Carving up your holiday ham

Ham is the traditional centerpiece of many Easter dinners. As Easter approaches, grocery stores fill up with a variety of hams. The Easter ham on your table is a continuation of a centuries-old tradition of celebrating the end of winter and the arrival of the new season of growth.

Even though ham is traditionally the star of the Easter feast, you don’t have to serve the same type every year. The most difficult step in getting the ham on the table is deciding which to buy. Ham is from the leg of a pig. The choices for ham include fresh, cook-before-eating, cooked, picnic, and country types. Ham is sold as bone-in or boneless, half or whole, unsliced or spiral sliced. Each type of ham has its own storage and cooking times.

Most hams you’ll find made in the U.S. are city hams. They are wet-cured and made by soaking the meat in a saltwater solution or injecting it with a brine. You may also see country ham, which is dry-rubbed and hung to dry. There are also fresh hams, which are uncured.

Hams are labeled in a few different ways. A “fresh” or uncooked ham is a raw ham that must be cooked before eating as it has not been cured or cooked. Fresh ham will have a pale pink or beige color, like a pork roast. It will require the most cooking. “Cook-before-eating” refers to a ham that needs to be heated before serving since it has been cured. Pre-cooked ham is typically a vacuum-sealed ham that has been smoked, baked, and/or cured. Cured ham or cured-and-smoked ham will have a deep rose or pink color. Country ham and prosciutto will have a pink to mahogany color. These can be eaten cold or heated.

Buy ham with the bone. As with any meat, the bone-in meat is more tender and succulent. A whole ham can serve 20 to 24 people with leftovers and is 12 to 14 pounds.

When buying a half ham, choose the shank end. It has the most flavor because there’s a higher fat ratio, and it is significantly easier to carve, having only a single, straight bone. The butt end is rounded, while the shank end is the pointy end of the ham.

Buy cooked hams with no skin and no fat. No one will eat the skin, and there is a fat layer underneath; therefore, it is healthier for us.

Buy cooked ham unsliced. Spiral-cut hams are popular because of their convenience. Many cooks say an uncut ham has better flavor and texture than a spiral cut. You usually get more slices out of a ham not already sliced.

The estimated amount of ham per serving to buy is:

Boneless Ham: 1/3 to 1/2 pound per serving

Bone-In Ham: 1/2 to 3/4 pound per serving

Never thaw at room temperature on the counter or in other locations. There are three safe ways to thaw pork:

Refrigerator: Plan ahead for slow thawing in the refrigerator. After thawing raw pork by this method, it will remain safe in the refrigerator for three to five days before cooking. During this time, you can safely refreeze it without cooking it first if you decide not to use the pork.

Cold water: Put ham in cold tap water in a leak-proof plastic bag and change the water every 30 minutes. Estimate about 30 minutes per pound of ham. The ham must be cooked immediately once thawed.

Microwave: Due to uneven heating when microwave-defrosting pork, plan to cook it immediately after thawing, as parts will begin to cook during microwaving.

It isn’t necessary to wash raw pork before cooking it. Any bacteria that might be present on the surface would be destroyed by cooking.

You might want to enhance ham with a glaze, which is a topping spread over a ham prior to baking to enhance the flavor of the meat or after it has finished baking and to help keep it moist and tender in texture.

With all the variety of hams, it’s best to follow packaging instructions for baking times. According to the UDSA, fresh and cook-before-eating hams are done and safe to eat when they reach a minimum internal temperature of 145°F. Pre-cooked hams should reach an internal temperature of 140°F before serving. Set your oven to 325°F, no lower, and you’re ready to cook.

It is safe to cook frozen pork in the oven, on the stove, or grill without first defrosting; the cooking time may be about 50% longer. Use a meat thermometer to check for doneness. Do not cook frozen pork in a slow cooker.

Before carving, let baked ham rest for 15 minutes to redistribute juices, keeping the meat firmer.

Cut the ham off the bone and refrigerate it within two hours of it being cooked or heated. Leftovers will last for 4 days in the refrigerator, so if you know you won’t use them right away, pack them into freezer bags or airtight containers and freeze. For best quality, use your leftover frozen ham within four months.

Reheat cooked ham in the oven at 325°F to an internal temperature of 140°F as measured by a food thermometer.

For holidays or gatherings, serving a ham is always a crowd-pleaser. Knowing how to prepare a ham properly is invaluable knowledge for a home cook.

Sources: canr.msu.edu; cdc.gov; fsis.usda.gov

Vicki Hayman is the Community Vitality and Health educator at UW Extension Weston County. Contact her at vhayman@uwyo.edu”vhayman@uwyo.edu.