How To Cook Your Ham In A Slow Cooker
Slow cooking a whole ham creates a super-moist, wonderfully tender ham. It’s also a great method when you’re feeding a huge holiday crowd: pop a turkey in the oven and a ham in the slow cooker, and you’re set. This 5-star recipe for Slow Cooker Ham calls for a respectable 8-pound bone-in picnic ham. Other cooks have had success with a 9-pound spiral-cut honey-cured ham.
More About This Recipe
- Spiral hams are the tricksters of the holiday meal. They look intimidating because they can weigh 7 pounds and be bulky. But theyre deceptively easy to prepare. The trick is to take the doctors approach. First rule of spiral hams: Do no harm.What you might not know about spiral ham is that you actually dont need to cook them at all. They’re completely ready to eat right out of the packaging, so you could literally just open the ham and serve it without touching it. But thats not very fun, right? Also, cold ham is good in sandwiches but definitely not for your holiday guests. We can do better than cold by thoroughly warming the ham and coating it in a glossy, moist and flavorful glaze.
Our Test Kitchen Experts Share Their Best Tips And Tricks For How To Cook A Ham For Holidays And Special Occasions You’ve Got This
Looking to make a picture-perfect glazed ham for your Easter dinner? Good idea! Ham is less stressful to prepare than many other roasted meats because most are sold already cooked .
All you need to do is reheat and finish it off with a tasty glaze. Our Test Kitchen pros show you how its done, with their best tips and a recipe to boot.
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Tips From The Pillsbury Kitchens
- tip 1 Cross-hatching the ham’s surface before applying the glaze ensures that the ham catches as much glaze as possible. This glaze also works on your favorite boneless ham.
- tip 2 Make your ham extra special with a delicious twist by adding your favorite fruit preserves or juice to your glaze.
- tip 3 Not sure how much ham to make for your dinner party? Generally, planning for 1/2 pound of ham per person is a good rule to follow. Some guests may eat more, some eat less, but this rule should help your planning. For example, if you are serving 12 people, a six-pound ham should be plenty!
- tip 4 This baked ham recipe calls for bone-in ham. Bone-in ham tends to have more flavor than boneless ham. And, as a bonus, you can use the bone to make soup, like our Easy Slow-Cooker Ham Bone Soup!
How Do You Position A Ham

You can arrange the ham when cooking in various ways. The easiest option is to place the product on a baking sheet. In this case, place the ham exactly in the center of the baking sheet for an even distribution of temperature and moisture.
Avoid contact of the product with the edges of the oven, there is the highest concentration of heat. You can also choose the next position for the ham bring the water in the pan to a boil and put the product on the skewer. Place it over boiling water. This arrangement will help to extinguish the product without direct contact with water.
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Where Do Ham Steaks Come From
If you are a fan of pork and other kinds of pig meat, ham steak is another variety youll enjoy. Ham is meat that is cut from the upper part of a pigs back legs. It is then marinated in salt so that it can last a long time. But ham is large. Except youre hosting a party, a whole ham will be too much to purchase at once for your family.
Thats how we have the ham steak. A round,small portion of ham cut that will be sufficient for you and your family. Maybewe should call it Family Ham.
The process for preparing ham infuses itwith a lot of sweet flavor. That is why ham steaks infuse a strong taste in anydish you put it in. Ham steak can be prepared in a variety of ways and pairwith many dishes. Well be making them in our oven here.
But just before we get down there
How To Heat A Fully Cooked Ham
The Spruce / Catherine Song
A “fully cooked” ham can be sliced and eaten cold in sandwiches and salads, but the flavor and texture are greatly improved by heating. Here’s how to heat a ham labeled “fully cooked.”These instructions apply to hams that are packaged in USDA-inspected plants. Hams that are not from USDA-inspected plants are heated to 165 F.
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How To Bake A Honey
My family being what it is, a Sunday lunch means we have 17 people to feed . I often decide to fall back on ham, that oh-so-easy lunch dish.
If you too are hosting a lunch, brunch, or holiday gathering with many mouths to feed in your near future, let me show you how to buy and bake a ham, and finish it with the most delectable honey-balsamic glaze. And even if youre hosting a smaller gathering, its hard to beat leftover ham. Theres so much you can do with it.
How Long Does A Small Ham Take To Cook
How Long Do You Actually Need to Cook Ham?
- Bake low and slow at 275°F for 20 minutes per pound, between 2 and 3 hours total OR.
