Do you and your family have ham for Easter? Here are a few pointers you may find helpful when deciding what kind of ham to buy.
Butt portion & Shank portion Hams
I’ve never noticed much, if any, flavor difference between the two. The main difference is the meat to bone ratio. A butt portion of ham has more meat on it, and it usually costs about 20 cents more per pound. I find the butt portion a bit easier to carve as well.
Whether I choose a butt or a shank, I like to place flat cut side down in a shallow roasting pan with just a little water. Cook the ham at 325 degrees for about 20 minutes per pound or until the internal temperature reaches 140 degrees on an instant read thermometer. You may have to cover the ham loosely with foil ½ – ¾ through the cook time to prevent over browning. (The stated time & temperatures are for cooking “heat & eat” hams.)
Spiral Sliced Hams
Typically, a spiral sliced bone-in ham will cost twice the price of a butt portion ham. Spiral hams can be made boneless but usually they are made by cutting a bone-in ham into one big spiral shape. Not only does spiral bone-in ham have a natural and preserved fresh flavor—it’s also a lot easier to cut, because of the extra work done at the processing plant. Even though the bone is still there, you have clear cutting lines to follow while slicing.
The biggest problem I’ve always had with a spiral ham is dryness. This can easily be avoided by cooking the ham in a sweet glaze, we just aren’t very big on sweet glazes.
You can create a mouth-watering glazed spiral sliced ham by cooking the ham as you normally would—in the oven at 325 degrees, cut side down in a shallow roasting pan and covered, for about 1¼ hours. After mixing the glaze, spread it over the ham and cook for 20 to 30 minutes longer.
How much Ham should you buy?
You should figure on about ½ pound per person for bone-in ham and about 1/3 pound per person for a boneless ham. The ham will release some juices while cooking. Figure on more if you want leftovers and / or some ham for soup you may make with the bones.
Be sure to save the juices that collect in the bottom of the roasting pan. They will lend tremendous flavor to any soups or casseroles you may make later.
Buying the Whole Ham
Doug and I wrote a post on Ham (Let’s Go Shopping – June 4, 2021) and touched on this briefly. It was pretty vague, so I’ll try to explain it a little better here.
First, this will require a meat saw and at least one good, sturdy butcher knife.
Remove all wrapping and place ham on cutting board or work surface. The more rounded end is the butt end. Guestimate how big you want your butt portion ham and using the meat saw, cut this portion off. Now turn the ham 180 degrees, guestimate the size you want the shank portion, and cut. Now stand the ham on end so the thigh bone runs vertical to your work surface. Using the butcher knife, cut down along the bone, cutting the remaining ham in half. At this point you should have two half moon shaped pieces. Set the boneless half aside as we will get to it in a moment. Decide if you want 2 or 3 smaller bone-in hams with the one and cut accordingly. With the boneless half, use the butcher knife to cut ham steaks to the thickness you like for dinner ham steaks or breakfast ham steaks.
At this point you have at least 4 bone-in hams and a stack of ham steaks. Now comes in the vacuum sealer! Portion your hams / steaks to what fits your family, vacuum seal, and freeze.
HAPPY EASTER TO ALL!!
I hope you find this helpful, and as usual please feel free to leave thoughts, comments, and suggestions.
Doug & Patty
KITCHENTIPS@2TWR.com
P.S. As I was writing this post, I saw that Albertson’s has Shank &/or Whole hams on sale at $.97 per pound – this is a great price!!