How to Cook a Ham in the Oven
Everything you need to know about how to cook a ham in the oven. Baked spiral ham recipe with an easy, simple glaze, perfect for holidays.
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Servings: 10
Calories: 52kcal
Ingredients
- 1 spiral cut or half bone-in ham w/ ham juices *
- 1 cup water *
Glaze:
- 1 glaze packet *
- 2 tablespoons water
Instructions
- 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.
- Cover the ham tightly with foil (all of it but the bottom, so the juices can run out into the pan).
- Bake the ham according to the instructions in your packaging; usually, it will require you to bake it for 12 to 15 minutes per pound. So a 10-pound ham will bake for about 120+ minutes.
- About 45 minutes before the end of your bake time, empty the ham glaze packet into a small saucepan, along with 2 tablespoons water.
- Bring the glaze to a boil over high heat while stirring constantly.
- Remove the glaze from the heat. About 1/2 hour before end of cook time, remove the ham from the oven, take off the foil, and apply the glaze all over the outside of the ham with a basting brush.
- Finish baking the ham, glazed and uncovered, for another 30 minutes or so.
- When the ham is done, you can bring it out of the oven, let it cool just a bit, and use a sharp knife to slice it for serving. Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge.
Video
Notes
*I used a 10 pound spiral cut ham for this recipe.
*I use a little less than a cup of water.
*The glaze packet usually comes with the ham, and you'll find it in the packaging.
How Long to Cook a Ham in the Oven
Always be sure to look at the packaging instructions for your specific ham, and follow what it says for cook time. This spiral ham said 12 to 15 minutes per pound. So being a 10-pound ham, it needed to cook for about 2 hours (120 minutes) or more, but not too long or it'll dry out. An 8-pound ham would take about 96+ minutes to bake. A 12-pound ham, 144+ minutes. And so on and so forth. It's best to have a meat thermometer on hand.
According to the USDA, spiral-cut cooked hams that were packaged in processing plants under USDA inspection must be heated to 140 °F as measured with a food thermometer (165 °F for leftover spiral-cut hams or ham that has been repackaged in any other location outside the plant). Cook-before-eating hams or fresh hams must reach 145 °F (with a 3-minute rest time) to be safely cooked before serving. Read more of their Ham and Food Safety instructions.
Ways to Keep a Spiral Ham from Drying Out
- Like I mentioned above, save the ham juices from the packaging, and pour them into the bottom of the pan; this will help your ham to stay moist.
- You can put a little less than a cup of water or some kind of stock/broth in the bottom of the pan before baking if you want. This will also add moisture.
- Covering your ham with foil helps it to retain moisture, as well. Of course, you can also bake it in a roasting bag.
Nutrition
Serving: 1g | Calories: 52kcal | Carbohydrates: 6g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 13mg | Sodium: 212mg | Sugar: 6g
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