How to Heat Up Precooked Ham Without Drying It Out?
Ham is the little black dress of meat. Not only that you can combine it with a whole range of sides, but you can easily reheat it and bring back its glory. So how to reheat precooked ham without drying it out?
You can reheat precooked ham in the oven, on the grill, in the microwave, in a slow cooker, or in an air fryer. If you choose to use the gill, you should slice your ham. If you choose some other methods, you can heat the ham whole and sliced.
Because ham is delicious to have a cold, you don’t have to reheat it. However, it would be nice to know a thing or two about the reheating methods. In the following paragraphs, I will explain how you can reheat your ham without drying it out and how to keep it moist and juicy.
How to Heat Up Precooked Ham?
Heating precooked ham isn’t a complex procedure, but knowing a few tricks can make it effortless. Several reheating methods work great for this purpose. However, each of them requires some additional knowledge.
Oven
The oven is always the number one option. Make sure you wrap it in aluminum foil, as this will allow the heat to circulate and heat the ham evenly.
After wrapping your ham, place it on a baking tray with the cut side down. Preheat the oven for about 10 minutes at 325 °F, and place the tray on the middle rack. Let the ham bake for about 15-20 minutes, then take it out; this concludes the reheating part.
Now with the moisture part. To keep your ham moist, after you’ve taken it out of the oven, unwrap it and pour two cups of water into the baking tray. Place the ham back, again with the cut part down.
Bake for another 15-20 minutes at the same temperature. This way, your ham will be moist and juicy because it will absorb the water from the tray.
Glazing is another thing you can do. You can mix brown sugar and orange juice and smear the mixture over the ham’s surface five minutes before taking it out.
If you use the oven to reheat sliced ham, apply the same procedure, but reduce the baking time.
Wrap the slices together, place them in the tray, bake for ten minutes, take them out, unwrap them, add water to the tray, and bake for another ten minutes. You don’t have to glaze here, as the slices will be already juicy.
Microwave
Precooked ham is perfect to microwave, but you have to know the exact weight of the ham you are about to reheat. If your ham weighs more than three bounds, it is best to cut in half or divide it into portions before microwaving it; otherwise, it will result in a stiff and hot surface and cold interior.
You will need aluminum foil/parchment paper and a microwave paper bag to microwave your ham.
The microwaving procedure is the same whether you reheat your ham sliced or whole. The first step is to fully cover the outer edges of the ham with aluminum foil. If your microwave isn’t safe for aluminum foil, use parchment paper.
After you’ve covered the edges, place the ham into the microwave paper bag, but make sure the bag has holes. If it doesn’t, poke a few holes in it. Put your microwave on 50% heat and set the timer for five minutes.
After the five minutes have passed, take out the ham, and turn it over. Then place it into the microwave again.
The standard heating time is 10-15 minutes per pound, but I’d recommend setting the timer to five minutes and turning the ham over at the end of each cycle.
Slow Cooker
The slow cooker with take up the most time, but your ham will be s good as new. You can either reheat your ham whole or sliced up; the procedure is the same.
Place your ham into the slow cooker and pour one cup of liquid inside. You can use water, chicken broth, apple juice, or a custom-made seasoned liquid. If you reheat your ham whole, you should place it on a flat side.
Cover the ham and set the slow cooker to a low temperature. The allotted time of cooking per pound is 30 minutes.
Basting or glazing are always good ideas. Half an hour before it’s done, you can baste the ham with its juices. If you want to glaze it, mix brown sugar and orange juice, and smear it over the surface.
If you are reheating sliced ham, glazing it isn’t a good idea. Basting it is a better solution.
Air Fryer
The air fryer is an excellent solution for heating your sliced or whole ham. You will only need aluminum foil.
Wrap the ham in aluminum foil and place it in the preheated air fryer. You should preheat your air fryer at 325 °F, for 10 minutes before putting the ham in.
The standard allotted time per pound is ten minutes, but I’d suggest lowering the time to three minutes for each pound. So, if you have a three-pound ham, heat for 25 minutes instead of 30.
The foil will let the heat circulate the ham evenly. However, if you leave the ham inside the air fryer for too long, you risk overcooking it. So better play it safe and check it more frequently.
After taking your ham out of the air fryer, unwarp it to let the excess steam out.
Grill
This method is very efficient, but you need to heat your ham sliced, not whole. The grilling will burn the outside of the ham and leave the inside cold. Therefore sliced ham works best for this method.
To keep your ham juicy, you need to wither wrap the slices in aluminum foil separately or a maximum of three slices in one wrapping, or cover them while you grill them.
You won’t need much time with this method, as you apply the heat directly, so my advice would be to grill for five minutes on each side. Then, unwrap the slices, check them, and wrap and grill them again if they need more time.
Skillet
A skillet is also an excellent option for sliced ham. You don’t need to wrap the ham in anything; oil the skillet and let it sizzle at medium heat for ten minutes per side, flipping it on each side every five minutes.
You can also add some liquid to the skillet and baste the ham with it, though you don’t have to.
How to Keep Ham Moist When Reheating?
The trick is always to keep your ham covered when you reheat it. Wrap in aluminum foil, or cover it with a lid to prevent it from getting dry. Also, using a slow cooker or an air fryer will keep your ham moist without needing to cover it.
Another thing to remember is that you can always add liquid while heating your ham to add some more flavor and juiciness.
How to Keep Ham Moist?
The key to keeping your ham moist is keeping it covered and protected from external impacts- light, heat, and air. Whether you keep your ham on the counter or in the fridge, make sure it is always properly covered and protected.
Airtight containers are always a good idea, but they work even better with plastic wrapping foil. Wrap the ham with plastic foil tightly and place it in an airtight container. The foil doesn’t allow the ham to become dry, and the containers will keep it from contact with air.
Packed like this, your ham will be soft and juicy, whether in the fridge or on the counter.
How to Keep Ham Moist After Slicing?
To keep the ham’s moisture after you’ve sliced it, it is best to place it back in the baking tray where you baked it and cover it with aluminum foil.
The juices already in the tray will penetrate the ham, making up for the moisture that has already evaporated. Also, make sure you cover the sliced part with extra aluminum foil because that’s the most exposed part and thus most prone to drying up.
When your ham is ready for storage, keep it moist by covering it with plastic foil and placing it into an airtight container.
What Is the Best Way to Heat Up Sliced Ham?
You reheat sliced ham in the same ways you can heat whole ham; however, I’d recommend a skillet and grill as the best ones, which aren’t options for entire ham.
Skillet and grill heating work almost the same. You place the slices on the grill or skillet on medium heat and turn them over every few minutes. You can cover them with a lid, or wrap them in aluminum foil, though you can work without the wrapping part if you use the skillet.
I’d choose the skillet between these two options because I like my ham on the juicier side. If you use the skillet, you can add some broth or other seasoned liquid and let the ham sizzle in it.
