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Steps to heat a slow-roasted, spiral sliced, or boneless ham
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Most hams that you can buy in the grocery store – whether slow-roasted, spiral-sliced, or boneless – are already cooked. When you get them home, you just have to reheat them and serve! Using a low temperature on slow-roasted hams prevents them from drying out, while a higher temperature with a bit of water in the pan will keep spiral-sliced ham moist. Make sure you follow the heating directions based on the weight of your ham to get moist, delicious ham every time!
An Easy Guide to Heat a Precooked Ham
- Preheat the oven to 275°F (135°C).
- Slice the ham and put it in a shallow baking dish covered with foil.
- Bake the ham for 10 minutes per pound (0.5 kg) it weighs.
- Check that the ham reaches an internal temperature of 135°F to 140°F (57°C to 63°C).
- Remove the ham from the oven and let it stand covered for 10 to 15 minutes.
Steps
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Slice the ham into pieces. The size of the slices are up to you, but they should be sliced thin enough that they're ready to serve. You can slice up the entire ham, or you can do a bit at a time if you're not serving many people at once. [1] X Research source -
Place the ham slices in a shallow baking dish and cover with foil. mic The foil will help to keep any moisture released from the ham slices inside the dish, which helps prevent the ham from drying out. The foil should be wrapped around the sides of the dish to prevent any heat from escaping. [2] X Research sourceAdvertisement -
Reheat the ham in the oven. The oven should be set to 275 degrees Fahrenheit (135 degrees Celsius). How long you have to reheat it will depend on how much the ham weighs. You should leave the ham in the oven for 10 minutes for every pound (0.5 kg) it weighs. [3] X Research source
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Check your ham to make sure it doesn't dry out. About halfway through your cooking time, remove the foil from a corner of the baking dish. The slices should still look mostly pink. If you notice them turning white, they're drying out. Add a few tablespoons of water to the dish and put the ham back in the oven.
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Place the ham cut-side down in a baking dish. Placing the cut side down helps trap moisture in the ham. It also prevents the glaze that normally comes on spiral sliced hams from drying out or getting stuck to the bottom of the pan. [4] X Research source
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Cover the ham with heavy aluminum foil . The ham itself should be covered, and the foil should wrap around the edges of the baking dish. Heavy aluminum foil (as opposed to regular aluminum foil) will help protect the ham from drying out. [5] X Trustworthy Source FoodSafety.gov Online portal combining food safety information from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the Food Safety and Inspection Service, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Go to source
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Heat the ham for 10 minutes per pound (0.5 kg). With your oven set at 325 Fahrenheit (163 Celsius), heat the ham for about 10 minutes for every pound (0.5 kg) of ham. The internal temperature of the ham should reach 140 degrees Fahrenheit (60 degrees Celsius) for store-bought ham and 165 degrees Fahrenheit (71 degrees Celsius) for leftover ham. [6] X Trustworthy Source FoodSafety.gov Online portal combining food safety information from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the Food Safety and Inspection Service, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Go to source
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Check the ham halfway through heating. Pull the ham out of the oven about halfway through the cook time. Pull away a corner of the foil and stick a meat thermometer into the ham. It should be at about 160 degrees Fahrenheit (81 degrees Celsius). If you notice the ham turning white and drying out, add a bit more water to the dish and rewrap it before putting it back in the oven.
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Warm individual slices in the microwave. Place the slices on a microwave-safe plate and cover the plate with a piece of paper towel. Heat the ham for about one minute per slice. [7] X Trustworthy Source FoodSafety.gov Online portal combining food safety information from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the Food Safety and Inspection Service, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Go to source
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Place the ham in a shallow baking pan. Add a half a cup (119 mL) of water to the pan. This will help the ham maintain its water content and should keep the ham moist after it's been heated.
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Cover the ham with aluminum foil. The edges of the foil should wrap around the sides of the baking pan. Make sure you pinch or crimp the sides of the foil so no heat or steam escapes while the ham is reheating.
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Reheat the ham at 20 to 30 minutes per pound (0.5 kg). The oven should be set to 325 degrees Fahrenheit (163 degrees Celsius). Check the ham about halfway through the total heating time to see what temperature it's at. The internal temperature should eventually reach about 160 degrees Fahrenheit (71 degrees Celsius).
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Reduce the cooking time for bone-in hams. If your ham still has its bone, you should heat it for 15 to 20 for every pound (0.5 kg) of ham. Everything else should be the same as for a boneless ham – place the ham with a half cup (119 mL) of water in a shallow baking dish and cover it with foil.
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Check the ham halfway through heating. Pull the ham out of the oven about halfway through the cook time. Pull away a corner of the foil and stick a meat thermometer into the ham. It should be at about 160 degrees Fahrenheit (81 degrees Celsius). If you notice the ham turning white and drying out, add a bit more water to the dish and rewrap it before putting it back in the oven.
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Community Q&A
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QuestionCan I refreeze it after heating?Community AnswerOnce food is thawed in the refrigerator, it is safe to refreeze it without cooking. However, there may be a loss of quality due to the moisture lost through thawing. After cooking raw foods that were previously frozen, it is safe to freeze the cooked foods. Freeze leftovers within 3-4 days.
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QuestionHow long will a cooked ham that is vacuum sealed last in the fridge?Community Answer3 to 5 days.
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QuestionI'm serving spiral, fully cooked ham to a large crowd. Can I remove slices prior to heating, then wrap them in foil for the heating process, and be able to just open the foil pack when ready to serve?Aimee DumasCommunity AnswerYes. Wrap the slices in foil with a bit of broth or water, seal tightly, and heat in a 325°F (163°C) oven for 10 to 15 minutes per pound until warmed through. Open the foil carefully when ready to serve.
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Tips
- Spiral sliced ham dries out very quickly because of its low water content. It might be better to just eat spiral sliced ham cold.Thanks
- You can brush any ham that you're reheating with glaze before you put it in the oven. Some precooked hams will come with their own glaze and directions for using it. Or you can make or purchase your own.Thanks
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Expert Interview
Thanks for reading our article! If you'd like to learn more about heating a ham, check out our in-depth interview with Marrow Private Chefs .
References
- ↑ https://www.freep.com/story/life/food/recipes/2014/12/24/ham-reheating-honey-baked/20880833/
- ↑ https://www.freep.com/story/life/food/recipes/2014/12/24/ham-reheating-honey-baked/20880833/
- ↑ https://www.freep.com/story/life/food/recipes/2014/12/24/ham-reheating-honey-baked/20880833/
- ↑ https://www.freep.com/story/life/food/recipes/2014/12/24/ham-reheating-honey-baked/20880833/
- ↑ https://www.foodsafety.gov/blog/ham.html
- ↑ https://www.foodsafety.gov/blog/ham.html
- ↑ https://www.foodsafety.gov/blog/ham.html
About This Article
Article Summary
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To heat a fully cooked ham, start by placing it in a shallow baking dish with 1/2 a cup of water. Then, cover the ham with aluminum foil, wrapping the foil over the edges of the pan so no heat escapes. Next, place the baking dish in an oven heated to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. If you're heating a boneless ham, cook it for 20-30 minutes for every pound of meat. If you're heating a ham that's still on the bone, cook it for 15 minutes for every pound of meat. To learn how to heat fully cooked slow roasted ham or sliced ham, keep reading!
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