Cooking a Spiral Ham + Sauce
Published in: Cook's Illustrated
1 shank end ham -- spiral sliced
Dried Cherry and Stout Sauce
1 cup chicken stock or canned low-sodium
chicken broth
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 medium shallots -- chopped fine
1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
4 cups stout
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup dried [censored] cherries (about 5 ounces)
1 1/2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
Salt and ground black pepper
Holiday hams are usually dry and dull. For a moist, juicy, and flavorful
ham, ignore the package directions and bake it in a bag. The challenge:
Compare the packaged instructions for heating and saucing that come with
different brands of supermarket ham and you may find yourself confused and
disillusioned. Recommended cooking times and temperatures vary, as do the
results: the meat can turn as dry as dust or as mushy as a wet paper
towel. And the sauces sometimes enclosed with the ham in a packet,
sometimes suggested by a recipe tend to have one thing in common: they're
as sweet and gooey as candy. How, we wondered, could we prepare a
spiral-sliced ham with a moist and toothsome meat that had just the right
amount of bite? Could we develop fairly simple recipes for more
flavorful, "grown-up" tasting sauces?
The solution: We found out that getting the temperature and texture of
the meat just right means slow-cooking to preserve its juices. But this
presented a new challenge: how to slow-cook the ham without having it tie
up the oven for half of the day. To keep oven time to a minimum, we let
the ham come up to room temperature before putting it in the oven and used
an oven bag to seal in the heat. We then developed two sauces one made
with stout and dried cherries, the other with mustard, vermouth, and
thyme that do elegant justice to our perfectly cooked ham. For good
measure: When buying a spiral-sliced ham, ask your grocer for a "shank
end" (which is flat on the cutting side and tapers to a point on the
other side) rather than a "butt end" (one side of which is rounded and
blunt rather than tapered). Each cut will cook up just as nicely and taste
just as good, but the shank is easier to carve.
How To Prepare Spiral-Sliced Ham
You can put the ham in the oven cold, bypassing the 90-minute standing
time. If you do, add a couple of minutes per pound to the heating time.
If using an oven bag, cut slits in the bag so it does not burst. Allow
about 3 to 4 servings per pound for a bone-in ham. Most half hams range
in size from 7 to 10 pounds, serving 20 to 30. We recommend buying a
shank portion because the bone configuration makes it easier to carve;
look for the half ham with the tapered, pointed end. The Polder Cooking
Thermometer/Timer is the perfect tool for monitoring the ham's
temperature; leaving it in the ham while the ham is in the oven and
setting it to alert you when the ham has come up to temperature will save
you from having to constantly check the oven to see when the ham is done.
Unwrap one 7- to 10-pound spiral-sliced half ham, preferably shank end;
remove and discard plastic disk covering bone. Place ham in plastic oven
bag, tie bag shut, and trim excess plastic. Set ham cut-side down in 9 x
13-inch baking dish and cut four slits in top of bag with paring knife.
Alternatively, place unwrapped ham cut-side down in baking dish and cover
tightly with foil. Let stand at room temperature 90 minutes.
Meanwhile, adjust oven rack to lowest position and heat oven to 250
degrees. Bake ham until center of ham registers about 100 degrees on
instant-read thermometer, 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 hours (about 14 minutes per
pound if using plastic oven bag, about 17 minutes per pound if using
foil), depending on size of ham. Remove ham from oven and let rest in
baking dish in oven bag or with foil cover until internal temperature
registers 115 to 120 degrees on instant-read thermometer, 30 to 40
minutes. Cut open oven bag or remove foil, place ham on carving board,
and slice. Serve immediately with the sauce.
Directions for sauce.
Whisk together chicken stock and cornstarch; set aside. Heat butter in
12-inch skillet over medium heat until foaming; add shallots and saute
until softened, about 3 minutes. Stir in allspice; cook until fragrant,
about 30 seconds. Add stout, brown sugar, and dried cherries; increase
heat to medium-high, bring to simmer, and cook until slightly syrupy,
about 10 minutes. Whisk chicken stock and cornstarch mixture to
recombine, then gradually whisk into simmering liquid; return to simmer
to thicken sauce, stirring occasionally. Off heat, stir in balsamic
vinegar; season to taste with salt and pepper. (Can be cooled to room
temperature and refrigerated up to 2 days. Reheat in medium saucepan over
medium-low heat.) Serve with ham.
Recipe Notes
Per serving (excluding unknown items): 859 Calories; 39g Fat (40%
calories from fat); 27g Protein; 103g Carbohydrate; 146mg
Cholesterol; 1886mg Sodium{}
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