As the vacations strategy, an all-important query looms: will you make turkey or will you make ham this 12 months? For these of you on Crew Ham, this Crockpot Ham recipe is the simplest, most scrumptious strategy to prepare dinner ham for a crowd. Even for those who’ve by no means made a vacation ham earlier than, this recipe received’t allow you to down!

Why You’ll Love This Easy Crockpot Ham Recipe

• It’s Ham, Ma’am. Or sir. Anyway, the purpose is: ham is scrumptious—savory, candy, succulent, and salty. With this crockpot ham recipe, you’ll get all that deliciousness with none of the stress. We’re speaking 5 minutes of prep time right here!
• Set It and Neglect It. A lot of the nervousness concerned in vacation entertaining is the psychological Tetris it’s a must to play when determining what must go within the oven and when and at what temperature. Enter: crockpot ham. Like , the ham frees up priceless actual property within the oven and because it’s a principally hands-off recipe, your time is free to make your sides (or sip on an together with your friends).
• Travels Nicely. Heading to Friendsgiving or one other gathering the place the oven is occupied? This sluggish cooker ham solves that downside.
• Leftovers for Days. Use the leftover ham to make sandwiches for lunch, or add , , and to your meal plan for the week after the vacation.
• Good for Particular Events. Ham, together with , is a staple for a lot of vacation celebrations. The stress is on while you’re selecting a ham recipe to make for household and associates, however relaxation assured: this ham recipe with a brown sugar glaze will elicit these excited oohs and ahhs and all of the compliments. 

What You Must Know When Buying Ham

If that is the primary 12 months you’re making ham for the vacations, you won’t know the place to begin. There are such a lot of choices!

• Metropolis ham is the brined number of ham. Most hams offered in the US are metropolis hams.
• Nation hams are hung to dry; they’re cured with a dry rub and may be smoked. Consider this because the American equal of Serrano ham or prosciutto.
• Contemporary hams are uncooked; whereas metropolis ham and nation ham will be eaten chilly or warmed to a secure temperature, recent hams should be cooked.

Plan to buy a metropolis ham for the vacations. You should purchase an entire ham or a half ham.

Right here’s a primer that can assist you make your buy.

1. Keep away from Hams Which are Injected With Saline Answer. Metropolis hams are brined one in all two methods: soaking the ham in saltwater for a number of days or injecting brine instantly into the meat to expedite the brining course of. Greater high quality hams are submerged in brine, relatively than injected.
2. Keep away from Canned Ham, Too. Canned ham is made by urgent and forming scraps right into a can-shaped loaf. Evidently, that is not the ham you wish to serve for the vacations.
3. Select Bone-In Ham. Boneless ham is best to chop, however leaving the bone in helps hold the ham moist and flavorful, so it’s price the additional effort. Plus you need to use the ham bone for !
4. Spiral vs. Complete Ham. Spiral hams are highly regarded for the vacations as a result of they’re already pre-cut. Handy! Sadly, being pre-cut makes them vulnerable to drying out.

For this recipe, we’ll use a bone-in ham.

Make Crockpot Ham

The Components

• Cooked Bone-In Ham. Don’t use spiral-cut ham, as it’ll dry out within the sluggish cooker.

• Liquid. To maintain your ham moist. Dry white wine, apple juice, or water will all work.
• Glaze. I like to recommend my , which supplies this crockpot ham the traditional sweet-and-savory taste everybody loves.

The Instructions

1. Lower. Rating the ham diagonally left to proper, then proper to left, making a diamond crisscross sample.

2. Add the Liquid. Pour the wine or juice right into a 6-quart or bigger oval sluggish cooker. 

3. Add the Ham. Cowl and prepare dinner till the ham is heated utterly via and reaches 140 levels F on an instant-read thermometer.

4. Glaze. On the finish of the cooking time, put together the glaze. Switch the ham to a chopping board and brush with the glaze combination.

5. End. Make Ham Gravy, if desired. Slice, serve, and ENJOY!

Storage Suggestions

• To Retailer. Retailer leftover crockpot ham in an hermetic storage container within the fridge for 3 to five days.
• To Reheat. Reheat ham within the microwave, or place it in a baking dish with a number of tablespoons of water, broth, or inventory; cowl and reheat in a 325 diploma F oven till the ham reaches an inner temperature of 165 levels F.
• To Freeze. You possibly can freeze leftovers in an hermetic container or zip-top freezer bag. Thaw within the fridge, then reheat in accordance with the directions above.

What to Serve with Crockpot Ham

Recipe Suggestions and Methods

• Don’t Overcook the Ham. Because it’s already cooked, it simply must be warmed via and infused with taste. This is likely one of the commonest errors folks make when cooking ham for the vacations! A 5 pound ham takes about 5-7 hours within the sluggish cooker to prepare dinner.
• Use a Meat Thermometer. That is the easiest way to make sure that your ham has reached the correct inner temperature. Because the ham is already cooked, quite a lot of the visible cues we use for doneness not apply. Plus, completely different sized hams will want completely different quantities of time to succeed in a secure 140 levels F.
• Don’t Use a Spiral Ham. Whereas they might be handy for serving, they’ve a a lot larger chance of drying out within the sluggish cooker.
• Make Sufficient Crockpot Ham for Everybody. Questioning how a lot ham to make per individual? Plan for about 1/3 to 1/2 pound of ham per individual for bone-in ham. Some sources even suggest as a lot as 3/4 pound per individual, so if your loved ones has huge appetites, you’re serving extra adults than youngsters, otherwise you need leftovers, hold that in thoughts!

Associated Recipes

Savory, succulent ham makes for a scrumptious dinner! Listed below are some extra recipes to strive: