Get Your Ham On: Tips for the Best Easter Centerpiece

Ham has long been the meat of choice for Easter, and there are countless ways to prepare it for a special family dinner.Brent Hofacker/Shutterstock

There was a time when lamb was the meat of choice for Easter, although the abundance of pork and its lower price eventually gave ham the advantage. Centuries ago, ham worked well in spring festivities because the pigs would be butchered in fall and salt-cured and smoked to last through the cold season. Good timing!

Arguably less effort than a Thanksgiving turkey, ham nevertheless comes with questions, especially for first-time cooks.

How to Choose a Ham

Ham is the back leg of a pig. And that’s the most unequivocal thing one can say about it. Choosing and preparing one, however, presents options.

You may find country ham, especially in the South’s rural areas. This intensely flavored ham is made through dry curing with lots of salt and a long period of aging (months or even years). While it bears similarity to prosciutto in that respect, they definitely aren’t the same.

But odds are you will be going to a grocery store where you will find the city ham, which is cured in a saltwater solution (brine) with some preservatives and flavors and often smoked over hickory or maple. They come whole or halved and bone-in or boneless, or even spiral-cut (see below). The top half of the ham is the butt end, a bit fattier and therefore richer and more tender. The leg section, called the shank, is leaner and perhaps more photogenic for the table.

Moisture content varies, and you will see “Water Added” or “Ham with Natural Juices” with a percentage indicated. Yes, the added fluids do take away from the flavor, but drying out a ham that had a lower moisture content doesn’t taste as good either. Remember, a city ham is pre-cooked, so you’re really just reheating it here. A little water content, especially natural juices, won’t ruin the feast and actually may safeguard it.

A meat thermometer will ensure you don't end up with overcooked ham. Kabardins photo/Shutterstock

Bakin’ It

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Cover the ham with foil and place it in a roasting pan set at the center of the oven. It should take about 15 to 20 minutes per pound, but better than timing it, test it: Heat the ham to an internal temperature of 140 degrees F. In the case of a pre-cooked ham, this isn’t about food safety; that thermometer also prevents overcooking.

If you don’t have a meat thermometer, get one. Digital or simple analog thermometers cost $10 to $20, and beyond holiday hams and Thanksgiving turkeys, you still get some use for roasts, chicken breasts, and the like. Some varieties are oven-safe so you can just leave them in the meat.

After removing the ham from the oven, waiting 20 minutes before beginning to carve it helps to keep the juices in the meat. Elena Veselova/Shutterstock

To Glaze or Not to Glaze

Sweet goes nicely with the saltiness and smokiness of the meat. Plum sauce is popular, made with a cup of plum preserves, some citrus juice, a bit of mustard and honey, and even perhaps some minced ginger or a pinch of red pepper flakes. Another option is plain honey glaze, with brown sugar, orange juice, and a bit of cloves, nutmeg, and cinnamon.

While canned pineapple should never be on a pizza (kidding! Or am I?), it works well with ham. The juice makes a base for a glaze along with a bit of mustard and brown sugar. For decoration, you can lay slices on the ham with maraschino cherries in the center holes when the glaze goes on.

Another option (and there are many) is barbecue sauce.

If you say yes to glaze, do it when you still have 20 to 30 minutes of baking remaining. Apply with a brush or spoon it. If it’s thick enough, that should do, but thinner glazes may need repeat application. Don’t just rely on the clock; watch to see that the glaze doesn’t burn!

Carving

All you need for carving is a long, thin, sharp knife, a carving fork, and a cutting board that is large enough and doesn’t move around on the table—or countertop. Don’t start right away; give the ham 20 minutes to rest outside the oven and it will be juicier.

Put the flat surface down and the bone standing up, then cut straight down alongside the bone to separate a chunk of meat. Now, it’s a matter of just slicing that portion. A quarter-inch thick is good, but it’s up to you.

Lay the bone-in piece on its side so the bone is left to right in front of you. Make your slices vertically down to the bone from one end to the next. Then make a parallel cut along the bone to free the slices.

If you’ve chosen the spiral-cut ham, your only task is to cut along the bone to release the pre-cut slices.

Leftover Ideas

Cube up some leftover ham and you can toss it in fresh salads, pasta salads, scrambled eggs, omelets, quiche, and casseroles. That ready-made-crescent bread dough? Wrap it around some ham and Swiss or cheddar cheese and bake. If you got the bone-in variety, you now have a soup (or stew) bone.

Ham is cured and, if refrigerated properly and in an airtight container, should last a few days. But if it’s moldy at all, sour, gray-colored, or slimy, it’s too late—toss it. It keeps well tightly wrapped in plastic and in an airtight container in the freezer, but after a month or two, the taste may not live up to your memory of it.

Ham Salad Sandwich

The base is a pound of ham cut into cubes and a quarter cup of pickles or pickle slices spun in a food processor just enough to chop it all finely. Two tablespoons of stone-ground mustard of your choice stirred into a half cup of mayo is the dressing. Mix it well, and maybe add a quarter cup of finely chopped red onion or a bit of celery and you’ve got an excellent spread for some sandwiches.

Leftovers? Combine with some roasted or pulled pork, Swiss cheese, mustard, and toasted bread for a Cuban sandwich. Elena Gordeichik/Shutterstock

Cuban Sandwich

Take some leftover ham, plus some roasted pork or pulled pork (we often have that in the freezer left over from big batches); add slices of Swiss cheese, pickles, and mustard on Cuban bread, and toast it on a sandwich press.