I need advice on making a fully cooked, boneless, smoked ham, tomorrow.

I bought this because it sounded easier and quicker than stuffing anything, but the only instructions that it came with are safe handling instructions. *sigh* I'm not that clueless when it comes to cooking, but I'm not big on meat and have never done this before. I have asked advice from a couple of friends, who had some helpful ideas, but neither could tell me how long to cook it and at what temperature. It's five pounds. I've also looked on-line, but haven't found much on this, except for glazes. Any words of wisdom would be appreciated, since the ham was pretty expensive, coming from a local smokehouse that's rated a mention on The Food Network, and this is dinner, so I don't want to screw it up! BTW, I also plan to make gravy. I'm experienced making poultry gravy, but ham is different, I'm sure. Thanks so much and Merry Christmas!

Rhiannon:hi:

No need, from an edibility prespective, to do anything, so your goal in preparing it is the same as your doctor's goal in treating you .... "first, do not harm".

Keep this in mind ...... you're not cooking it ...... you're only heating it. I'd suggest 45 minutes at 350. You want it to get to about 140 internal temp ... not for safety as much as for edibility. That temp is 'hot' but not so hot as to need to rest very long.

You may want to pin some pineapple rings and maraschino cherries to the ham in a pleasing pattern. Use toothpicks to nail the parts to the ham.

Or not.

As to gravy ... my suggestion is 'don't bother'. If you need gravy for mashed patatoes, just make it from chicken or beef stock ... or idealy, a mixture of the two.

Merry Christmas!

I'd leave off the pineapple and cherries but that's personal preference.

H2S knows what he's talking about. And I agree skip the gravy unless you have to have mashed potatoes. Personally I like mac and cheese with ham and little biscuits will substitute for a starch.



It'll be great!

that is just a personal preference. The frustrating part was finding dozens of recipes for sweet and fruit glazes, which I didn't want, but no simple guidelines for time and temp. I should have tried DU first, since I know very well what an amazing resource this is. With 81,000+ members, somebody's bound to know the answer to any question, and are more than willing to help any other DUer in a bind!:D

Is ham gravy really so tough? My mother's made it, and she doesn't usually cook, LOL! But I've only spoken to my Freeper mother four times in six months, so I figured I'd receive more help and kindness from kindred spirits on DU. And it's too late for the mac and cheese, unless I head out to a convenience store for Kraft, but that's a great suggestion. I'll remember this for the future, assuming that the ham turns out okay. But I have plenty of potatoes and know that my dinner companion loves mashed, so I figure that I can't go wrong, with or without gravy. And I just suggested popovers to someone else here, but it's probably too late for them, as well... :shrug:

Thanks so much for the advice and encouragement and have a wonderful holiday!:hi:

Rhiannon:pals:

I figured that it was just a matter of heating it, which is probably the reason that they didn't bother with instructions, but I sure want it to be hot all the way through! So thank you!:bounce:

As for the pineapple rings, that was one of my friends' suggestions. He said that his mother scores the skin, fastens pineapple rings with cloves, but removes them before eating since this is for "seasoning." He said that she does this to tenderize the meat and sometimes includes cherries, but this is for flavor, not presentation. But I'm not sure what kind of ham she makes, so he was as clueless as I am when it comes to time and temp, so thank you very much!:hi:

And I do want the gravy for mashed potatoes. I bought a couple of those little packets, just in case I screwed up, LOL! Thanks for the suggestions.:D

Thank you, again, and Merry Christmas!:toast:

Rhiannon:pals:

What you're really doing is heating it.

I like the spiral sliced ham. Some come with a rub or glaze packet, and you can follow instructions (usually instructions are limited to "open packet and put it on"). Then just put in a warm oven and let it heat up. Doesn't have to be too hot.

And if the thing gets cold, pop it back in the oven again. Then put it out if you want people to pick at it. If you're formally serving it, you'll have to watch the time a bit, but ham is pretty resiliant - you could start it an hour ahead, turn it off when you think you're close, turn it back on when you want a boost.

