Heating and glazing a cured ham seems effortless, but many recipes yield leathery meat in an overly sweet glaze. America’s Test Kitchen wanted to guarantee moist 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. America’s Test Kitchen heated a mixture of sweet and savory pantry staples for a tempting glaze. You may bypass the 1 1/2-hour soaking time, but the ham will be less juicy and the heating time must increase to 18 to 20 minutes per pound.
We prefer a tapered shank ham but a rounded sirloin ham will work here. 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 wish 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.
GLAZED SPIRAL SLICED HAM
Servings: 12 to 14
Start to finish: 1 hour and 55 minutes, plus 90 minutes for soaking
1 spiral-sliced bone-in half ham, 7-10 pounds
1 large plastic oven bag
For the maple orange glaze:
3/4 cup maple syrup
1/2 cup orange marmalade
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Nutrition information per serving: 390 calories; 157 calories from fat; 17 g fat (5 g saturated; 0 g trans fats); 145 mg cholesterol; 1914 mg sodium; 7 g carbohydrate; 0 g fiber; 6 g sugar; 52 g protein.
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