- As a chef with 15 years of experience, I have a few tips and tricks to make great holiday ham.
- Choose a type of ham that best suits your needs and has enough portions of meat for your guests.
When it comes to holiday cooking, a spiral ham, when done well, can be the piece de resistance of any dinner spread.
Though ham can in many forms so there are plenty of differences and several factors to consider. As a seasoned chef, I have a few tips to make the best ham this year.
Choose your type of ham wisely
Technically speaking, ham refers to meat from the back leg of a pig including everything from the shank to the butt. The legs are cut into sections and can be treated with different cooking processes.
There are two types of ham commonly found in US stores: city and country hams.
In Europe, a country ham would be something like a Jamon Iberico or prosciutto, which is dry-cured and aged. City hams are the spiral cut or deli meats most commonly found in the US. Both are preserved by curing with mixtures of salt and sugar or other chemicals, like nitrates, and are often smoked.
Though you could play around with raw ham, the curing process is incredibly time-consuming and might not be worth it. For the purposes of that holiday table, a prepared, pre-sliced city ham is your best bet.
Monitor your saltwater content
City ham is usually cured by being brined, which means it's been submerged in a saltwater bath for a few days. Some manufacturers will inject brine directly into the ham, which is then cooked through to get that signature pink color. This process saves time but I don't think it tastes as good.
When buying ham, look for labels with just the words "ham" and "natural juices." Try to avoid any labels that say "water product" or "water added," since this means they've been injected with extra brine to bulk them up and water down their flavor, which can often result in an off-putting spongy texture.
Determine how much meat you'll need
In general, the recommended serving size for meat is between ½ to ¾ of a pound per person. If you go for bone-in, which you definitely should, lean toward a larger amount since the bone is included in the weight.
A bone-in ham has a great structure, tastes better, and looks good gracing any table. A boneless ham may seem like a better option but it's usually been formed into a perfect tubular shape and can have added fillers.
Cook cut-side down and covered
Many people aren't purchasing an entire leg when they buy a ham, so it's likely yours has a side that's been cut down. When cooking, ensure that the ham stays juicy by placing it onto your cooking surface cut-side down and covering it well.
Follow the directions and monitor your cooking time — if cooked too long, your ham will be dry and overly salty.
Glaze and score your ham at the end of the cooking process
Some additional scoring, or slicing the outside of a ham into cubes, creates a great texture and plenty of nooks and crannies for your glaze to sink into.
Traditional glazes are a mixture of brown sugar, cloves, and raisins but you can experiment with adding different types of citrus, mustards, jams, or preserves. Glaze your ham and then put it back into the oven, uncovered, for another 15 to 20 minutes for best results.
Crank that heat up and finish hot
Crank the heat for the last few minutes of cooking to get a little extra crispiness and crackle out of any glaze.
Let the ham rest
A little rest can do a ham a world of good since this lets the juices redistribute. Your meat will retain all of its moisture so there won't be any unevenness or dry bits.