Cooking and glazing a cured ham? It’s in the bag
Heating and glazing a cured ham seems effortless, but many recipes yield leathery meat in an overly sweet glaze. We wanted to guarantee moist holiday meat in a nuanced glaze.
Bone-in hams, labeled “with natural juices,” have the best flavor, and spiral-sliced ones make carving a cinch. But too much time in the oven can ruin even the best ham on the market, so we focused on reducing the cooking time. Soaking the ham in hot water shaved off a full hour, and using an oven bag further reduced the cooking time while also containing the ham’s moisture.
We heated a mixture of sweet and savory pantry staples for two tempting glaze options.
You may bypass the 1
If there is a tear or hole in the ham’s inner covering, wrap it in several layers of plastic wrap before the hot-water soak. If you do not want to use an oven bag, place the ham cut side down in the roasting pan and cover tightly with aluminum foil, adding 3 to 4 minutes per pound to the heating time.