How To Cook A Fresh Ham Recipes

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 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.

ROASTED FRESH HAM

Steps:

• Place a rack in lower third of oven and preheat to 425 degrees. Trim skin and excess fat from ham, leaving a layer of fat. Score ham all over in a diamond pattern of 1/2-inch-deep cuts about 1 1/2 inches apart.
• In a small bowl, combine salt, pepper and thyme, pinching and sifting mixture until thyme becomes fragrant. Pat mixture all over ham and into crevices.
• Place ham fat-side up on a rack in a large roasting pan and roast uncovered for 1/2 an hour. Turn heat down to 350 degrees, pour 2 cups wine and 1/2 cup water into pan and loosely tent with aluminum foil. Continue to roast, basting every hour. Add water to pan, if necessary, to keep pan juices from scorching; bake until a meat thermometer pressed into thickest part of ham reads 155 degrees, about 3 1/2 hours.
• Let ham stand 15 to 20 minutes before carving. Pour pan juices and remaining 2 tablespoons wine into a small saucepan and simmer about 2 minutes. Turn off flame, add half-and-half, and serve with ham.

THE BEST BOILED HAM

Steps:

• Place the ham in a pot large enough to hold it without it sticking up out of the liquid you are going to add. (If you are using a boneless ham please pierce it with a fork several times to allow the flavor to get inside the meat).
• To the pot add the lemon lime soda, pineapple juice, mustard and brown sugar. Stir to dissolve the sugar.
• Bring to the boil and reduce heat to a simmer.
• Cook at least 2 hours - longer is better.