21 Tasty Ham Recipes for Weeknight Meals and Fancy Dinners Alike (2024)

FAQs

How do you serve a ham? ›

A fully cooked, ready-to-eat ham (also referred to as a "city ham") can be sliced and served cold or at room temperature—there's no need to reheat it. A spiral-cut ham is delicious this way, whether eaten by the slice, tucked into biscuits, or in a grilled cheese sandwich.

Popular glaze ingredients for smoked ham include brown sugar, honey, maple syrup, pineapple juice, Dijon mustard, and cloves, among others. Glazing can be done during the final stages of cooking or reheating the ham, allowing the sugars in the glaze to caramelize and create a tasty, flavorful crust.

"Cubed ham sauteed with onions and pineapple in a sweet sauce," says Melissa. "It's a great take on a Hawaiian-style dinner and great for leftover ham." It's also great with broccoli.

Heating Ham

Place ham, cut side down, on rack in shallow roasting pan; cover loosely with aluminum foil. Heat approximately 10 to 15 minutes per pound until heated through.

The butt half is the upper part of the ham. This is mostly “rump” which, in turn, makes this part more fatty but also more tender and flavorful. The shank half is the lower end, which means it is more leg and less fatty.

Preheat the oven to 250° F. Remove the ham from its packaging, and place it face down in the roasting pan. If your package has any juices in it, pour them into the bottom of the pan, along with about 1 cup of water; this will help your ham to stay more moist.

Arrange slices in a single layer on a greased baking pan. Add a couple of tablespoons of broth or water and cover with foil. Bake for about 10 minutes or until heated through, turning slices once.

What are the two ways ham is generally cooked? ›

In fact, most ham that is sold to consumers is already cured, smoked or baked. As a deli meat, it can be eaten right out of the refrigerator, but other hams are typically reheated for improved flavor and texture.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, ham is good for three to five days in the refrigerator after it is cooked. If you need more time to use up those leftovers, ham will last up to two months in the freezer. The USDA also recommends wrapping up leftovers well.

Cut the ham free from the package, cover it in foil and reheat it to a good serving temperature. Cooking it at 325 degrees Fahrenheit for about 15 minutes per pound should do the trick, depending on the type of ham (whole or half, bone-in or no bone ― these specifics are outlined here).

Whole cured hams last in the refrigerator for up to a week. However, fresh ham only lasts a few days in the refrigerator, about three or four once you've cooked it. It doesn't matter if the ham is whole or sliced; the lack of preservatives allows it to spoil more quickly.

The goal is to reheat the ham without drying it out. The best way to do this is to place the ham on a rack in a roasting pan. Add water to the bottom of the pan and cover the whole thing tightly with foil. Bake at 325F for 16-20 minutes per pound, until a meat thermometer registers 135F.