How To Bake A Ham Recipes

BAKED HAM

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Place ham in a roasting pan, and press whole cloves into the top at 1 to 2 inch intervals. Pack the top with a layer of brown sugar. Pour enough water into the bottom of the roasting pan to come to a 1 inch depth. Cover the pan tightly with aluminum foil or a lid.
• Bake for 4 1/2 to 5 hours in the preheated oven (about 22 minutes per pound), or until the internal temperature of the ham has reached 160 degrees F (72 degrees C). Make sure the meat thermometer is not touching the bone. Let stand for about 20 minutes before carving.

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.

BAKED HAM

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
• Remove the skin from the ham, if necessary, leaving at least a one-half-inch-thick layer of fat around it. Score the ham, place it in a large baking pan and pour the vinegar over it. Combine half of the ground cloves, all the nutmeg and pepper and rub all over the ham.
• Bake for 30 minutes. Lower the temperature to 325 degrees and bake for three and one-half hours.
• Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine the brown sugar, mace, mustard, orange juice and remaining ground cloves. After the baking is finished, turn off the oven and brush the ham with the mixture. Return the ham to the turned-off oven for 30 minutes.

HONEY BAKED HAM (THE REAL THING!)

Steps:

• First you must slice your ham, if it is not already sliced.
• Use a very sharp knife to cut the ham into very thin slices around the bone.
• Do not cut all the way to the bone or the meat may not hold together properly as it is being glazed.
• You want the slices to be quite thin, but not so thin that they begin to fall apart of off the bone.
• You may wish to turn the ham onto its flat end and cut around it starting at the bottom.
• You can then spin the ham as you slice around and work your way up.
• Mix the ingredients together in a small bowl.
• (I like to make double this recipe for a nice large ham).
• Lay down a couple sheets of wax paper onto a flat surface, such as your kitchen counter.
• Pour the sugar mixture onto the wax paper and spread it around evenly.
• Pick up the ham and roll it over the sugar mixture so that it is well coated.
• Do not coat the flat end of the ham, just the outer surface which you have sliced through.
• Again, I like to stuff some of the sugar mixture INSIDE the slices.
• Turn the ham onto its flat end on a plate.
• Use a blow torch with a medium-size flame to caramelize the sugar.
• Wave the torch over the sugar with rapid movements, so that the sugar bubbles and browns, but does not burn.
• Spin the plate so that you can torch the entire surface of the ham.
• Repeat the coating and caramelizing process until the ham has been well-glazed (don't expect to use all of the sugar mixture).
• Serve the ham cold (don't put the sugar between the slices if you plan on doing this) or re-heat (THEN put the sugar between the slices BEFORE you caramelize it) just like the real thing!
• Don't be frightened to use the torch!
• You can to it outside, if you wish.
• Just set it on something fire proof and have fun blazing away!

BAKED EASTER HAM

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Wrap ham completely with parchment-lined foil and place on a rimmed baking sheet or roasting pan. Transfer ham to oven and bake 1 1/2 hours.
• Unwrap ham; discard parchment and foil. With a large, sharp knife score fat in a diamond pattern, making the lines about 3/4 inch apart. Transfer ham to a large roasting pan.
• Reduce oven temperature to 300 degrees. In a small bowl, mix together brown sugar and Cognac. Brush ham evenly with 3/4 of the brown sugar mixture and return to oven; cook ham 1 hour. Brush ham with remaining brown sugar mixture and continue cooking 30 minutes more. Transfer to a serving platter until ready to carve; garnish with watercress and parsley.

BAKED HAM

Steps:

• Ham labeled "Cook Before Eating"
• Preheat the oven to 325°F. Place the ham on a rack in a shallow roasting pan. For a whole 10- to 15-pound ham, allow 18 to 20 minutes per pound; for a half--5 to 7 pounds--about 20 minutes per pound; or for a shank or butt portion weighing 3 to 4 pounds, about 35 minutes to the pound. In all cases, cook uncovered until the internal temperature reaches 160°F. For an attractive, quick finish, remove the ham from the oven about 30 minutes before it is done and glaze as directed below.
• II. Ham labeled "Fully Cooked" or "Ready to Eat"
• Preheat the oven to 325°F. To heat the ham, place it on a rack in a shallow roasting pan, and bake uncovered. For a whole ham, allow 15 to 18 minutes to the pound; for a half, 18 to 24 minutes per pound. The ham will be ready when the internal temperature reaches 140°F. To glaze the ham, remove it from the oven about 30 minutes before it is done, and increase the oven heat to 425°F. Remove all the rind but a collar around the shank bone. Slash the fat in the top of the ham in a diamond pattern, and cover the surface with brown sugar, dry mustard moistened with cider vinegar, prune juice, wine or ham drippings.
• Stud the fat at the intersections of the diamonds with whole cloves. Or decorate with alternating half pineapple rings studded with cranberries and stars cut from preserved orange peel.
• Return the ham to the oven, reduce the oven heat to 325°F again, and cook about 30 minutes. Place on a platter. Garnish with: Slices of jellied cranberry sauce topped with thin orange or pineapple slices.

BAKED FRESH HAM

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
• It is not essential, but you will ease carving the ham after cooking if you run a knife around the contour of the hip bone on the underside of the ham. Run the knife down deep around the bone, but do not remove the bone now. It will be removed after cooking
• In a mixing bowl, blend the salt, pepper, cumin, garlic, sage and oil.
• Place the ham on a flat surface with the rind side up. With a boning knife, make 1/4-inch-deep gashes from the butt end to the shank and cut through the rind at 1-inch intervals.
• Place the ham in a roasting pan with the skin and fat side up; massage it all over with the spice mixture.
• Place the ham in the oven. Bake for 45 minutes and reduce the oven heat to 375 degrees. Bake for 45 minutes more, basting occasionally. Add the onion, carrots, celery and bay leaf. Cover with foil and reduce the heat to 350 degrees. Bake for 2 hours, basting occasionally. Add the chicken broth and continue cooking for 1 more hour. The internal temperature should be about 165 degrees. Two bones will protrude from the shank (the small end), one large and one small. If the small upper bone can be removed with a slight pull, it is an indication that the ham is cooked.
• Remove the ham from the pan, cover with foil and keep warm. Skim off the fat from the gravy with a large spoon. Strain the gravy with a strainer. Let the ham rest for at least half an hour before carving.
• To carve, run the carving knife under the rind, remove it and cut away excess fat. With the ham fat side up make a perpendicular cut down to the bone about 3 inches from the shank end and carve in thin, long slices on the bias. Serve with hot gravy.