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What's On This Page
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 Ham is pork that comes from the rear leg of a hog.
Ham made from the front leg of a hog is called
Pork Shoulder Picnic Ham. A good ham is a lean
cut of pork. Fresh ham is low in sodium, but cured
ham may be high in sodium.
There are many types of ham, and the cooking directions will vary depending on the type
of ham. A ham can be fresh, cook-before-eating,
fully-cooked, picnic or country types. Many people
think that a cured ham or a Country ham does not need
to be cooked. Curing does not mean the ham has
been cooked. Cured and/or smoked hams may or may not be “ready-to-eat”.
Read package labels to know if cooking is required.
If cooking is required follow package instructions.
Only if the label reads "fully-cooked
or ready-to-eat" should you eat a ham without cooking
it to the proper temperature first. Flavor hams with juices (apple, cherry,
pineapple or orange), honey, ground cinnamon or cloves.
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Curing - It is the addition of sugar, seasonings,
salt or other preservatives for preserving, coloring
and/or flavoring hams.
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Smoking – After curing some hams are smoked. Hams
are hung in a smokehouse where they absorb smoke from
smoldering fires. This adds flavor and color to the
meat as well as helps preserve it from spoiling. Country
hams may be cured by several methods, including smoked-or-unsmoked
meat and all of these products must be cooked before
eating. A whole, uncut Country Ham can be stored
safely at room temperature for up to a year. After
one year the ham is safe but the quality is not as good.
Country hams (dry cured with salt) may be soaked
in water in the refrigerator 4 to 12 hours to reduce the salt content before cooking according to
package instructions.
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Vacuum-packaged Fully Cooked Ham And Canned Hams
- There are two different types of canned ham; shelf
stable and refrigerated. Canned ham that is shelf
stable may be stored at room temperature for up to 2
years. Refrigerated canned hams may be stored
in the refrigerator up to 6 to 9 months. These hams can be eaten cold just as they come
from their package.
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Frozen Ham - to thaw place the ham in original package in the refrigerator
on a platter. Set on the lowest shelf and allow 3-5 hours per pound thawing time.
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| Aged Hams |
These are heavily cured, smoked hams that have been hung to age from one to
seven (yes seven!) years. They are covered in a mold which must be scraped and
washed off prior to eating.
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| Bayonne Ham |
This French ham hails from Bearn or the Basque region, most simply cured
with Bayonne salt. These are raw, uncooked hams. Afficionados enjoy raw slices
on buttered peasant bread.
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| Boneless, Bone-in, Partially Boned |
Self-explanatory. Partially-boned hams have the hip and/or shank bones
removed. Hams with the bone(s) left in are generally more flavorful.
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| Brine-Cured |
The meat is soaked in brine and then smoked. This is the most common variety
at standard grocery stores. They can vary widely in quality.
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| Canadian Bacon |
A lean cut taken from eye of the loin of the middle back. It is precooked
smoked meat. It is much more akin to ham than to bacon. Also referred to as back
bacon in some areas.
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| Canned Ham |
Can consist of a whole piece of meat or bits and pieces pressed together
into a form and fused with a gelatin mixture.
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| Country Cured |
Hogs are generally fed on nuts and fruit to produce a more flavorful and
tender meat. Must be cured, aged and dried at least 70 days. They are usually
dry-cured in salt, then smoked over fragrant hardwoods and aged at least six
months. The meat may be drier, depending on the length of aging. A mold will
most likely form, which is simply scraped and washed away. Also known as
country-style ham. These are also called "old hams" in Kentucky. Most
country-cured hams are uncooked and need to be cooked using a special process. Check the
label.
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| Culatello |
This Italian ham is cured and soaked in wine during aging. It is lean and
rosy red, with a clean, delicate flavor. A popular component of antipasto
platters.
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| Cured Ham |
Pork which has gone through and of a variety of curing processes to preserve
the meat.
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| Dry Curing |
The entire surface of the meat is thoroughly covered with salt and then
stored untl the salt permeates the meat thereby preserving it.
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| FDA Ham Labeling |
Ham: contains no added water and at least 20.5 percent protein after
removal of fat.
Ham with natural juices: contains at least 18.5
percent protein.
Ham, water added: contains up to 10 percent added
water, but at least 17 percent protein.
