How to Cook a Juicy and Flavorful Butt Portion Ham

Cooking up a delicious glazed ham is a wonderful way to feed a crowd for the holidays or any celebratory family dinner. While your classic bone-in ham often comes from the hind leg, you can also find hams sold that are specifically cut from the top portion of the hind leg, known as the butt end.

These butt portion hams offer their own unique qualities. Follow this complete guide to learn all about choosing preparing, and roasting a butt ham to juicy glazed perfection.

What is a Butt Portion Ham?

As mentioned above, hams come from the back leg of the pig. More specifically, the hind leg is divided into three main sections:

The butt or rump (upper portion)
The shank (lower portion)
The center slice

Butt portion hams are cut from the meaty top part of the leg above the hip joint. This section contains the femur bone surrounded by large muscles like the biceps femoris.

The butt section tends to be the fattiest and most marbled part of the ham with a more irregular shape due to the bone Butt hams also have a more tapered shank bone

Benefits of Choosing a Butt Ham

Compared to a shank ham, a butt portion ham offers a few advantages:

More meat: With its large muscles and fat content, the butt contains a higher ratio of meat to bone. You’ll get more servings per pound.
Richer flavor: The marbling results in rich, succulent meat that is both juicy and flavorful when cooked.
Easier carving: The tapered shank bone can be easier to carve around than the bulbous knuckle end of a shank ham.

So when feeding a large gathering, a butt ham is a prized cut to choose.

Selecting a Fresh Butt Ham

When choosing a fresh, uncooked ham from the butcher, look for these qualities:

Meat that is pink to red in color
White fat cap layer
Even marbling throughout
Good fresh ham aroma
No dry spots or yellowing

For the easiest roasting results, choose a butt ham that’s around 8 to 12 pounds. Anything larger can be difficult to manage. Have the butcher trim off excess skin and score the fat to help the glaze absorb.

How to Prepare a Fresh Butt Ham

Preparing an uncooked fresh ham is simple. Here are the key steps:

Rinse and pat dry. Rinse off the ham and pat thoroughly dry with paper towels.
Score the fat. Use a sharp knife to cut 1/4-inch deep lines in a diamond pattern across the fat cap. This allows the glaze to penetrate.
Apply a rub. For extra flavor, you can massage the scored ham with a dry rub of brown sugar, garlic, and mustard powder.
Set out to warm up. Let the ham sit out for 30 minutes to 1 hour to lose some of the chill before roasting.

And that’s it! A fresh butt ham needs no soaking or other special treatment before cooking.

How to Cook a Fresh Butt Ham

Cooking a fresh ham is as easy as throwing it in the oven. Follow these simple steps:

Prep the oven. Preheat your oven to 325°F. Place a roasting pan or rimmed baking sheet on a low oven rack.
Add liquids. Pour 1 to 2 cups of water, fruit juice or wine in the bottom of the pan to keep the ham from drying out.
Roast uncovered. Place ham directly on the pan and roast uncovered for about 35-40 minutes per pound.
Check temperature. Roast until the internal temp reaches 145°F on a meat thermometer.
Rest and glaze. Remove the ham from the oven, brush with your favorite glaze, and let rest for 15 minutes before carving.

The USDA recommends cooking fresh pork to 145°F with a 3 minute rest time. This results in juicy meat that is safe to consume.

Tested Glaze Options

While a fresh butt ham is delicious unadorned, a sweet glaze adds wonderful flavor. Here are some top-rated glazes to try:

Brown sugar glaze: Brown sugar, mustard, and spices
Fruit glaze: Pineapple, peach, or cherry jam
Spice glaze: Orange zest, cloves, and ginger
Herb glaze: Honey, thyme, mustard, vinegar

Brush on your glaze about 30 minutes before the ham is finished cooking so it has time to caramelize.

Carving and Serving a Butt Ham

Follow these tips for carving and serving your beautifully roasted butt ham:

Let it rest for 10-15 minutes before slicing. This allows juices to reabsorb.
Carefully cut the meat away from the tapered bone end. Then make vertical slices.
Arrange slices on a serving platter and spoon over any pan juices for added moisture.
Serve with classic ham sides like scalloped potatoes, baked beans, and cornbread.

Storing Leftover Cooked Ham

Leftover baked ham will keep well for 3-4 days refrigerated. To freeze, wrap tightly in plastic and foil and freeze for 2-3 months. Enjoy leftover ham in omelets, sandwiches, soups and more!

how to cook a butt portion ham

Tips for the Best Baked Ham

Even though ham is easy to cook, here are some things to remember to make sure it looks great:

Let it sit at room temperature: The ham needs to sit at room temperature for a couple of hours before it can be cooked. If you don’t, the inside will still be cold when the outside is hot.
Don’t cook the ham too long. Many ham packages say to heat the ham to 140°F. Thats just asking for a dry ham. Don’t forget that the ham is already cooked; you’re just warming it up.
If you have an uncooked or partially cooked ham instead of a ready-to-eat ham, follow the cooking instructions on the package. Most packages say to cook a partially cooked ham to 150°F.
When cooking a spiral-cut ham, make sure to wrap it tightly in foil. If you use a spiral-cut ham that has already been sliced, the outside can dry out if you don’t wrap it tightly enough with foil.

How To Prepare Baked Ham

You only need to heat up the ham and, if you want, add a simple glaze. This is because most hams you buy are already cooked.

To get the ham ready, cut a diamond shape into the fat and skin, being careful not to cut into the meat. This scoring will allow the glaze to soak into the meat and flavor it.

Apply the glaze just before putting it into the oven to bake. Note that the ham is already cooked; all that’s left to do is warm it up again with the glaze. Use a meat thermometer and warm it to 110°F to 120°F.

To finish, baste the ham with its juices and put it under the broiler to brown the skin. Then slice and serve.

how to cook a butt portion ham

Easy Ham Recipe – How to Bake a Ham

FAQ

What is the best way to cook a precooked ham?

If the ham is labeled “fully cooked” (does not require heating), heat it in the oven for about 10 minutes per pound, or to an internal temperature of 140 F. If the ham is labeled “cook before eating,” heat in an oven set no lower than 325 F to an internal temperature of at least 145 F.

Do you cover ham when baking?

If you don’t cover your ham while cooking it will quickly dry out. Instead: Put some aluminum foil over your ham while it’s cooking. It is recommended that the ham is covered for at least half of the cooking process and only removed during the last half when you glaze it.

What is the best cooking method for ham?

Roast in a 350 degrees F oven until the thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the ham registers 130 degrees F. Increase the oven temperature during the last 45 minutes of cook time to 375 degrees and glaze several times. The ham is done when it’s cooked to 140 degrees F. Rest the ham.