- Bake at 350°F for 10 minutes per pound, between 1 to 2 hours total OR.
- Slow cook on low for 4 to 5 hours total.
- The ham is ready when it has reached an internal temperature of about 120°F to 140°F.
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General Procedure To Bake Ham Steak
Ham steak can be prepared in one majormethod with a lot of tweaks. Ham glaze, for example, has different flavors andingredients. So, the taste your ham has after the kitchen rendezvous depends onthe flavor you introduce at the point of preparation.
You need salt, pepper, cooking oil, and glaze to make your baked ham steak. Heat the oven to heat at 350 degrees F. Prepare your baking pan by rubbing light oil on the sides and bottom. On the ham steaks, brush your glaze after placing them on the shallow baking pan. Brush both sides of the steaks in glaze. While baking your steak, you can continue glazing your steak all through the baking process.
Baking the steaks take approximately 25minutes. You can tell a cooked ham steak from the brown edges when every partis properly heated. Unsmoked ham will take longer to cook because they arentcooked at all.
When the ham is ready, glaze again and servethem hot. If you have leftovers from the meal, store them in the refrigerator.Leftover ham steak will last up to 3 days if stored well.
Brown Sugar Ham Glaze Recipe
A ham glaze recipe should include something sweet brown sugar, sugar, honey, maple syrup, etc. which will promote good caramelization in the oven. There is no need to glaze the ham throughout the entire cooking process during the last 30 minutes will suffice and will leave the ham beautifully burnished.
To make this glaze, stir together:
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
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How To Store And Use Leftover Ham
Keep leftover ham in the refrigerator, tightly wrapped, for up to a week.
Baked ham is the holiday main dish that keeps on giving. In the days that follow, your leftover ham will perform heroically in so many additional recipes. Ham sandwiches, soups, casseroles, hash, omelets, scrambles, salads, pizza, and pastas are just some of the top contenders for leftover ham.
And don’t forget the ham bone! Hold on to that ham hock, and use it to add mad flavor to soups, stews, and greens.
Try your leftover ham in these diverse dishes, too:
City Hams Vs Country Hams

- There are city hams and country hams.
- City hams are generally more common. City hams are already cooked and often come pre-sliced. These are typically labeled as spiral-cut ham.
- Country hams are cured like prosciutto and are usually sold uncooked.
This cooking lesson is just dealing with city hams. A country ham is a very different sort of thing, and it deserves its own separate tutorial.
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How Do You Heat A Ham Without Drying It Out
Oven MethodThe goal is to reheat the ham without drying it out. The best way to do this is to place the ham on a rack in a roasting pan. Add water to the bottom of the pan and cover it tightly with foil. Bake at 325 F for 18 to 20 minutes per pound until a meat thermometer registers 140 F.22 Jan 2020
How Long To Cook A Bone
How long you should cook your bone-in ham depends on whether or not it is pre-cooked, and if its a half ham or a whole ham. Half hams usually weigh between 5 and 7 pounds. A fully cooked half ham should be reheated for 18-22 minutes per pound while an uncooked half ham should be cooked for approximately 22-25 minutes per pound.
Whole hams are generally between 10 and 14 pounds. A fully cooked whole ham should be reheated for 15-18 minutes per pound. An uncooked whole ham should be cooked for 18-20 minutes per pound.
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Tips For The Best Bone
- Remove from the Fridge 1-2 hours ahead: Before you even think about cooking your ham, youll want to remove it from the fridge 1 to 2 hours before you start your prep. This will raise the internal temperature of the ham, which will reduce the cooking time and ensure that the meat is cooking evenly.
- Cover during baking: Covering your ham with foil while it bakes is SO IMPORTANT! If its not covered, the juices from the ham will evaporate and youll be eating tough, dry ham for dinner.
- Heat to 140°F : When you buy a ham that is already fully cooked, youre basically just reheating it. This is super convenient because youll know that its safe to eat once the internal temperature reaches 140°F.
- Cook to 150°F : A store-bought ham that is only partially cooked will need to cook for longer until it reaches an internal temperature of 150°F. This will ensure that your meat is now fully cooked and ready to eat!
How To Grill Ham
Insert a meat thermometer in the thickest part of a cooked ham shank. For a charcoal or gas grill, cook indirectly by arranging medium coals around a drip pan. Test for medium-low heat above the pan. Place the ham on the grill rack over the pan, cover, and grill until ham reaches 140°F , brushing ham with desired glaze once or twice during the last 20 minutes of cooking. Cover with foil and let stand for 15 minutes before carving.