Ham and water product:
contains any amount of water (amount must be listed).
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| Fresh ham |
Raw, uncooked port cut of meat from the hog's hind leg. Must be cooked prior
to eating.
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| Fully-Cooked |
Heated to an internal temperature of 148 degrees F. or above. Need not be
heated prior to serving. Can be eaten right from the wrapper or reheated to an
internal temperature of 130 degrees F. to release a richer flavor.
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| Gammon |
From an Old Northern French word "Gambe" for hind- leg of the pig or ham;
popular in Great Britain.
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| Ham Portions |
Halves with the center slices removed.
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| Injection Curing |
The process of injecting brine into the meat. This method may also be
combined with other curing techniques.
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| Irish Ham |
Belfast is famous for their pickled or brined hams, but what gives them
their own unique flavor is the process of smoking over peat fires. Like
country-cured hams, they must be soaked, scrubbed, simmered and then baked
before eating.
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| Partially Cooked |
Heated to at least 137 degrees F., the minimum temperature needed to kill
trichina parasite. Most commercial manufacturers cook to an internal temperature
of 140 degrees F. Must be cooked prior to serving.
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| Picnic Ham |
Meat from the upper part of the foreleg of the hog, including a portion of
the shoulder. It is not a true ham, but a less expensive substitute for regular
ham, although less tender in texture. It is also referred to as picnic shoulder
or pork shoulder. They can be fresh or smoked. Smoked picnic hams are very
similar to traditionaly hams.
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| Prosciutto |
Italian ham. The meat is seasoned, salt-cured, and air-dried. It is not
smoked. The meat is pressed into a dense, firm texure. Parma ham is true
prosciutto. Other varieties are now made in the USA. Italian prosciuttos include
prosciutto cotto (cooked) and prosciutto crudo (uncooked, but cured and ready to
eat). Others are named for the region in Italy in which they were made.
Prosciutto is generally eaten as-is or added during the last cooking stages.
Extended cooking of prosciutto toughens the meat.
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| Ready-To-Eat Hams |
Same as fully cooked. Can be eaten right from the wrapper or reheated to an
internal temperature of 130 degrees F. to release a richer flavor.
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| Scotch Ham |
Once made in Scotland, this term now refers to uncooked, boneless, mildly
cured hams sold in casings.
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| Smithfield Ham |
A variety of country-cured ham made in Smithfield, Virginia, USA. It is
coated with salt, sodium nitrate, and sugar, refrigerated for five days, salted
again, refrigerated again for one day per pound of meat, washed, refrigerated
for another two weeks, smoked for ten days, and then aged six to twelve months.
In order to be labeled a Smithfield, the ham must be cured in the described
manner within the city of Smithfield, VA. The meat is deep red in color, dry,
with a pungent flavor. Considered a gourmet's choice, they are rather expensive
and need to be cooked long and slow before eating.
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| Sweet-Pickle Curing |
The meat is covered in a seasoned sweet brine, sometimes referred to as
sugar-cured where brown sugar or molasses is added to the cure mix.
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| Urban-Style |
This is the style used by commercial manufacturers to produce mass
quantities, usually using an injection-curing method. Also known as city hams.
The meat is less expensive because the processing is shorter and less
complicated. The end result is invariably much blander in taste than
country-style.
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| Westphalian Ham |
Made from pigs fed with acorns in the Westphalia forest of Germany. It is
cured and then slowly smoked over a mixture of beechwood and juniper woods,
resulting in a very dark brown, dense ham with a light smoky flavor. It is
considered one of the best and as such is pricey. Black Forest ham is similar.
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| York Ham |
From England, this mild-flavored ham has delicate pink meat and must be
cooked like country-cured ham before eating. It is traditionally served with
Madeira Sauce.
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Any ham can be successfully
cooked in the pressure cooker. As a bonus, fat is removed during the cooking process, but the ham retains flavor, tenderness, and moisture. The main differences in preparing cooked and uncooked ham is the internal temperature that the ham must reach. With any ham, trim off the rind or the skin and pare away all but a thin (about 1inch) layer of fat.
A spiral cut or sliced ham is generally fully cooked and ready to eat so it just needs reheating. These hams should be trussed or wrapped tightly in foil before cooking and placed cut side down in a cooking tray to hold it together.
