How To Fix A Dried Out Ham

Delicious smoked ham on a wooden board, on a dark concrete background with spices. Top view

Hams include some of the about legendary of all cured meat.

Epitome Credit: Anatoliy Sizov/iStock/GettyImages

Hams include some of the most legendary of all cured meat. Whether moisture-cured or dry out, smoked or unsmoked, the rich flavor of a good ham always comes through. Nevertheless, some cooks struggle to attain a moist, delicate, melt-in-your-oral fissure texture in their broiled ham dinners.

Understanding a few nuts can make it much easier to become the finished product yous are looking for.

Know the Ham Basics

When a slice of pork is cured to make ham, it goes through both chemical and physical changes. Osmosis draws salt and the other curing ingredients into the muscle cells of the pork, where it causes the poly peptide molecules to contract. This is why an uncooked ham has a firmer texture than raw pork roast.

Considering it's dumbo, ham requires long, slow cooking to get perfectly tender. It also must exist protected from drying out during the cooking process.

According to the USDA, a iii-ounce serving of cooked ham provides:

178 calories
25 grams of protein
eight grams of total fat
2.8 grams of saturated fat

Fall-Apart Ham in Oven

Cooking any meat at high temperature causes its poly peptide molecules to shrink and toughen. On a tender steak that is just on the grill for a few minutes, this isn't a trouble. However, making a ham extra tender requires long, slow cooking.

This creates time for fat to render out of the ham and for its connective tissues to cook into natural gelatin. This is what lubricates the musculus fibers and creates a moist, tender impression in the rima oris. This boring cooking tin can take identify either in the oven or in a ho-hum cooker, equally described by PennState Extension.

Slow-Cooker Ham

A total-sized ham is too large for all but the biggest of slow cookers. Notwithstanding, it'due south also too big for virtually families. The smaller ham portions bachelor at most butchers and supermarkets would fit easily into a six- or seven-quart cooker.

Trim the ham of any excess fat, leaving approximately one/four inch to help prevent the ham from drying out. Glaze it if yous wish, then place the ham in a preheated tiresome cooker with a 1/4 cup of water, white wine or cider. The liquid helps create steam in the slow cooker, preserving the wet in your irksome-cooker ham.

Boring Cook Ham in Oven

The same result tin be created if y'all slow melt ham in oven. Try cooking ham at 250 degrees Fahrenheit for a large size or 300 F for a small one, and pour a 1/2 cup of humid water into the bottom of your roaster to provide steam.

Alternatively, slide your ham into the same type of roasting bag used for a turkey. This also keeps the ham moist as it bakes. Glaze the ham and melt it slowly until its internal temperature reaches 160 F — the minimum condom temperature for consumption of your baked ham dinner, according to the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service.

For maximum tenderness and moisture, let the meat balance for up to 30 minutes before slicing information technology, before enjoying your ham.