Thanksgiving and Christmas Ham with Brown Sugar Glaze

This Thanksgiving and Christmas Ham recipe is assured so as to add a contact of sweetness and heat to your vacation feast! The succulent ham is bathed in a luscious glaze constructed from honey, brown sugar, fragrant cinnamon, and tangy pineapple juice, creating an ideal steadiness of flavors that may soften in your mouth.

Whereas turkey is the normal centerpiece of Thanksgiving meals, some households and people select to have ham as a substitute or along with turkey. Ham can also be well-liked for Christmas and Easter.

A vacation ham is usually an entire or half ham that has been cured, smoked, and typically glazed to boost its taste. It may be constructed from varied cuts of pork, such because the hind leg or shoulder, and is available in totally different sizes to accommodate the variety of friends or members of the family.

Boneless vs Spiral Reduce Ham

Spiral-cut ham is a bone-in ham that has been pre-sliced in a spiral sample across the bone. The slices are normally uniform in thickness and prolong nearly to the bone. These are straightforward to serve since they’re pre-sliced, making them a handy possibility for big gatherings or occasions.

Boneless ham is a ham that has had the bone eliminated. It’s normally taken from the hind leg or shoulder of the pig. These are straightforward to slice and carve since there is no such thing as a bone in the way in which. This makes them handy for serving and reduces the quantity of waste.

Each sorts of ham usually come pre-cooked, which implies they solely should be reheated earlier than serving. This will save effort and time within the kitchen.

I like to make use of spiral reduce as a result of they appear nicer when it comes to presentation and require much less prep time whereas serving.

How you can Select the Finest Dimension

Selecting one of the best dimension relies on a number of components, together with the variety of friends you’ll be serving, your required leftovers, and your most popular serving type. Listed here are some ideas:

Variety of Friends: Estimate the variety of friends you’ll be serving. As a common rule, plan for about 1/2 to three/4 a pound of bone-in ham per individual or 1/4 to 1/3 pound of boneless ham per individual. Modify this quantity primarily based in your friends’ appetites and if you need leftovers.

Desired Leftovers: Contemplate if you need leftover ham for sandwiches, soups, or different recipes. For those who take pleasure in having ham leftovers, purpose for a barely bigger ham to make sure you have sufficient for post-meal dishes.

Bone-In or Boneless: Determine whether or not you like a bone-in or boneless ham. Bone-in hams are likely to have a richer taste and are sometimes bigger, whereas boneless hams are extra easy to slice and serve.

Serving Fashion: Contemplate your serving type. For those who plan to serve the ham as the primary dish and supply varied facet dishes, a bigger ham could be applicable. For a smaller gathering with a number of primary dishes, a smaller ham might be adequate.

Cooking Time: Remember that bigger hams could take longer to prepare dinner, so take into account your out there cooking time and the oven area you’ve got.

Retailer Purchased Hams are Pre Cooked

Retailer-bought complete hams are usually pre-cooked or partially cooked earlier than being bought to customers. Because of this the ham has already undergone cooking processes to make it suitable for eating with none additional cooking required.

Pre-cooked hams are absolutely cooked by smoking, boiling, or baking, to make sure they attain a protected inner temperature and have a young and flavorful texture. This pre-cooking course of additionally helps to increase the shelf lifetime of the ham.

When buying an entire ham from the shop, you’ll be able to normally discover info on the packaging indicating whether or not the ham is pre-cooked. It might be labeled as “absolutely cooked,” “pre-cooked,” or “ready-to-eat.”

Reheating a pre-cooked ham ensures that it’s heated via and enhances its taste.

Ham Glaze

Utilizing a glaze provides taste and also will assist stop the ham from drying out whereas cooking. The important thing elements embrace brown sugar or sweetener, honey, pineapple juice, cinnamon and floor cloves.

How you can Make Thanksgiving and Christmas Ham with Brown Sugar Glaze

Detailed measurements and full directions may be discovered within the recipe card on the backside of this publish.

