I can’t remember the last time I “cooked” a ham, got one from Wild Fork this year, and just noticed it was smoked but not cured! I was looking for a small bone-in ham.
Any suggestions (other than tossing it) would be appreciated
Ham labeled “uncured” is still cured, it’s just done through a different process than conventional hams. It won’t make a difference in terms of staying juicy. The ham you have is basically what she’s describing as the ideal city ham.
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As for keeping it moist, it’s basically just a matter of warming the ham. If you like, you can sous vide. This gives you the option of leaving it warm for hours while you do whatever you like, then simply turning on the oven to the highest temp or a broiler on low when you’re ready to serve and glazing the ham and letting it get nice and caramelized.
But you can also just warm it up in a low oven covered with foil and then proceed to glaze.
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Thank you!
I was just reading the tenderbelly link when you posted, but worried it sounded a bit like an ad. I have smoked meat in the past, and usually end up using a nitrate or nitrite of some kind, but I’ve forgotten why.
ETA Thank you so much for the Serious Eats links ( I’m still a bit of a Serious Eats fan girl).
I’d love a few “cooking for one or two” suggestions. I love these recipes, but I’m wondering what I can adjust if I only need 4-6 slices.
“Transfer to oven and cook until ham reaches 120°F (49°C) in the center, about 2 1/2 hours” .
“Preheat sous vide cooker to 140°F (60°C). Add ham and cook for at least 3 hours and up to 8 hours”
Why, if it’s fully cooked? How could I translate to cooking some slices sous vide?
I’ll probably try to experiment a bit with sous vide and glazing a few slices. I really wanted the bone!
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It is a bit like an ad, but the gist of it is that they’re still using nitrites/nitrates, but often the kind found in ingredients like celery powder and they’re typically not injecting the hams in order to speed up the process.
I use pink curing salt to retain a nice pink color in cured items.
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Yes! That’s it. I am glad to be avoiding the injected water.
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Note to self; try the jamalade
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If you just want to get a few slices up to temp, I would set your sous vide bath to 130-140 and cook for 30-45 minutes, depending on how thick your slices are and how hot you like your food. The longer cook times in that recipe account for the thickness and density of a whole ham, which would definitely take a few hours to get up to 120 (or other appetizing temperature for eating “hot”).
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Looks delicious!
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Re keeping it juicy, I’ve followed the America’s Test Kitchen recipe (minus the glaze) for “How To Cook A Spiral Sliced Ham.” They recommend an oven bag, and a shank cut ham. It’s served us well for the past few years.
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