Pineapple Ham (Spiral Ham Recipe) - The Cookie Rookie® (2024)

FAQs

How long does it take to cook a fully cooked spiral ham? ›

If you're starting with a pre-cooked ham, you'll only need to cook your ham long enough to heat it all the way through. Total cook time will depend on the size of the ham, your cooking method, and the cooking temperature. In general, you'll want to plan for 10-16 minutes per pound.

Spiral cut hams should be covered with aluminum foil to help retain moisture when re heating. You could also place a foil pan with water underneath the ham to create some steam inside the oven to keep everything moist.

The glaze should not be applied until the final hour to 30 minutes, in order to avoid burning the sugars. What you're going to do with the glaze ingredients is just combine most of them into a paste, and then apply it to the ham. After that, the heat in your oven will take care of everything.

If placed on the ham during the baking process, the ham will turn to a clay-like mush. "Pineapple belongs on ham," says Towers, "but you have to cook it first or used canned. If you use fresh pineapple it will turn the meat to play dough mush. Bromelain cooks out of the fruit during the canning or cooking process."

Cover tightly with lid, foil or place in cooking bag and heat at 275°F for approximately 12-15 minutes per pound.

To reheat a spiral-sliced ham in a conventional oven, cover the entire ham or portion with heavy aluminum foil and heat at 325 °F for about 10 minutes per pound.

Spiral Sliced Hams

Remove packaging, reserving liquid. Place ham cut-side down on a large sheet of foil in a roasting pan. Pour reserved liquid over ham and wrap completely with foil. Warm ham in oven for 10 to 12 minutes per pound.

Place the spiral ham in the slow cooker with the large, flat side down. Add a small amount of liquid to the slow cooker. I usually add about ½ cup of apple juice or water to the bowl. This helps keep the ham moist as it slowly cooks.

— How to cook your spiral ham without drying it out. To avoid drying it out, add water to the bottom of your roasting pan, place the ham on a baking rack above the water, and cover it with foil. You'll also want to use a meat thermometer to check your ham's temperature to avoid overcooking.

Cooking Temperature and Time

If the ham is a half ham weighing five to seven pounds, it should heat at 325°F for 22-25 minutes per pound. If it is a whole ham weighing between 10 to 14 pounds, heat the ham at 325°F for 18-20 minutes per pound. The internal temperature should be 140°F.

How do you get glaze to stick to ham? ›

After the ham has cooked for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, brush the surface with some of the glaze. Then pop it back into the oven, uncovered, for another 20 minutes or so. Pull it out and brush on more glaze, then pop it back in the oven. Then pull it out and brush on more glaze!

About 20 minutes prior to the end of cooking time, begin glazing the ham but applying it with a silicon brush. Continue to glaze every 5 minutes until the ham is done. The ham is ready when a thermometer reads an internal temperature of 135-140f.

What can I substitute in place of pineapple? Orange juice should work instead of pineapple. What if I have a bigger/smaller ham? You'll want to adjust the time accordingly, and continue to check it throughout.

“Typically, when you're doing a country ham, you need something sweet to neutralize the ham's saltiness, and pineapple does this really well.” And it's not just me and Benton: Pineapple shows up in ham recipes—atop the ham, in glazes slicking the ham, in shield-your-eyes versions of fried rice—the world over.

Pineapple contains an enzyme called bromelain, which breaks down proteins in meat. Bromelain can make meats tender. If you over marinate the meat, it can cause them to literally fall apart. Even if you hit it right, the meat is going to taste of pineapple, to some degree, and you have to want that flavor in your dish.

How do you cook spiral ham without drying it out? The key to not drying it out is to not overheat it. Most hams are already pre-cooked so just need to warm it to about 140 degrees before serving. Cook covered to start to trap all of the moisture.

The goal is to reheat the ham without drying it out. The best way to do this is to place the ham on a rack in a roasting pan. Add water to the bottom of the pan and cover the whole thing tightly with foil. Bake at 325F for 16-20 minutes per pound, until a meat thermometer registers 135F.

If you're using a fully-cooked ham, you're just heating it through so you can serve it with dinner. Generally, you will bake at 275° F for 12-15 minutes per pound. Most hams come with baking directions that you can follow, but most will fall within these guidelines.