Ham is one of the most classic holiday staples. “My grandmother did teach me to cook pre-cooked ham. However, what I have never read anywhere is how she “pre-prepared” the ham: squirt ballpark mustard all over the ham, then take brown sugar and coat ham using the mustard as the “glue”. She did not prepare the glaze. She put the mustard and brown sugar on before having warmed. Also, she cooked as below recipe directs. The taste is fantastic. Much better than a mixed glaze. Others have tried it and raved.” I did read this idea from a cooking blog which has a lot of pretty cooking recipes to learn. Anyway, below is the right way that I collect from Tastesoflizzyt, also give a thank to your cooking recipe. Follow these simple rules to impress your family with the juiciest, most flavorful ham of all time. Let cook a ham!
How to choose a ham
There are different types of ham that you will find in the store. In short, there are three types: spiral sliced, bone-in unsliced hams, boneless hams. Bone-in unsliced hams allow you to cut slices to your own desired thickness. Boneless meats have the bone removed. Then during the curing process, the ham is pressed back together to get a uniform shape. Sometimes boneless hams will have a slightly different texture than traditional hams.
My favourite type of ham is spiral sliced. They are super easy because it comes perfectly sliced in sizes ideal for sandwiches or serving. It also makes a beautiful centrepiece on your dinner table. Spiral sliced hams often come with a seasoning packet. I usually throw that seasoning packet away and make my glaze, which we will talk about next!
Ham Glaze recipe
I like to make a glaze sweetened with honey, brown sugar and maple syrup. I would have to say that those are my three favourite sweeteners! Add a touch of dijon mustard and black pepper for just a little spice. If you would like you can add 1/4 teaspoon of cloves or ginger. I have done this occasionally to give the ham a “Christmas” flavour, but most of the time I leave out those two spices.
How to bake ham
Baking a ham is extremely more straightforward than you may think. I place the meat in a roasting pan (or 9×13 pan), then pour a cup of ginger ale, and a cup of orange juice overtop the ham. This not only adds to the flavour but helps keep the meat juicy while it cooks.
Cover either the ham or the pan with foil. Make sure it is covered well, so the meat does not dry out.
Set the oven to 350 degrees and bake the ham, basting every 15-20 minutes. Uncover the meat when you cook it, but then cover it back up when you put it back in the oven.
How long to bake ham?
It will generally take about 10-15 minutes per pound to heat the spiral sliced ham to 140 degrees Fahrenheit. We set our oven to 350 degrees and plan for it to take about 1 1/2 to 2 hours for the nearly 10-pound hams we buy.
Can we make this ham in the slow cooker?
You can make this ham in the slow cooker. I set the slow cooker to low, place the meat in the crockpot, and pour the ginger ale and orange juice over the top. Then I mix up the glaze and pour it over the ham. After about 4-5 hours, the meat should be warmed. If I cook this ham in the slow cooker, I try to baste it several times while it cooks so that those delicious flavours get distributed all thr0ugh the meat. The part of the ham that is soaking in the juices will have the most taste, though. You could always turn the pork over partway through cooking, so the whole meat has time to simmer in the juices.
Slow cooker ham may not look as lovely as oven-baked ham, but it will be soft and flavorful.
How to cook a ham
Everything you need to learn about how to cook a ham for your holiday dinner. Start with a spiralized meat and make a homemade honey ham glaze for a deliciously flavorful tender & juicy ham.
- Course: Main Dish
- Cuisine: American
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 3 hours
- Total Time: 3 hours 10 minutes
Ingredients
- 10 pound cooked spiral-sliced ham
- 1 cup of orange juice
- 1 cup ginger ale
Ham Glaze
- 1/2 cup maple syrup
- And 1/2 cup honey
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- Two tablespoons dijon mustard
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
Instructions
- Remove the ham from the refrigerator 1 hour before cooking.
- Heat the oven beforehand to 350 degrees.
- Place the ham sliced side up in a roasting pan.
- Pour the orange juice and ginger ale over the top the ham.
- Cover the pan tightly with foil and bake for 20 minutes.
- In a small bowl, combine the syrup, honey, sugar, mustard and pepper. Mix well.
- Baste the ham with juices and brush with ham glaze. Bake again for 20 minutes.
- (Be sure to leave about 1/2 cup of ham glaze for basting again right before serving.)
- Continue baking them ham, cooking with the honey glaze every 15 minutes until the internal temperature of the meat reaches 140 degrees Fahrenheit. This will take about 10-15 minutes per pound of fully cooked ham. Plan for approximately 90-120 minutes of preparing for pork.
- Remove the ham from the oven and allow it to rest covered for 10-15 minutes.
- Baste with the remaining ham glaze right before serving.
Also, you can read “how to grill steak“, or “how to make French Baguettes“, or“how to make lemon cake”, or “how to make Patbingsu”,and “how to make delicious kimchi” to know more about other topics!
