The Fool-Proof Guide To The Perfect Spiral Ham (2024)

FAQs

How long does it take to cook a fully cooked spiral ham? ›

If you're starting with a pre-cooked ham, you'll only need to cook your ham long enough to heat it all the way through. Total cook time will depend on the size of the ham, your cooking method, and the cooking temperature. In general, you'll want to plan for 10-16 minutes per pound.

WARMING HAM

Heat oven to 350°F. Place ham, flat side down, on rack in shallow roasting pan; cover tightly with aluminum foil. Bake approximately 13 to 18 minutes per pound until heated through. Remove ham from oven.

To avoid drying it out, add water to the bottom of your roasting pan, place the ham on a baking rack above the water, and cover it with foil. You'll also want to use a meat thermometer to check your ham's temperature to avoid overcooking. — How to get caramelized edges.

Glazing: Empty contents of the glaze packet into a small saucepan. Add 22 mL (1 1/2 tbsp) warm water. Heat glaze mixture on high, stirring constantly, until glaze begins to boil. Remove immediately from heat.

While baking a show-stopping ham is simple and easy, be sure to leave yourself plenty of time to bring the ham to room temperature for an hour (for even heat distribution) as well as up to 2 1/2 hours to bake it long, low and slow, depending on your ham's size.

You don't need to wash a ham before baking.

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Place the ham on a rack in a large baking pan and add about 1/4- to 1/2 inch of water to the pan. If the ham is labeled "fully cooked" (does not require heating), heat it in the oven for about 10 minutes per pound, or to an internal temperature of 140 F.

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.

Bake uncovered until the internal temperature reaches 160° (18–20 minutes per pound for a 10–15-lb. ham; 20 minutes per pound for a 5–7-lb. ham; or 35 minutes per pound for a 3–4-lb. shank or butt portion).

You could also place a foil pan with water underneath the ham to create some steam inside the oven to keep everything moist. Of course you want to make sure you have a good instant read thermometer so you can monitor the temperatures. Over cooking the ham past 140°F will likely result in a dry ham.

Why is my spiral ham always dry? ›

If the ham is taken out at a higher temperature than 135°F it will become dry. Stick with our guide, and your ham will be moist, juicy and flavorful.

To reheat a spiral-sliced ham in a conventional oven, cover the entire ham or portion with heavy aluminum foil and heat at 325 °F for about 10 minutes per pound. Individual slices may also be warmed in a skillet or microwave.

The glaze should not be applied until the final hour to 30 minutes, in order to avoid burning the sugars. What you're going to do with the glaze ingredients is just combine most of them into a paste, and then apply it to the ham. After that, the heat in your oven will take care of everything.

Cook your ham for 20-30 minutes per kilogram of meat, or until the internal temperature reaches 60°C and baste the ham with the glaze (and pan juices) every 20-30 minutes during cooking. It might seem like your glaze isn't sticking too well when you first begin cooking, but the longer it cooks the more it will thicken.

Plan on baking your pre-cooked ham at an oven temperature of 325 degrees Fahrenheit, covered with foil, until it reaches a safe internal temperature of 140 degrees Fahrenheit, as recommended by the USDA. A pre-cooked 10-pound ham, bone-in will need about 2 1/2 hours.

Wrap 6 to 8 ounces of sliced leftover ham in aluminum foil. Preheat the air fryer to 325°F. Place the wrapped ham in the air fryer basket and heat for 6 to 8 minutes or until heated through. ( Wrapping in foil helps prevent the ham from drying out.)

For cooked hams that have been repackaged in any other location outside the plant or for leftover cooked ham, heat to 165 °F (73.9 °C). Cook all raw fresh ham and ready-to-eat ham to a minimum internal temperature of 145 °F (62.8 °C) as measured with a food thermometer before removing meat from the heat source.

Cooked canned ham and cooked vacuum-packaged ham, both from federally inspected plants, can be eaten right out of the package. All of these along with spiral-cut cooked ham are safe to eat cold or can be warmed to an internal temperature of 145°F (63°C), as they are already fully cooked.