Many hams that you find on the market are already spiral cut and each incision reaches almost the center of the meat; in this way, it is easier to slice them once they are brought to the table. These are products that can be pre-cooked, partially cooked or raw, so you must read the label carefully before cooking them.
Steps
Part 1 of 2: Cooking a Spiral Sliced Ham
Step 1. Defrost it, if necessary
If you bought a frozen product, keep it in the vacuum packaging and thaw it for two or three days in the refrigerator. You can defrost a small ham by submerging it in cold water for two or three hours, taking care to replace the water every 30 minutes.
You can also cook it without defrosting it, but in this case you have to calculate longer cooking times, even up to 50% longer than those required for a defrosted ham
Step 2. Read the label
Most commercial pre-sliced products are ready to eat, but you still need to follow the instructions on the package to reheat the meat. If the ham is raw or partially cooked, it must be cooked to be safe for human consumption.
Step 3. Wrap the meat and baking dish in aluminum foil
Remove all the wrapping that contains the ham and place it in a "foil" foil to trap the humidity during cooking; remember to line the pan as well.
If you don't like dry pork, place a second pan filled with water on the lowest shelf of the oven
Step 4. Cook the ham
Place it on the pan making sure that the pre-cut side is facing downwards; preheat the oven and set the cooking time according to the type of product you purchased. Check it every 20-30 minutes from the start to prevent the edges from drying out and becoming overcooked:
- Ham pre-cooked it just needs to be heated. To keep it juicy, put it in the oven at 120 ° C for about 40 minutes for every kilogram of weight. To speed up the process while losing some moisture, raise the temperature to 175 ° C and heat the meat 20 minutes for every kilogram of weight; check the internal temperature with a meat thermometer: it must reach 50 ° C.
- A product partially cooked it must only be partially cooked until it reaches a minimum internal temperature of 60 ° C. When finished, take it out of the oven and let it rest for three minutes to complete the process; in general, it takes 40 minutes for every kilogram of weight in the oven at 160 ° C.
- Ham fresh it is totally raw, it is rarely sold pre-sliced in a spiral, but if you find it, remember that you have to cook it for about 50 minutes for each kilogram of weight by setting the oven at 160 ° C; the internal temperature must reach at least 60 ° C. When done, let it sit for a few minutes to finish the process before slicing it.
Step 5. Glass it.
Proceed with this step half an hour before the end of cooking or when a "fresh" or "partially cooked" ham reaches an internal temperature of 60 ° C. Carve the meat with a diamond pattern using a knife and brush the glaze of your choice on the surface; then put the ham back in the oven for another 30 minutes.
- Most of the pre-sliced spiral hams on the market come with a sachet of powdered icing that you can rehydrate in water.
- To make a simple homemade glaze, mix equal parts of brown sugar and mustard; use honey if you prefer a sweeter flavor or Dijon mustard for a more acidic aftertaste.
Part 2 of 2: Slicing a Spiral Cut Ham
Step 1. Cut it along the line of the muscle
Place the ham on a cutting board with the pre-cut side and observe the pink surface. The flesh should have three visible strips of connective tissue (white or reddish in appearance) between the pink muscle fibers; make the incision along one of these filaments to the center.
- For best results, use a knife with a flexible blade with hollow ovals or notches near the edge.
- Some boneless hams contain a good amount of ground beef to maintain their shape; as a result, the connective filaments may not be visible. In this case, slice the meat all the way to the center starting from any point on the edge; repeat the process to divide the piece into three parts.
Step 2. Make another incision along the second connective tissue strand
If there is bone, run the blade all around until you reach the second filament; proceed along this line to release the first block of precut slices.
Step 3. Cut the third connective line
The latter divides what remains of the ham into two series of slices; score all around the bone to detach them. Arrange the slices on a tray or transfer them directly to the diners' plates.
If the ham is large, cut the slices in half before serving
Advice
- If the spiral cut ham is not cooked immediately, store it in the freezer to preserve its quality.
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The tastiest hams typically have the bone and low added water content, although they are more expensive. Check the percentage of water by reading the label; if you are in the United States, find out about the legal wording:
- Ham (prosciutto): if the label shows this writing it means that no water has been added;
- Ham with natural juices (ham with natural juices): the water content is less than 8%;
- Ham, water added (ham with added water): less than 10% water;
- Ham and water product (product based on ham and water): the liquid content is higher than 10%.
