Ham Shank Recipes

CLASSIC GLAZED HAM

Steps:

• Remove the ham from the refrigerator and bring to room temperature, about 30 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Trim off any skin from the ham. Use a sharp paring knife to score through the fat in a diagonal crosshatch pattern without cutting through to the meat. Insert the cloves into the ham (if using), placing them at the intersections of the cuts.
• Put the ham, flat-side down, on a rack in a roasting pan. Pour 1/4 inch water into the bottom of the pan. Transfer to the oven and roast until a thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the ham registers 130 degrees F, about 2 hours, 30 minutes (about 15 minutes per pound).
• Increase the oven temperature to 425 degrees F. Pour half of the Glaze (see below for glazes) over the ham and brush to coat. If the water in the bottom of the pan has evaporated, add more. Return the ham to the oven and roast, basting every 10 minutes with the remaining Glaze, until glossy and well browned, about 45 more minutes.
• Boil 2 cups apple cider in a saucepan over medium-high heat until reduced to 1/2 cup, 8 to 10 minutes. Reduce the heat to low; add 1/2 cup each apple jelly and maple syrup, 1/4 cup whole-grain mustard, 1/2 teaspoon allspice and 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg.
• Mix 1 cup light brown sugar, 3/4 cup dijon mustard and the grated zest and juice of 1 orange in a bowl.
• Toast 2 teaspoons five-spice powder in a small saucepan over medium heat with 1 tablespoon peanut oil, about 1 minute. Add 1 cup hoisin sauce, 3 tablespoons each honey and rice vinegar, 1 tablespoon soy sauce and 1 cup water. Boil and reduce to 1 1/2 cups, about 5 minutes.
• Grate the zest of 2 limes; set aside. Squeeze the juice into a saucepan; add 8 thin slices ginger and 2 cups unsweetened pineapple juice. Boil until reduced to 1/2 cup, 8 to 10 minutes. Strain, then add the lime zest, 1 cup apricot preserves and 1/4 cup dijon mustard.

HOW TO BAKE A HAM SHANK

Steps:

• Preheat your oven to 160 °C (320 °F). Before you begin preparing the ham shank, set the to oven to heat so that it will be ready when it's time to bake the shank.
• Season the ham shank with your herbs of choice. Lay the entirety of the ham shank out on a chopping board and season with the herbs of your choice. If you're not sure which herbs to use, try a healthy covering of salt, pepper, rosemary, and a minced garlic clove. A pinch of salt, pepper, rosemary, and one minced garlic clove will be enough for a 1 kilogram (2.2 lb) to 2 kilograms (4.4 lb) ham shank. Seasoning is a great way to experiment in a dish. If you've made a ham shank before, try adding different seasonings on at this stage to get a different taste. For example, add Chinese 5 spice for a pungent and fruity flavor. {[convert|1|tsp|cup|}} of the spice will suffice for a typical {[convert|1|kg|lb|}} to {[convert|2|kg|lb|}} ham shank.
• Heat olive oil in an oven-safe pot. Put an oven-safe pot over your stove at a medium heat and add 4 tablespoons (0.25) of olive oil into the pot for every 450 grams (0.99 lb) of ham shank. Heat the oil until it runs like water.
• Brown the ham shank for 15 minutes on all sides. Put the entirety of the seasoned ham shank into the pot and brown on all sides. This will usually take about 15 minutes. Turn it around on all sides with a pair of tongs. Cover the shank in the oil to cook it evenly.
• Chop 1 carrot and 1 onion, then add them to the pot. Chop a carrot with a sharp knife and add it to the pot. Peel the outside layer of the onion and chop the flesh into small pieces, adding it to the pot as well. Push the ham shank to one side so the vegetables can cook faster. Sizzle the carrots and onions on a medium heat for 10 minutes. The onions will have browned. Arrange the vegetables evenly around the pork shank. This is so more flavor will spread during the baking process.
• Add your liquid of choice to the pot. For every 450 grams (0.99 lb) of ham shank in the pot, add 470 millilitres (2.0 c) of your chosen liquid. This can be your favorite beer, wine, broth, stock, water, or a combination. The ingredients you add with the ham shank can drastically change the flavor. If you don't want to mess with the flavor of the shank, add water. However, the liquid you add can add lot of depth to the flavor. For example, add a pinch of coriander to a ham shank boiling in beer.
• Put the lid on the pot and put it in the oven to bake for 90 minutes. Put a tight-fitting lid onto the pot, then slide the entire pot into a preheated oven at 160 °C (320 °F). Don't open the oven during the cooking process as you will lose heat. If you don't have a lid for the pot, you can use tight fitting aluminum foil instead.
• Remove the pot after 90 minutes and turn the ingredients. After 90 minutes have passed, bring the entire pot out of the oven. Using a pair of tongs, turn over all the vegetables and the meat so that the other sides can cook. Then, put the pot back in the oven for another 90 minutes.
• Remove the meat when its internal temperature reads as 65 °C (149 °F). After 3 hours, pierce the meat at its thickest side with a meat thermometer. If the temperature reads as 65 °C (149 °F), the meat is ready. Remove the pot from the oven, peel the meat from the bone and serve it hot on a plate. If the meat hasn't reached the desired internal temperature, return it to the oven. Put the lid back on tight and be patient. It's best to slow cook a ham shank. Keep checking the temperature every 30 minutes. Leftover ham shank should be easy to peel off the bone and into tupperware. Store leftovers in the fridge for up to a week as a tasty filling for sandwiches, or as a protein in a salad.