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Do You Cover The Bone
To keep the meat nice and moist, you should always cover your bone-in ham with foil before cooking. If you dont, the moisture in the ham will begin to evaporate as it heats up and youll be left with dry ham. Be sure to loosely cover the ham with tin foil so the air in your oven can circulate properly.
TIP: You can put a small amount of water or wine in the bottom of the pan to keep your ham nice and moist!
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TIPS FOR MAKING BAKED HAM
- Serve with yellow mustard or spicy brown mustard at the table. You can also add a tablespoon of spicy mustard or honey mustard to the glaze for a hint of sweet and spicy flavor.
- Place ham cut-side-down in the pan when you go to bake. This helps the meat stay juicy. Also be sure to tent with tinfoil, to keep the ham from drying out while baking. Remove the tinfoil in the last half hour.
- When the ham reaches temperature, turn the broiler on for a total time of 2-3 minutes, or until the top looks roasted and slightly crispy. Be careful it doesnt burn, the broiler is REALLY hot.
- Just like steak, let your ham rest on the counter while you finish prepping the rest of the meal.
- Look for a city ham if you want the traditional holiday dish.
- You want to make sure you pick up whole cloves to decorate the ham, as the glaze calls for ground cloves not whole.
- If possible, find a ham that is precooked bone-in. It helps the meat stay more juicy, and is really useful for leftovers like soup or casseroles.
HOW TO STORE BAKED HAM
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About the Author: Sabrina Snyder
Sabrina is a professionally trained Private Chef of over 10 years with ServSafe Manager certification in food safety. She creates all the recipes here on Dinner, then Dessert, fueled in no small part by her love for bacon.
Sabrina lives with her family in sunny California.
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Why Should You Eat Ham Steak
Health is top on anyones mind when we eat. No one wants to eat some food and pick up unnecessary levels of calories or other harmful substances. Putting it straight, ham is generally good for the body. The step back is usually against sodium because of the preservation process.
Ham contains quality protein, phosphorus,zinc, selenium, and other vitamins like thiamin, riboflavin, chlorine, niacin,B6, and B12. These nutrients are top in preserving and maintaining variousfunctions in the body. The body needs nutrients like phosphorus in largequantities to help with the regulation of body metabolism as well as developingthe bones. Selenium is an important trace element that helps to maintain thethyroid gland.
The amount of fat ham has in a meal dependson how you cook it. Frying ham will leave it with more fat and baking it willleave less fat.
If you have sodium sensitivity , you need to get low salt ham steak. One serving of regular hamsteak will deliver nearly all the sodium you need for the day.
What Is The Best Way To Cook Ham

There are several ways to cook ham, including roasting, frying, boiling, baking, and simmering. Ham is typically cooked in water, but you can also cook ham in fat. You can cook ham in stock or water. To roast ham, you cut it into strips, brush it with oil, wrap it in aluminum foil, and cook it in a 350-degree oven for an hour or so. Ham is great to roast because it can be slow cooked without drying out. As the ham bakes, it becomes tender, but if you want it to be even more tender, you can cover it in foil and cook it longer.
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How Long Do You Cook A Hormel Ham
Preparing your Hormel® Cure 81® Bone-in HamPlace face-down in baking pan. Add 1 cup water to the pan. Cover the baking pan securely with foil or cover with roasting pan lid. Bake 15 minutes per pound or until the ham is warm.
Do They Still Sell Canned Ham
One day I asked a butcher if he had any canned hams. No, he said, they just dont sell anymore. Many years ago it was common to find plenty of them on the grocery store shelves. Nowadays, if you can find any at all, canned hams are small, about a pound at most.
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Simple Baked Ham Recipe
You can pour brown sugar glaze over the ham, cook the spiral cut ham in the oven or bake the ham hock in pineapple. However, the best holiday ham loved by everyone is ordinary. To prepare such a dish, prepare the necessary ingredients:
Step-by-step cooking technology:
Do You Rinse Off The Ham Before Baking
You should not wash the ham before the cooking process. Manufacturers put ham in sealed packages with marinade. If you wash it off with water, it will lose its unique spicy taste.
The outer layer of ham makes the product a spectacular centerpiece and adds flavor. Leave the product in its original form so that it retains all the taste qualities.
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