Pineapple Ham (Spiral Ham Recipe) - The Cookie Rookie® (2024)

FAQs

What happens when you put fresh pineapple on ham? ›

Don't bother decorating the outside of your ham with fresh pineapple, as the enzymes in the fruit will turn the meat to mush.

How do you bake a ham without drying it out? Spiral cut hams should be covered with aluminum foil to help retain moisture when re heating. You could also place a foil pan with water underneath the ham to create some steam inside the oven to keep everything moist.

The glaze should not be applied until the final hour to 30 minutes, in order to avoid burning the sugars. What you're going to do with the glaze ingredients is just combine most of them into a paste, and then apply it to the ham. After that, the heat in your oven will take care of everything.

Whether you heat your spiral ham in the slow cooker or oven, all you have to do is open the glaze packet and apply it 30 minutes before your ham is finished cooking. By the time it's ready to serve, you'll have a satiny-glazed ham without any of the time or effort it takes to make a ham glaze.

Mushy meat typically is a result of excess tenderizer use.

Salt triggers bromelain to begin working, so by the time the pineapple reaches your mouth, the enzyme has been inactivated, says Tunick. Dipping fresh pineapple briefly in a saltwater solution is the best way to maximize contact between salt and bromelain.

Spiral Sliced Hams

Remove packaging, reserving liquid. Place ham cut-side down on a large sheet of foil in a roasting pan. Pour reserved liquid over ham and wrap completely with foil. Warm ham in oven for 10 to 12 minutes per pound.

To avoid drying it out, add water to the bottom of your roasting pan, place the ham on a baking rack above the water, and cover it with foil. You'll also want to use a meat thermometer to check your ham's temperature to avoid overcooking. — How to get caramelized edges.

Preheat the oven to 325°F. You don't need to wash a ham before baking. If you ask us, baked ham is delicious even when you leave it plain; however, scoring a diamond pattern with a chef's knife in the outer layer and brushing on a glaze during baking makes the ham a showy centerpiece and adds flavor.

About 20 minutes prior to the end of cooking time, begin glazing the ham but applying it with a silicon brush. Continue to glaze every 5 minutes until the ham is done. The ham is ready when a thermometer reads an internal temperature of 135-140f.

Do you put water in bottom of roasting pan for ham? ›

Preheat the oven to 250° F. Remove the ham from its packaging, and place it face down in the roasting pan. If your package has any juices in it, pour them into the bottom of the pan, along with about 1 cup of water; this will help your ham to stay more moist.

The idea is to wait until the ham is almost fully heated, then add the glaze as one of the last steps. You don't want to add it too early or the sugars in the glaze could cause it to burn, and you don't want to add it too late or you won't get that caramelized coating.

In large saucepan, stir together glaze packet contents, 2 cups water and brown sugar. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, 2 to 3 minutes or until brown sugar is dissolved.

While the included honey glaze packets are meant to save time, making a homemade glaze is simple and worth the extra time for a better, fresher flavor. Making a homemade glaze also gives you the freedom to create different flavors and unique ingredient combinations to elevate your pre-cooked ham.

Spiral-cut hams are popular since they come sliced and are easy to serve. Although your pre-cut pork may include a glaze packet, consider whipping up a simple glaze (see below for recipe ideas) to customize it. Regardless of your choice, glazing a ham will add flavor, color, and sheen you'll be proud to serve.

The pineapple adds a sweet and tangy flavor to the savory ham, making it a crowd-pleaser that will leave everyone asking for seconds. Plus, the recipe is super easy to follow, so even novice cooks can create a show-stopping dish in no time.

Pineapple: For best results, use canned pineapple rather than fresh, as fresh pineapple can break down the meat, resulting in a mushy texture. For a thicker ham glaze, drain the canned pineapple before using it.

“Typically, when you're doing a country ham, you need something sweet to neutralize the ham's saltiness, and pineapple does this really well.” And it's not just me and Benton: Pineapple shows up in ham recipes—atop the ham, in glazes slicking the ham, in shield-your-eyes versions of fried rice—the world over.

Enzymes in marinades

For example, fruits like papaya, kiwifruit, pineapple, fig and mango are a good source of enzymes that can break down meat proteins. These fruits all contain a type of enzyme called a protease. The pineapple enzyme bromelain breaks down meat proteins.