How is cured ham cooked

Water Cured hams may contain more water than they did before curing. Cooked or not: Uncooked: Relatively rare. Partially cooked: Most of the hams in this market are in this state and labeled "cook before eating". Fully cooked: Also called "Ready to Eat", Spiral cut hams, ham slices and portion hams often fall into this category.

They are safe to eat cold as purchased if within the "use by" date and have been properly handled. Real Black Forest Hams are dry cured and cannot be cooked by instructions on this page Canned Hams: These are boneless, wet cured, fully cooked and are often reformed from chunks and pieces.

They are not particularly flavorful and the texture is not as good as other hams but they are a convenience item and very easy to slice. There are two types of canned hams: Shelf Stable: generally 3 pounds or less. These are fully sterilized hams that can be stored at room temperature up to 2 years. Refrigerated: must be stored in the refrigerator and will keep there for 6 to 9 months depending on your refrigerator temperature. A popular size is 5 pounds. These should not be removed from the can and frozen because cured products degrade fairly quickly when frozen so the useful storage life won't be extended.

They can then be glazed as with a normal ham if desired see Glazing. Honeybaked Ham: This is a trademark of the Honeybaked Ham Company, but we list it because it's so well known. This is a fully cooked, bone-in, spirally sliced ham with a crisp honey glaze on the outside. Hostess Ham: A boneless fully cooked canned ham that is cylindrical rather than flat oval making it easy to slice uniformly. Four pounds is a common weight. Cook as for any canned ham.

Jambon de Paris: A wet cured, boneless fully cooked ham, often used sliced in sandwiches and the like. It is cured and cooked wrapped in the skin to keep it moist. Picnic Ham: This is a wet cure ham made from the front leg of the pig and is much smaller than a regular ham. Uncured it would be called a "picnic shoulder". Varies with manufacturer. Spirally Sliced Ham: This is a fully cooked bone-in ham that, after cooking, has been sliced in a spiral around the leg bone.

It is cooked at a lower temperature than most hams - see instructions below. Either as purchased or as leftovers, cured meats don't last long in the freezer - 1 to 2 months max, and even then quality will suffer. Freezing should be considered an emergency option only. I have direct testimony from one who did freeze leftover ham and suffered the consequences pretty much inedible. The reason for this is the salt - the ham is never truly frozen and is subject to rancidity.

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Keeping food safe: Choosing food storage containers. Playing it safe with eggs. Related Content. After this, soak your meat in room temperature water for 2 hours to further remove excess saltiness and cure. Step Six: Equalize and for the Pellicle. Place the meat on a plate uncovered inside your refrigerator for 24 hours. During this time two things happen. This is a tacky sheen that will appear on the surface of your meat.

The pellicle will help your meat more readily absorb a smokey flavour when it comes time to smoking. Note: Step Six is optional. Step Seven: Bring your meat to temp and turn it into Ham! Set your oven or smoker to c. Cook your ham until it reaches an internal temperature of 65c. If using smoke, recommended chips include: apple, maple, cherry, pear, plum, pecan, hickory and peach.

See our full range here. Just spray all over before cooking. For small picnic ham, it should take around 2 hours. For larger cuts like a full leg it will take longer. We have cheap but good quality thermometers are available here.