Baked ham is served on many American holiday tables. Today there are many options when purchasing your ham, from the cut, to curing method and of course optional spiral slicing.
In most supermarkets, cured hams come in five forms: boneless, semiboneless, bone-in, whole, and half. Each of these types is available unsliced or “spiral-sliced”. In my many years of experience, a bone-in ham is always most flavorful, and I also do not prefer them sliced. I enjoy a meatier ham with a thicker slice, which you only get if you carve the ham yourself. If however you are putting the ham on a buffet for an evening of eating at leisure, then a spiral sliced ham that is thinly cut will do, especially if people are making sandwiches. You generally need about 1/2 pound of ham per person for a bone-in ham. When purchasing you're looking for a ham with natural juices and no water added.
Rarely do you need to purchase a whole ham. They feed a small army. Half hams are available in two cuts: shank end and rump/butt end. If labeling is unclear, it’s easy to identify half hams by their shape—shank hams have a pointed end much smaller than the larger end, whereas the sirloin (or butt) end is rounded. Butt/rump (sometimes called sirloin) end is preferred because it is meatier and less fatty. It is slightly more difficult to carve, but the flavor and texture is worth the effort.
The ham you buy is ready to eat. Technically it doesn't require warming. But when serving it for dinner, most Americans prefer to heat it and often add a glaze. Your goal is to gently warm the ham through until it is between 110F and 120F degrees. Cooking the ham to a higher internal temperature dries out the the meat. To achieve this, bring a ham to room temperature by letting it rest on the counter for 90 minutes before cooking. Then roast the ham in a 250F degree oven covered or in a roasting bag.
Once the internal temperature of the ham reaches 100 degrees, uncover the ham (or cut open the bag) and increase the oven temperature to 350F degrees. Apply the glaze and bake the ham for 10 minutes. Remove the ham from the oven, apply more glaze, and then make a quick sauce with the remaining glaze and the drippings in the oven bag. Allow the ham to rest covered with foil for 15 minutes before serving.
The below glaze recipes are from the great cooks at Cook's Illustrated.
Maple-Orange Glaze
¾ cup maple syrup
½ cup orange marmalade
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
To Make Maple-Orange Glaze: Combine all ingredients in small saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until mixture is thick, syrupy, and reduced to 1 cup, 5 to 10 minutes; set aside.
Cherry-Port Glaze
½ cup ruby port
½ cup cherry preserves
1 cup packed dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
To Make Cherry-Port Glaze: Simmer port in small saucepan over medium heat until reduced to 2 tablespoons, about 5 minutes. Add remaining ingredients and cook, stirring occasionally, until sugar dissolves and mixture is thick, syrupy, and reduced to 1 cup, 5 to 10 minutes; set aside.
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| Julian's Christmas Ham Dinner |
In most supermarkets, cured hams come in five forms: boneless, semiboneless, bone-in, whole, and half. Each of these types is available unsliced or “spiral-sliced”. In my many years of experience, a bone-in ham is always most flavorful, and I also do not prefer them sliced. I enjoy a meatier ham with a thicker slice, which you only get if you carve the ham yourself. If however you are putting the ham on a buffet for an evening of eating at leisure, then a spiral sliced ham that is thinly cut will do, especially if people are making sandwiches. You generally need about 1/2 pound of ham per person for a bone-in ham. When purchasing you're looking for a ham with natural juices and no water added.
Rarely do you need to purchase a whole ham. They feed a small army. Half hams are available in two cuts: shank end and rump/butt end. If labeling is unclear, it’s easy to identify half hams by their shape—shank hams have a pointed end much smaller than the larger end, whereas the sirloin (or butt) end is rounded. Butt/rump (sometimes called sirloin) end is preferred because it is meatier and less fatty. It is slightly more difficult to carve, but the flavor and texture is worth the effort.
The ham you buy is ready to eat. Technically it doesn't require warming. But when serving it for dinner, most Americans prefer to heat it and often add a glaze. Your goal is to gently warm the ham through until it is between 110F and 120F degrees. Cooking the ham to a higher internal temperature dries out the the meat. To achieve this, bring a ham to room temperature by letting it rest on the counter for 90 minutes before cooking. Then roast the ham in a 250F degree oven covered or in a roasting bag.
Once the internal temperature of the ham reaches 100 degrees, uncover the ham (or cut open the bag) and increase the oven temperature to 350F degrees. Apply the glaze and bake the ham for 10 minutes. Remove the ham from the oven, apply more glaze, and then make a quick sauce with the remaining glaze and the drippings in the oven bag. Allow the ham to rest covered with foil for 15 minutes before serving.
The below glaze recipes are from the great cooks at Cook's Illustrated.
Maple-Orange Glaze
¾ cup maple syrup
½ cup orange marmalade
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
To Make Maple-Orange Glaze: Combine all ingredients in small saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until mixture is thick, syrupy, and reduced to 1 cup, 5 to 10 minutes; set aside.
Cherry-Port Glaze
½ cup ruby port
½ cup cherry preserves
1 cup packed dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
To Make Cherry-Port Glaze: Simmer port in small saucepan over medium heat until reduced to 2 tablespoons, about 5 minutes. Add remaining ingredients and cook, stirring occasionally, until sugar dissolves and mixture is thick, syrupy, and reduced to 1 cup, 5 to 10 minutes; set aside.
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