Do not use sharp utensils to pierce the ham when trying to turn or lift it because the valuable juices to escape. Always use two sets of extra heavy duty foil helper handles to make it easier to remove the finished ham from the cooker. Place the ham in the pressure cooker with fat side up. Hams can be quite large, so you'll need to make sure your pressure cooker is large enough so the ham does not exceed the 2/3 full level.
Steam Roasting is basically the same method of cooking as baking, this is my recommended cooking method for cooking fully cooked hams. This is especially good with sliced hams which are easily steam roasted on a rack above the water line, you may choose to decorate the ham with studded cloves or sliced pineapple.
In the case of really salty hams, they can be boiled or pre-soaked in plain
water overnight in the refrigerator to leach out some
of the salt. Boiling is a good method to use when cooking dry-cured country hams. Cooking by this method provides a lot of flavor because it draws additional flavor from the meat itself and bones as it cooks. Another option is using the Infusion Cooking Method with added flavoring liquids. Additional flavor can be imparted in the meat by adding flavoring or seasoning, such as bay leaves, cloves, cinnamon sticks to the liquid.
Uncooked or partially cooked countryhams are first soaked and washed, then placed in the cooker with the skin side up. Check for doneness with an instant read meat thermometer, hams that are cured and smoked should be 170°F.,and hams that are smoked and fully cooked should be 140°F.
Once cooked, a glaze can be added to the ham and quickly finished in a few minutes in a very hot oven. Glazing the ham at the end of the cooking process adds flavor and a more appealing finished look to its appearance. I prefer adding my pineapple rings with a marachino cherry at this time and letting them get a little carmelized in the oven which makes it look very festive on presentation.
The remaining broth can be defatted and used for gravy or packed in the freezer to be used later in dry beans or other pork dishes.
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Fresh hams are cuts from the hind leg that are not cured or smoked or cooked. Fresh hams are very lean, and like similar cuts from other meat animals, it contains large muscles with relatively small amounts of connective tissue so if can be dry and tough.
When selecting a fresh ham, look for one with well marbled meat that is encased in a layer of firm white fat. You should score the fat in a decorative pattern, not only does this improve the appearance, but it allows the melting fat to coat the surface of the meat. The meat may range from a grayish-pink from younger hogs, to a light rose color from older hogs, and when cooked the meat is grayish-white and has a similar flavor to pork roast.
To cook a fresh ham, first choose an appropriate cooking method. They are good roasted (use the steam roasting cooking method in the pressure cooker) and then finished in a hot oven if you want to apply a sticky sweet glaze. These hams do especially well with braising (which the pressure cooker excels at), and stewed (use the infusion cooking method in the pressure cooker) is another option.
Once you decide on a cooking method, its time to convert it for use in a pressure cooker. Using a 3 to 4 pound fresh ham cut from either the shank or butt portion, we can see that traditional oven roasting recipes call for 40 minutes per pound at 350°F. To convert this to the pressure cooker, we'll use the 1/3 rule to come up with a time of 13 minutes per pound at 15psi, or about 40 to 50 minutes, followed by the natural release method. Check for doneness with an instant read meat thermometer, a fresh ham should be 160°-170°F.
Don't forget to defat the broth and either use it to make gravy, or freeze it for later use to add flavor to dry beans, pork stews and soups.
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Meat
Variety
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Brown
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Liquid Minimum
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Cooking
Time
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Release
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Ham Hocks, smoked
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No
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cover completely
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40 to 50 minutes
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Natural
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Ham (fresh) picnic or shoulder;
3 to 5 lbs
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No
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2 1/2 cups
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30 to 40 minutes |
Natural
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Ham, (fresh) shank or butt
- 3 to 5 lb.
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No
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2 1/2 cups
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40 to 50 minutes
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Natural
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Ham, Fully Cooked shank or butt
- 3 to 5 lb.
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No
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2 1/2 cups
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35 to 45 minutes
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Natural
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Ham, Fully Cooked slice; 2 inch
thick
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Yes
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1 cup
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12 to 18 minutes
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Natural
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Ham, Fully Cooked slice; 1/2 inch
thick
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Yes
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1/2 cup
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6 minutes
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Natural
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Ham, (fresh) slice; 1 inch
thick
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Yes
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1/2 cup
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12 minutes
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