BAKED HAM SHANK WITH BROWN SUGAR GLAZE

Steps:

• Remove package wrap and any other materials from the ham shank.
• Line a 13x9x2 pan with aluminum foil, or use a disposable roasting pan.
• Place the ham shank, cut end down, in the roasting pan.
• Generously coat the outside of the shank with yellow mustard, on all sides.
• Cover the ham shank with the brown sugar.
• Use your hands to spread the sugar over all sides of the ham shank, top and bottom.
• Cover the pan lightly with aluminum foil.
• Place roasting pan in oven.
• Bake at 325F degrees for 1 ½ hours.
• Remove the aluminum foil covering from the ham shank. Set foil aside for later.
• Baste the ham with the juices in the bottom of the pan.
• Return the pan, uncovered to the oven.
• Continue to bake until the shank reaches 165F degrees, taking the reading away from the bone.
• Note: Total baking time will be about 15-18 minutes per pound.
• When the shank reaches 165F, remove from oven.
• Lightly recover with foil. Let stand 10 to 15 minutes.
• Slice, serve warm... and Enjoy.
• Be sure to save the ham bone for a good Ham Bone and Beans dish later.

HAM SHANK RECIPE

Steps:

• Since the ham shank requires a lot of time to bake, you have to make sure that the oven is preheated at 325 degrees Fahrenheit.
• With the help of a sharp knife, put half inch deep cuts into the ham, making sure that they are one inch apart from each other.
• It is important to score the ham from both sides in order to get a diamond pattern.
• After scoring the ham with small cuts, you have to prepare the rest of the ingredients.
• For this purpose, you will need a small bowl, which is completely dry.
• Mix the brown sugar, dry mustard and ground cloves in the bowl and check that they settle in nicely.
• Once you have prepared the mixture in a bowl, you can rub it over the ham, making sure that it reaches deep inside the cuts you had formed earlier.
• Cover the base of the roasting pan with an aluminium foil and place the ham inside. Moreover, you will want to pour a couple of cups of your desired liquid into the pan, so that the ham does not burn while being baked.
• You can now place the roasting pan in the oven.
• It will be ideal to set it on the bottom rack, so that it absorbs the proper amount of heat, which it requires to be baked.
• Start baking the ham at 325 degrees Fahrenheit.
• You will need to do this for two hours in order to get the best result.
• However, continue pouring in some liquid after every 15 minutes, so that the meat gets tender.
• Once the ham shank is baked, you can remove it from the oven and serve it.

SUPER EASY BAKED HAM

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350F and make sure the racks are all the way on the bottom so there is plenty of room for the ham.
• Bring ham in packaging to sink and have a pan big enough to hold it nearby. I find a 9"x13" baking pan works great. Make sure your pan is at least an inch deep.
• Take ham out of wrapper and rinse it with cool water if you think it feels icky. Then find the plastic doohickey on the large cut end and remove it. At this point you can trim off some of the fat if you would like. I usually don't, as most of it renders out into the pan or is very easy to cut around.
• Place ham in pan with large cut side down.
• Stab with the business end of a probe style thermometer. This is the kind which has a long metal skewer on one end (the business end), a long cable, and a box which has all the controls and readouts. Make sure the probe goes through a large area of meat, not fat, and doesn't hit one of the bones down the center of the ham. Set your thermometer to alert you when the ham reaches 140°F.
• When your oven has reached 350F, put the ham in (be careful, it's heavy).
• Wait until the thermometer alerts you. Then remove the ham from the oven (remember, it's heavy and now it's really hot, too). Remove the probe, and either start slicing or put on a pretty platter and let your family/guests ooh and ahh. :).
• NOTE: The skin gets very black and crispy. Do not panic, the meat is juicy, I promise. Simply cut the skin off where it is really crispy and get to the meat underneath.
• ALSO: If you do not have a probe style meat thermometer, or need an idea of timing for preparing the rest of your meal, an already cooked (city) ham will reheat to 140F in approximately 15 minutes per pound. So a 12 pound ham will take 3 hours. Ish.
• And FINALLY: I like to carve off the leftovers and separate into 1 pound amounts. I then put these into labeled quart sized freezer bags and freeze for casseroles, pasta, or beans another night. The bone can be put into a labeled gallon sized freezer bag, and then thawed for yummy beans another night.