How do you keep a ham moist after cutting it?
Place in an oven-safe baking dish. To keep moisture inside, wrap aluminum foil loosely around the top of the ham. Bake for 10 minutes per pound of meat or until a meat thermometer registers 135 to 140 degrees at 275 degrees F.
Making glazed ham the day before is one of my most useful secret weapons for Christmas feasting occasions.
Regarding the part about not being confined to the kitchen, I’m getting pretty good at that.
In addition, I secretly aspire to be a Nigella Lawson-esque poised cooking goddess who can swan gracefully out of the kitchen with plate after plate of food without breaking a sweat.
I’ve been making my glazed ham the day before serving and simply reheating it the following day for years. It comes out 100% perfectly. The ham flesh doesn’t dry out at all, and the glaze tastes just as good as freshly made. Use this method to prepare either the traditional Brown Sugar Glazed Ham or my favorite Maple Glazed Ham!
I enjoy the challenge of creating menus with a “wow” factor but plenty of make-ahead options to lighten my workload on the actual day. Nobody wants to be stranded in the kitchen when having guests over.
Buying the Wrong Kind of Ham
Unfortunately, not all hams are created equal, so you should be careful about which kind you choose for your meal. In a nutshell, there are two main varieties of ham that can be bought: city hams and country hams (see our full descriptions of both). You should use a city ham for your holiday dinner because it is usually precooked, submerged in saltwater, and ready to be transformed into an amazing golden-brown creation.
In addition to the type of ham, we’d also recommend putting thought into the quality of the meat you’re purchasing. For every delectable, high quality there are two bland options, so take the time and money to find one that’s worth being your holiday dinner headliner. Call your local butcher to order a great bone-in ham, or order one online.
While a bone-free ham might be alluring due to its simplicity in slicing, choosing one that is bone-in or only partially deboned will benefit your ham’s flavor and moistness as well as your ease of cooking in the long run. The bone can also be used to add more depth of flavor to soups and stews long after the last of your ham has been devoured. The bone will assist in directing your thermometer to the proper spot while testing the meat’s temperature.
Additionally, watch out for hams that have been synthetically inflated. Cheaper hams can be injected with salt water and other artificial flavors to save time and money while lower-quality hams have been immersed in a curing saltwater solution. Make sure to read the label to confirm that “ham” is the only ingredient listed, ruling out any artificial tampering.
Make sure to line your ham pan with heavy-duty foil before baking for the convenience of your own post-meal cleanup. If you skip this step, your glaze is almost certain to harden into an impenetrable shell on your pan that will take a lot of work to remove.
You don’t want to shock your ham by putting it straight from the refrigerator into the oven, as this can be an abrupt temperature change. Rather, bringing the ham to room temperature prior to baking will ensure that all of the meat is cooked evenly once it is placed in the oven. To accomplish this, leave the pork out on the counter for about an hour before cooking.
To prevent your ham from turning out dry, it might seem natural to add as much moisture as you can before and during the cooking process. However, doing so can ultimately prevent you from making the ideal ham. Add a half cup of stock, wine, or water to the bottom of the pan while it’s cooking to infuse moisture into the meat throughout the baking process rather than pre-bathing the ham or basting it throughout the cooking process. When cooking the ham, be sure to wrap it in foil to help retain some of the moisture; only take it off when it’s time to start the glazing procedure.
You can allow the glaze to seep into the inner meat of the ham rather than just the outer skin by scoring the skin, which is done by making tiny cuts into the skin in a crisscross pattern across the entire surface. Even though this step will lengthen the time it takes you to cook, it will be well worth the extra time in the end.
When you’re pressed for time, it may be tempting to use the packet of pre-made glaze that frequently comes with a spiral cut ham, but making your own glaze is the quickest way to elevate your ham. For the pinnacle of a sweet and savory experience, we advise using a traditional brown sugar glaze.
When your homemade glaze is at its best, you’ll probably be eager to cover your ham in it and bake it until it turns a shiny brown. But rushing the glazing process can lead to a skin that is slightly burned and misses the subtleties of the sauce’s flavors. To prevent overcooking, brush on the glaze just 20 to 30 minutes before your ham is supposed to be done.
Hams cook most effectively when given additional time to cook evenly, slowly, and at a low temperature. Despite the fact that many recipes call for an oven temperature of 375 degrees or higher, cooking the ham for a longer period of time at a lower temperature—between 300 and 325 degrees—will produce a more flavorful cut of meat that isn’t dried out.
Once your glaze has been added after this patient cooking process, we’d suggest temporarily turning up the heat. By doing this, you can get your glaze to caramelize and form that delicious outer shell. Once the glaze is applied, preheat your oven to 450 degrees and carefully monitor your ham. Once you notice the glaze beginning to harden, lower the temperature.
In order to properly test the temperature of your ham, you’ll want to get your meat thermometer close to the bone to ensure you’re getting a reading from one of the deepest points of the meat. While a ham is generally considered done when it reaches 145 degrees, make sure to remove it from the oven before it hits this final temperature. Since your ham will continue cooking slightly on the countertop, removing it from the oven at 135 or 140 degrees will guarantee your meat won’t end up overcooked and dry.
Like most meats, ham benefits from a proper nap in order to be enjoyed at its best. Allowing the main course of your dinner to rest for roughly 20 minutes will allow the meat to absorb all of those internal juices, making for a moister, more succulent experience. Trust us, it’s worth the wait.
Start with this straightforward and efficient Simple Baked Ham recipe, then discover the quickest way to slice it and some ideas for coming up with creative uses for all those leftovers before putting these suggestions to the test and making your best holiday ham ever.