Baking the Perfect Holiday Ham
with
Heidi Dehncke-Fisher
For holidays or a hearty dinner, baked ham is a meal that you want to get right. Learn how to bake ham at home using your own ham glaze.
Transcript: Baking the Perfect Holiday Ham
Hi, I'm Heidi Dehncke-Fisher and welcome to About.com Food. Today I am making a baked ham – the hands down holiday favorite.Purchasing Fresh Ham
Ham is one of the leanest cuts of pork. One serving has about 145 calories and contains vitamins B1 and B12. When buying a fresh ham look for a pale pink or beige color. Many hams are not ready to eat and require baking in the oven.Prepare Ham to Bake
Prior to baking I let the ham soak for 6 hours in a pot of water in the refrigerator. This helps to reduce the salt content.Start Baking the Ham
I am making a smoked ham, bone in - which needs to cooked at 325 degrees until the inner temperature of the ham reaches 160 degrees – 20 minutes per pound.Baked Ham Glaze Ingredients
Now that the ham is baking in the oven, it's time to make the glaze. For your glaze you will need:- Equal amounts brown sugar and mustard – I start with 1/2 cup of each
- 1/4 of a cup of honey
Glazing Baked Ham
Bake your ham most of the way through, leaving the last 20 minutes for baking with the glaze on. Trim the fat down to approximately a 1/4 inch and score it diagonally in a diamond pattern before glazing. Slather your glaze all over the fatty outside layer of the ham – making sure it reaches into the diamond crevices.Serving Baked Ham
As a final touch insert cloves and return the ham to the oven to finish baking – approximately 20 minutes. You will know your ham is finished when the meat thermometer reads 160 degrees.A beautiful baked ham – not just for holidays, but great for any time of year.
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