How to Choose a Ham

Guide Note: There are a number of different factors that go into choosing a ham from how long you'd like to spend preparing it to how much you'd like to spend.

How to Choose a Ham offers tips, tricks and advice on purchasing ham.

Table of Contents:

Introduction

  • Choosing a ham can be confusing. While ham is essentially just the haunch of a pig, it can be cut, cured and prepared in a myriad of different ways before it even reaches your local market. The following guide to choosing a ham aims to take the mystery out of your future pork purchases.

Criteria for Choosing a Ham

  • Choose a ham based on the following criteria:
  1. Number of Guests: How much ham you buy will depend on how many people you plan on feeding. If you plan on purchasing a large ham, be sure you have a pan big enough to hold it. If not, consider buying two smaller hams.
  2. Time for Preparation: You'll need a couple of days to soak and cook a country-style or dry-cured ham, but reheating a pre-cooked wet-cured ham only takes a few hours.
  3. Cost: The quality of the meat can add to the cost of the ham.
  4. Occasion: If you're buying a ham for a holiday dinner, you'll want to steer away from hams labeled "ham and water product."
  5. Ease of Carving: Choose a bone-in ham for additional flavor. Choose a boneless ham for easy carving.
(Creative Commons photo by Wendy Harman)
(Creative Commons photo by Wendy Harman)

Types of Ham

  • Hams vary according to their cuts and how they've been prepared. When choosing a ham, you'll want to take how many people you plan on feeding into account as well as how much time you have to prepare the meat.
(Creative Commons photo by Paul Downey)
(Creative Commons photo by Paul Downey)
  1. Fully-Cooked Ham: Ham that has been heated through the middle to temperatures exceeding 147 degrees F. Ready to eat without further cooking.
  2. Partially Cooked Ham: Ham that has been heated through the middle to temperatures exceeding 137 degrees F. Requires additional cooking.
  3. Uncooked Ham: Ham that requires cooking to eat.
  4. Boiled Ham: Ham that has been boned, cured and cooked using a boiling process. Ready to eat without further cooking.
  5. Whole Ham: A cut that includes both butt ham and shank ham from the pig's leg. Weights 10 to 20 pounds. Available bone-in or boneless.
  6. Butt Ham: A cut taken from the top half of the pig's leg. Contains more fat than a cut from the shank, but has more meat and is easy to carve.
  7. Shank Ham: A cut taken from the bottom half of the pig's leg. Contains less fat than butt ham, but is not as meaty and is harder to carve. Has a slightly sweeter flavor than butt ham.
  8. Spiral Sliced Ham: A precooked ham that has been pre-sliced in a spiral or continuous cut.
  9. Wet-Cured Ham: A wet-cured or "city" ham has been cured with a brine. The majority of hams available in grocery stores are wet-cured.
  10. Dry-Cured Ham: A dry-cured or "country" ham has been rubbed with a salt or sugar seasoning, dried and aged. The most common type of dry-cured ham in the United States is a Virginia or Smithfield Ham.

How Much to Buy

  • The amount of ham you buy depends on how many people you plan on serving. Adjustments to the following quantities can be made for small children or people with large appetites:
  • Type of Ham
  • Bone-in Ham
  • Partially Boned Ham
  • Boneless Ham
  • Pounds per Serving
  • 1/2 to 3/4 lbs. per serving
  • 1/3 to 1/2 lbs. per serving
  • 1/4 to 1/3 lbs. per serving

What to Look for in a Ham

  1. Look for a ham that is bright grayish-pink in color and has a firm texture.
  2. Avoid cuts that have a slimy appearance, are soft to the touch or emit a foul order.
  3. Avoid hams that are greenish in color.
  4. The fat on the outer edges of the ham should be white and blemish-free. If the fat has yellowed, the ham may be spoiled.

Ham Safety

  1. Uncooked pork should be stored in the refrigerator at 40 degrees or lower and used within 3 to 5 days of the "sell date" indicated on the package. Ham can be frozen, but freezing will make the meat less tender and juicy.
  2. Ham should be purchased right before leaving the store and transported home for refrigeration immediately after buying. Avoid exposing ham to unsafe temperatures for an extended period of time.
  3. Place ham in a plastic bag, or keep in its original packaging, to avoid contaminate of other foods while in the refrigerator.
  4. Ham should be stored tightly wrapped to avoid exposure to the air, which will dry out the meat.

Resources for How to Choose a Ham

Where to Buy Ham

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