Place a saucepan on medium-high warmth. Add brown sugar or sweetener, honey, pineapple juice, cinnamon, and floor cloves.

Stir for 3-4 minutes till the sweetener has melted.

Add cornstarch and water to a small bowl and stir to mix.

Add the cornstarch slurry combination to the glaze. Stir as you pour and add it in slowly. Stir till the glaze thickens.

Place the ham on a foil lined sheet pan or in a roasting pan. Drizzle the glaze over the ham.

Wrap and tent foil across the ham.

Bake.

Cook dinner Time/How Lengthy to Bake

In accordance with the USDA, to reheat cooked hams, set the oven temperature no decrease than 325 °F and warmth to an inner temperature of 140 °F as measured with a meals thermometer.

To reheat a spiral-sliced, bone-in ham in a standard oven, cowl your entire ham or portion with heavy aluminum foil and warmth at 325 °F for about 10 minutes per pound.

For a smoked (pre-cooked) complete, bone-in ham with a weight of 10-14 kilos, bake for 15-18 minutes per pound.

For an entire, bone-in contemporary, un-cooked ham with a weight of 12-16 kilos, prepare dinner for 22-26 minutes per pound.

Boneless hams ought to be cooked for 10-Quarter-hour per pound.

How you can Inform When it’s Accomplished

Whereas most store-bought hams are pre-cooked and suitable for eating, utilizing a meat thermometer is a dependable approach to examine the interior temperature. Insert the thermometer into the thickest a part of the ham, and guarantee it reaches an inner temperature of no less than 140 levels.

Take note of the glaze on the ham. Because the ham bakes, the glaze ought to caramelize and develop a shiny, golden-brown end. This means that the ham is able to be taken out of the oven.

Can You Make it Forward of Time/How you can Retailer

You may put together the glaze and glaze the ham the night time earlier than you intend to serve it. For the reason that ham is already pre-cooked, I prepare dinner it the identical day I plan to serve it. That additionally ensures the glaze has one of the best texture whereas serving.

Leftover ham may be saved within the fridge tightly coated and sealed for 3-4 days.

How you can Reheat

You may reheat it at 350 levels within the oven or air fryer till heat. You may as well use the microwave or a skillet on the range.

How you can Carve

Spiral Reduce Bone in Ham:

You’ll discover the bone operating via the middle of the ham. The slices might be spiraled round this bone.

Gently separate the slices from one another together with your fingers. The slices ought to naturally separate as you’re employed your manner across the ham.

Fastidiously reduce alongside the pure line the place the slices finish. It will let you entry the inside slices extra simply.

Utilizing a carving knife or a pointy serrated knife, begin slicing from the outer fringe of the ham, following the spiral reduce. Reduce parallel to the bone or between the slices, relying in your choice.

Boneless Ham:

Boneless hams usually have pure separations between muscle teams. Search for these strains as they’ll information your carving.

To make sure tender slices, all the time reduce in opposition to the grain of the meat. The grain of the ham runs within the route of the muscle fibers. Chopping in opposition to the grain will lead to slices which can be simpler to chew and extra tender.

Utilizing a carving knife or a pointy chef’s knife, start slicing the ham from the thicker finish. Reduce skinny slices, about 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick, relying in your choice.

Work your manner alongside the pure separations of the ham, slicing as you go. If the ham is especially giant, you’ll be able to take away a portion of the ham to make it simpler to deal with whereas slicing.

Freezer Ideas

You may freeze leftovers tightly coated and sealed for 2-3 months. Defrost within the fridge in a single day.

Pair With These Aspect Dish Recipes

Collard Greens with Ham HocksYam CasseroleFried Inexperienced TomatoesShe Crab SoupMashed Potatoes with Cheese

Extra Vacation Important Dishes

Baked Cornish HensRoasted Turkey BreastPork Neck BonesSlow Cooker Crockpot Oxtails

Extra Ham Recipes

Traeger Smoked HamSouthern Baked Ham with PineappleSlow Cooker Crockpot Glazed Ham