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Ham is a truly divine meal. However, cooking it just right isn't always easy. These simple tricks are about to change the way you cook ham for good!

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Preparation and Cook Times

Generally, roasting ham in the oven is the easiest way to prepare it. Your roasting time will depend on the weight of the ham, use our timetable for roasting ham to determine the appropriate amount of time if your recipe does not specify.

How to Pick the Perfect Ham

There are two main types of hams: country and city hams. Country hams are typically sold uncooked, while city hams come pre-cooked and spiral-sliced. City hams make up the majority of what you’ll find in your grocery store. Each ham also comes either bone-in or boneless. Boneless hams will be a bit easier to serve, while bone-in hams are believed to impart added flavor. In this how to, we’ll be referring to a boneless city ham.
Before you can get to working cooking your ham, you need to select one. But how do you know how much ham to buy for your guests? It’s easy: can count on ¾ pound per person for a bone-in ham and ½ pound per person for a boneless ham. So if you have 20 guests, you’d need a 10-pound boneless ham.

What You’ll Need

The most common way to prepare a ham is by roasting it. If you choose to roast your ham, we recommend using a roasting pan. The size pan you’ll need depends on how big your ham is, but it should be able to fit comfortably without touching the sides. The depth or side height is also important; one that is too shallow increases the likelihood of hot splashes. For this reason, the side height should be about 3-4 inches for a standard-sized ham. In general, we recommend a roasting pan that’s 9 x 3 x 13.

If you don’t own a roasting pan, you can use a broiler pan or large casserole dish—even a baking sheet can work, although there may be hot pan drippings on the sheet, so use with caution. Of course, there are several advantages to using a roasting pan, namely that they’re big enough to house large hams and turkeys, meaning your meat will have ample room to cook evenly.

We also recommend using a meat thermometer. Most hams come pre-cooked, so you wouldn’t think you’d need a meat thermometer. However, with large hams it’s hard to tell when the meat is warm enough, and that’s when a meat thermometer will come in handy! Also, if you use a non-cooked ham, you’ll of course want to use a meat thermometer for food safety reasons.

How to Make Ham with Brown Sugar Glaze

1. Heat oven to 325°F.

2. Place ham, fat side up, on a rack in a shallow roasting pan.

3. Cover loosely with foil and roast ham as directed until the thermometer reads 135°F.

4. About 20 minutes before ham is done, remove from oven. Cut uniform diamond shapes on fat surface of ham.

5. Stir together brown sugar, vinegar and mustard

6. Pat or brush on ham.

7. Bake uncovered 20 minutes longer.

8. Let stand for 10 minutes or until thermometer reads 140°.

Finished!

These tips and tricks for cooking ham will make it so much easier and amazing every year-  Have you tried these tips yet?

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Article Source: Betty Crocker