Unlike chicken, beef, steak, turkey, duck, poultry, etc - all of which are raw and literally do need to be cook, ham is already cooked, so you just gotta warm it up.

You could even just open the package and serve it cold, as is. Personally, I prefer it warm, but there's nothing to stop you, from a safety/cooking standpoint to just unwrapping it and eating it as is.

too hard or too time consuming. I'm not at home, this Christmas, so knew that I wouldn't have last minute ingredients or resources on hand, and wanted something simple. It's boneless, but not sliced. I just needed to know how long to heat it and at what temp. I meant to ask when I bought it, but they were rushed off their feet with last-minute shoppers, so I was lucky to have caught the attention of this friendly teen-age girl who works there, just to hand me what I wanted from the case...:shrug:

Do you cover yours with foil? I seem to remember my mother putting foil on the top of hers, but she may have been actually cooking it and not just heating. I have never made ham, before, and am not great with meat, anyway. I have made stuffed poultry numerous times, but that's just too labor intensive when you're visiting. And the person I'm cooking for isn't big on vegs, but does like potatoes, so I thought I was playing it safe.:D

And thank you for the advice about reheating. I did worry that it might dry out. But, once it's "done," I'm sure that we'll just use it cold. It's five lbs., and there are just the two of us, so I'm sure that we'll have plenty of leftovers.:D

There's no packet, but I got a couple of those gravy packets, just for a backup, in case I screwed up. I'm not big on glazes, since I prefer savory to sweet, the way my mother always did it, but that's mostly what I found, on-line.:shrug:

Thank you so much for the advice. I don't know what I would have done, without DU! Have a great day and a terrific meal!:bounce:

Rhiannon:hi:

Place the ham in a roasting pan. Pour in a can of 7-UP or similar soda. Bake at 325 degrees for about 1.5 hours for half a ham, 2.5 for a full ham.

When it's hot, take ham out, degrease the liquids and pour into a small sauce pan. Heat it up, add a few tablespoons of Burre Manie (an equal mixture of soft butter and flour kneeded into a paste with a fork), whisk it til smooth and thickened and some cream or Half & Half, and when you're ready to serve swirl in a TBSP of butter.

That's all I do with my hams - no fruit, no cloves, nothing but the ham and 7-UP.

since I'm not at home this Christmas. I didn't even think, and have been kicking myself, ever since, since I am used to having some supplies and resources on hand. At least I remembered to bring the ham, LOL! BTW, it's five pounds. I don't have cream, either, but I do have softened butter and went out yesterday and picked up flour, which I'd forgotten.:D

Just one question: I heat it uncovered, right? My first friend, who I prevailed on for advice, said to cover the top with aluminum foil. That I have, and seem to remember my mother covering some part of it with foil...:shrug:

But, as I say, I have no idea if this was a different sort of ham. She probably got whatever was on special at the supermarket, knowing her. But this one comes from Oscar's Smokehouse in Warrensburg, NY, which was once on a episode of "Food Finds." I wanted to do it right, if I did it at all. Thank you and have a lovely Christmas.:bounce:

Rhiannon:hi:

And have at it!

You could use some sugar water instead of 7 UP.

I'd say more, but I'm late for church!

And thank you! Especially for the advice on substituting 7-up!:D

Enjoy church and have a lovely holiday. I haven't been in years, but have been remembering the smell of incense, since I read your post. It brings back some nice memories.:-)

Rhi:pals:

It should be covered so that the liquid can be steamed into the ham, instead of evaporating away.

I don't have a roasting pan here, only a pyrex oven-proof dish, like I'd use for lasagna. If I recall, my mother made hers in a cast iron skillet, with foil on part of it, then took it out and let it rest, while she made gravy in the same pan. I wish I'd paid better attention, but I'm fortunate enough to have friends who are excellent cooks, here on DU. Thank you.:D

Rhiannon:hug:

Pyrex is not the best for cooking meat, but, when that's all you have, you make the best of it. :-)

I've done some awful emergency cooking when forced to use whatever is available; it still works.

