Slow Cooker Christmas Ham Recipe (2024)

FAQs

Does ham need to be submerged in a slow cooker? ›

Pour in the cola, and make sure the ham joint is submerged in the liquid. Cover and cook for 5-6 hours on medium/high. I find that 5 hours is enough in my slow cooker. You want the gammon joint to be cooked through and tender but still retain its shape.

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Place the ham on a rack in a large baking pan and add about 1/4- to 1/2 inch of water to the pan. If the ham is labeled "fully cooked" (does not require heating), heat it in the oven for about 10 minutes per pound, or to an internal temperature of 140 F.

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.

Replace lid. If your ham is too tall to fit the lid on top, cover with a few pieces of foil. Try to get as tight a seal as possible. Cook over high heat for 6-7 hours or low heat for 8-10 hours.

Not adding enough liquid can lead to burning.

If your meal does burn, the chef said to avoid scraping the bottom of the pot while stirring and serving because it can give the entire dish a burnt flavor.

Low: 7-8 hours to reach the simmer point. High: 3-4 hours to reach the simmer point. If playback doesn't begin shortly, try restarting your device.

Because most hams sold at grocery stores are smoked and fully cooked, they only require heating before eating. However, glazing a ham adds that special final touch if you want to wow your crowd with extra flavor and texture.

Whether you are cooking a bone in or boneless ham, pre-heat your oven to 325 degrees. Start by removing the packaging from the ham (and bone guard if you're cooking a bone in ham), and you can rinse the ham before cooking if desired.

A pre-cooked/smoked ham should be reheated for around 20 minutes per pound at 325 degrees. Every 15-20 minutes, glaze the ham. An optional step is to add a sprinkle of sugar after each glaze to build up even more of a crust, but this is personal preference.

Water-Cooking

Add water to keep ham covered. Take ham from the pan and while warm, remove the skin and fat as desired. If a sweet coating is desired, sprinkle the fat side with brown sugar and bread crumbs and bake in a 400 degree oven until brown (approximately 15 minutes).

What is the best cooking method for ham? ›

Place ham in an aluminum foil pan or cast-iron pan and wrap with foil. Place on grill grates and cook for 15 to 20 minutes per pound. Remove foil for the last half hour of cooking and baste with a glaze, if using. Cook until the internal temperature of the ham is 140 F.

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.

Add a slurry at the end.

A slurry is a mixture of flour and water, whisked together until smooth and added towards the end of cooking; it's a super-simple way to thicken any soup. For slow cooker soups, add your slurry with at least 30 minutes of cook time left so that the raw flour can cook and thicken the soup.

If it comes to serving and you open your slow cooker to find a watery sauce, never fear we have an easy answer. Take the lid off, turn the machine up to high heat and leave it for 30-45 minutes to let excess moisture cook off. The liquid will reduce, leaving you with a thick and delicious gravy or sauce.

Collagen makes meat tough when cooked quickly, but when slow-cooked, it breaks down into gelatin, giving you that juicy, tender mouthfeel. Fattier — and cheaper — cuts of beef can also be good for slow cooking, because the fat helps to ensure the beef won't dry out while adding extra flavour.

To keep a pot roast from drying out, your slow cooker needs liquid to create a moist environment, and that can include meat or vegetable stock, wine or water. This doesn't mean the meat should be submerged; a cup or two of liquid will be enough, since the cooker is covered and liquids stay trapped inside.

Yes you can cook a pork shoulder in a slow cooker without adding liquid, the pork shoulder has plenty of fat to melt and you will end up with liquid in the pan, I usually cook a pork shoulder directly on the rack of my smoker then transfer it to an aluminum foil pan.

A slow cooker does not need any liquid added at the beginning of the cooking process, because it will generate steam, which will become liquid in the bowl. For recipes that use liquid, and have not been written specifically for a slow cooker it make sense to reduce the amount of liquid by half.

For an all-American classic, I use a mix of ketchup, grainy mustard, apple cider vinegar, and Coca-Cola. Your liquid should not cover your pork in the slow cooker: it should only come up about a quarter of the way up the sides.