Salty-sweet and super easy to slice, HoneyBaked Hams are a holiday feast fixture for good reason. Like most hams, they're sold fully cooked, meaning that they're a much-lower-maintenance main than a whole turkey, crown roast, or leg of lamb.
That said, there are a few things to know if you're planning to serve one up: because they're sold fully cooked and coated in a sticky glaze, there's no need to heat it further. For a fuller flavor, we'd recommend pulling the ham out of the fridge about an hour before serving (if not a bit sooner) to take the chill off. Serving the ham at room temperature preserves its glaze and moisture level (reheating a ham will dry it out to some degree, even if the correct precautions are taken).
If you're determined to serve hot ham, there are two ways to go about it:
- If you're planning to cut into a small portion of the ham, slice off the desired amount and either heat the slices in a warm skillet or wrap them up tightly in aluminum foil and heat until warm in a 275F oven.
- If you're serving the whole ham, first, take the chill off the ham by pulling it from the fridge at least an hour before heating it up. (Starting the ham at room temperature will cut down on the time it spends in the oven, thus minimizing how much moisture is lost.) While the ham is sitting on the counter, preheat your oven to 275F.
To minimize moisture loss further, either keep it wrapped in its foil wrapper or remove the wrapper and tuck the ham into an oven bag or tightly wrap it in aluminum foil. Arrange the wrapped ham on a wire rack set in a heavy-duty roasting pan and heat until an instant-read thermometer registers 120-135F, or for about 7-10 minutes per pound.
Regardless of how you serve the ham, be sure to save the bone for split pea soup or to flavor collard greens.