Need help with ham...

[DietitianInTraining]

Hi everyone! I bought a ham a couple weeks ago, and was wanting to make it for supper tonight. But am not sure the best way to make it....

It says it's a 'Bone in, Hickory Smoked, Pork Shoulder Picnic Ham' It says it's ready to cook, aprox 22 min. per pound at 325 until center reaches 160 degrees. It said for detailed cooking and glazing instructions, peel and read the back. Well.... I peeled it, and half of it stuck to the ham, so I can only read bits and pieces of it....

It said something about thawing...? Can't I just set it in water, and let it thaw?

It says something about applying a glaze 1/2 hour before it's done...

I've never made a ham before, but I know with the big, hams at Thanksgiving, i've seen people poke a few cloves all around it, with some pinnaples, and maybe some water and pinnaple juice in the bottom? Cover with foil?

Help!!

 

[suziquzie]

Well the ham is already "cooked" so all you're really doing is warming it back up...
you are going to want to thaw it first....
I put a small bit of water in the pan and seal it up.
I made it with the pineapples and cherries once, I think they cooked a little too long so I wouldn't put tehm on it right away.... maybe 1/2 way thru your time. Then leave the cover off.
Then the glaze about 1/2 hour before its done.
How big is it?

 

[Dina]

Here are some tips How to Bake a Glazed Ham | eHow.com I've cooked one before but wasn't too pleased with it. I'm sure some ham expert will come along here soon to help you.

 

[DietitianInTraining]

It's already cooked? Even though it says, ready to cook? It says it's 4.54 lbs.. It says it's pre sliced too..

 

[suziquzie]

Oh yeah. its cooked, I'm pretty sure. They should say ready to warm!

 

[jkath]

It's already cooked!
That way, if you want to take a taste, it's okay!
Sometimes a ham that big will take a while to thaw. You may want to think about making it maybe on Thursday.
What I've found is that there's really no wrong way to glaze a ham. Use whatever you have around the house to make a glaze, and keep tasting it.
Here are some things you may want to try:

brown sugar
fresh lemon juice
Jack Daniels (just a bit does a lot)
good mustard (not the yellow kind)
fresh orange juice
chopped cranberries or whole berry cranberry sauce
pineapple (crushed in a can is a good ingredient)
apple juice
spices that you like (cinnamon & nutmeg are quite tasty)
molasses

Just make something that tastes good to you, and is relatively thick (thus the molasses and/or brown sugar). Make sure to coat the ham, once you've put it into it's high sided (at least 2") baking dish. Then cover with foil to keep the moisture & flavor in.
Every so often (like 20 minutes), use the drippings to baste the ham, either using a baster or a kitchen brush. You'll know it's nearly done when your meat thermometer registers at a ham stage (it will say it on the thermometer). Then uncover for about 10-15 minutes for a good "golden-browning". I usually turn up the temp for this.

 

[Jeff G.]

I like to bake down even a already cooked ham.

Make sure its thawed. Place in a baking pan. Mix up some Coca Cola(not diet!!), a little brown sugar, prepared yellow mustard and clove. Pour that over the ham and bake as it says. Every 1/2 hour or so, baste the ham with the juices in the pan....

 

[DietitianInTraining]

Jeff, do you mean a powder spice of clove, or the stabby things?

 

[suziquzie]

I think with that mix he means powdered....
If you're doing the pineapple use the stabby ones to keep the pineapples in.
I think I wanna thaw my last ham now.....

 

[pacanis]

That reminds me. I better get that small piece of ham I bought a couple weeks ago cut up and frozen.

I love ham. When I had Superbowl parties I always had a big Smith's ham going on an electric rotisserie (sp?). I stuck cloves in every 1-1/2" or so (easy to overdue it) and glazed it with pure maple syrup when it was close to being done/warmed through. Low and slow so as not to dry it out.
Presliced... is that what they call a spiral ham? I had one of those, too, at Christmas I think. Neat idea preslicing the ham. I have no idea how my father cooked it though, other than in the oven.

 

[Jeff G.]

Jeff, do you mean a powder spice of clove, or the stabby things?

powdered works fine.

If you want pretty, cut diamond shapes in the ham, press a clove into each. If you do that you won't need the powdered.

You can also do the fruit thing with this, even add juices to the mix