How to Cook a Ham Step by Step Guide

Knowing how to cook a ham properly is a great culinary technique to have up your sleeve. Even though baking a ham is a simple process, this step by step guide for the dos and don'ts will ensure it's a stress free process.

What Ham Should I buy?

It is important to note that all hams I am discussing and referring to are already cooked and ready to eat (city ham).

I'm not referring to raw ham (also known as gammon), which is cured and smoked, but still needs to be cooked properly. Nor (for my USA readers) country ham.

As we go through the process of how to cook a ham, all cooking times and steps are for pre-cooked ready to eat hams. My personal choice of ham is semi boneless. I like the look and convenience of the bone when carving.

• Bone-in: A whole ham that is still on the bone. The classic large showstopper, which has the hock at one end and then expands out into an oval shaped ham leg. 
• Half Ham: A bone-in ham cut in half. The top half is called the butt, it is the leaner, more tender half of a whole ham. The bottom half is called the shank, which has more flavour but is also fattier.
• Semi Boneless: Also known as Easy Carve Ham, all the bones are removed except the central bone (the hock/shank part). The meat of the ham is formed around the bone to create that classic ham shape. Having the bone still there makes it easier to carve. 
• Boneless Ham: All the bones are removed and the ham meat formed into a round, oval or log shape. They may not be as stylish as a traditional bone-in ham, but you are getting 100% meat for your money. Not the perfect choice for glazing, but they can be.
• Crackle Shoulder Ham: These hams are designed to be baked without glazing. Crackling ham still has the rind on and produce crackling just the same as a traditional pork roast.
• Spiral Cut Ham: Something we don't have here in Australia, but my American readers would know it well. Spiral cut ham is a bone-in ham that has been cut in one continuous spiral from the outside to the bone. Think of it like a ham slinky with the bone holding it all together in its original shape. No need to carve the ham you simply cut off the slices. I'm sure this will turn up in Australia one day.
• Smoked or Unsmoked: This is up to your personal taste. You have a choice of unsmoked, smoked, and ham with a heavier smoke is often called triple smoked.

What Size Ham?

Buy a ham that is the right size for the amount of people you are feeding. Of course factor in for some to be leftover and enjoyed after the event.

Preparing the ham

Using a small sharp knife cut a zig-zag pattern around the shank end of the ham. You want to make this cut about 10cm from the end of the bone.

The fat will render (shrink in size) during cooking. Deep scoring may expose the ham meat when cooking and spoil the look of your ham.

Glaze Glaze Baby

What glaze you use to cook your ham is all personal taste. There is no wrong, but a few rules to follow.

Sugar of some sort is the most important ingredient in a glaze. It can be brown sugar, maple syrup, or even honey. The sugar is what caramelises the ham so it gets that gorgeous sticky sheen.

Glaze the ham religiously. Brush it over every 10 - 15 minutes. You want to build up that glaze for a deep rich layer of flavour.

Cooking Walk Through

After preparing your ham and glaze it is time to go through the easy steps of how to cook a ham.

1. Take ham out of the fridge 30 minutes to an hour prior to cooking. Time out of the fridge depends on where you are situated in the world (is it summer or winter?), and if you have airconditioning.
2. Pre-heat oven 180°C (360°F).
3. Place a roasting rack into your chosen baking tin/roasting tray. It needs to be one big enough to fit the whole ham.
4. Pour some water into the baking tin. This will catch all the drippings and juices while the ham is cooking. It prevents them burning and allows you to base the ham. You can add some wine or juice to the water for extra basting flavour.
5. Put the ham on the roasting rack and give it a generous brush of glaze.
6. Place the ham in the oven to cook. Baste and glaze (until glaze is used up) every 10-15 minutes while it is in the oven. You want a thick, luscious, sticky glaze layer of flavour.
7. If some parts of the ham look like they will start to burn, cover them with aluminium foil until the rest of the ham has finished caramelising and is looking gorgeous. This way the have will have a nice even colour.

Cooking Times

Below are the cooking times are for both bone-in and boneless hams at oven temperature 180°C (360°F).

Make Ahead

Side Dishes & Sauces

Storing Leftovers

Glazed ham will safely keep for a week in the fridge, or you can freeze it for up to 3 months. It is best to keep the ham on the bone and then carve as wanted.

I don't store glazed hams in a ham bag. Ham bags are best for hams that haven't gone through the glazing and cooking process.

How do I deal with my excess ham? In a couple of ways. I slice up a fair amount and place it in a vacuum sealed container for the family to help themselves for sandwiches etc. I find if I don’t slice it and make it easy for them, it does not get eaten.

You can also cut off large chunks of leftover ham from the bone. Place in a vacuum sealed bag for later, or freeze. Yes, you can freeze cooked ham.

Another suggestion is to finely dice the ham and freeze it in ½ cup portions. You can then easily defrost it down the track for quiches, frittatas, omelettes, jaffles, and even soup, the list goes on!

Don't discard the ham bone. This can be used to make soup. It can be frozen for later use.

How to use Leftover ham?

Leftover ham is so versatile. As mentioned above it can be used in so many dishes. After a few days of traditional holiday dishes I crave a kick of chilli and Asian inspired food.

Ham Glaze Recipes

Printable Recipe