I'm sure your ham came out a hella success!

My dining companion really liked it, which is all I can ask, and I thank you so much for your help.:D I'm here because he injured his leg and I'm trying to make sure he doesn't walk around. So I am nurse, dog nanny (a 100 lb. Airedale!) and chief cook and bottle washer. But I really appreciate this Christmas, and have no complaints, since my friend LOVED the dinner,and I'm away from my Freeper family. I didn't mind, since I felt needed, for once.:shrug:

I heated the ham per your instructions, but let it warm in the oven, with no harm done, while I finished up other things and attended to dogs. I did add the pineapple slices, attached by cloves, since I already had them, just for flavor, as my friend had suggested, but removed them before I carved and served it. I don't know if I'd do that again. The pineapple slices were in juice, so I added some water and poured that over it, and covered it with foil before I put it in the oven. I heated the ham at the temp and for the time you suggested. I served it with mashed potatoes, boxed stuffing (My friend likes it.), gravy and corn, since my friend won't eat most vegs. I would have liked broccolini.:-) For the gravy, I combined the butter and flour, as you said, added the liquid from the ham, and some water in which I'd cooked the potatoes. And I admit to adding those gravy packets I bought, just in case, to make it more savory and less sweet. That's what took the longest, since I needed it to thicken and the raw flour taste to cook away, but, since gravy is not my forte, I was pleased that it turned out well.:9

I asked my friend if I can ask you to dinner, the next time I attempt this kind of thing, to supervise, and he's all for it. He loved the dinner and we'll have leftovers for a week, so thank you. And wishing you a very Merry Christmas. I don't know what I would have done, without my friends from DU!:D

Rhiannon:hi::hug::yourock:

Sometimes I do like to add pineapples to the ham, but only because I like the taste of roasted hammy pineapples. Yummy!! And I never thought of using the pineapple juice as the cooking liquid for the ham - I think I'll try that next time I make a ham! And you were probably wise on using the gravy packets - without them, I bet the gravy would have been insanely sweet with just the pineapple juice, even if it was diluted with some water.

I'm glad you could be there for your friend and help make his holiday less lonely and stuck on the couch.

I couldn't sell the pineapple, so was glad I brought the gravy packets, since I could taste the sweetness, even though I used two of them. It was still almost too sweet for me, but I was looking for it. Next time, I'll be sure to have 7-Up on hand. That's not too sweet and, as they say with wine used for cooking, I'd drink that, LOL!:D

And I'm flattered that you want to try my method, born of desperation, but I'm sure that you can make it work. Just beware of the sweetness. The gravy packets worked for me, but there must be a better method of cutting the sweetness of the pineapple.:shrug:

And I passed on your kind wishes to my couch-ridden friend. He was quite pleased, both to be remembered by you and for my dinner, which we had for two nights. He was admitted to the hospital, this afternoon, and may face surgery on his leg. So please remember him in your prayers, if you can. He's also a fellow DUer.O8)

Thank you, again, my friend, and, in recompense, I looked up an old thread of mine, my favorite recipe for soup. It's very simple, just potatoes, diced onion and bacon, salt and pepper, but very good. I got it from my grandmother's neighbor, who won a prize for it from Good Housekeeping in 1948, and I've made it countless times, and it's always a hit. And you will appreciate this, since it originated with a family who hunted, and cooked this outdoors. I made it for my Dad, when he was very unwell, since it was something he'd eat, and my friend also really likes this.:9

Thanks, again. I don't know what I would have done, without your help.:-)

Rhi:hug:

Dorothy's Potato Soup
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=236&topic_id=5135&mesg_id=5135

edited for punctuation.