you cook them, it’s likely because you’re cooking the meat too long. Try removing from the oven when the internal temperature is about 5° lower than what you want. Let the meat rest on the counter for about 15 minutes or so before carving, the meat will continue to cook while it’s resting while allowing the juices to be absorbed.
• If the ham is quite lean, lightly diamond-score on all sides then brush oil all over. This will help keep the meat moist and prevent it from drying out.
• Before placing in the oven, make sure it’s preheated to the required temperature. Also place with the fat side up (so the fat will baste the meat as it cooks). Following these two steps will give the tastiest results.
• Measure the internal temperature by sticking a meat thermometer into the thickest part of the ham (without resting on the bone or hot fat).
• If you don’t have a meat thermometer, one way to tell if it is done is if the bone moves easily as you wiggle it (meat will fall or pull away).
• If you bake a bone-in ham, save the bone for delicious homemade soups.
• Leftover ham is delicious in soups, casseroles, slow-simmering dishes…see these recipes for ideas.
• Having a dinner party and need to figure out how much to buy per person? Use this as a guide…Boneless: 1/4 – 1/3 lb. per serving. Bone-In: 1/3 – 1/2 lb. per serving.*
• Did You Know: They may be fresh, cured, or cured-and-smoked. Ham is the cured leg of pork. Fresh ham is an uncured leg of pork.*
• Did You Know: A whole, uncut country ham can be stored safely at room temperature for up to 1 year. And an unopened canned ham may be stored at room temperature for up to 2 years.*

*Source: Cooking times and internal temperatures were confirmed with the USDA: Food Safety Sheet.