04.04.2022Tips & Tricks
Easter is only a short few weeks away! We suggest celebrating by cooking a delicious Easter ham! Stop by The Meat Market or Local Source Foods to pick up a few hams! Also, make sure to take a look at the list below of the five mistakes to avoid and what to do instead to ensure a delicious ham.
1. Not Cooking Your Ham With Any Liquid
If you don’t add any braising liquid you can risk your ham coming out of the oven completely dry.
Instead: Cook your ham in chicken broth, orange juice, or cider vinegar to avoid your ham coming out dry. You can also add some herbs such as sage to the liquid to add even more flavor to the ham.
2. Scoring Your ham Too Deep
Scoring your ham is an awesome idea! Scoring will help the glaze seep into the ham allowing for maximum flavor. If you end up scoring too deep into the ham you run the risk of drying it out while cooking.
Instead: Make sure to only score into the ham 1/4 of an inch.
3. Not Covering Your Ham
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.
4. Pre-slicing Your Ham
Don’t slice your ham until everyone is ready to eat! If you slice beforehand and put it in the oven to keep warm, the ham can run the risk of drying out.
Instead: Wait until everyone is sitting down and ready to eat, then slice your ham to ensure that it’s hot and flavorful!
5. Cooking Your ham At Too High A Temperature
Because most hams aren’t sold raw, you can cook them at a lower temperature compared to other meats. If you do cook the ham at too high of a temperature you will dry it out.
Instead: Try cooking your ham between 275 and 300 degrees Fahrenheit! The cooking time depends on the weight of the ham, the general rule of thumb is 15 minutes per pound.
