Ham... oven...crockpot?!
Ham... oven...crockpot?
Can i cook a ham in the oven the night before Christmas, then cut it up and put it in a crockpot for the next day? If so, how do i do it and will it stay ok? The reason i am asking is because i need the oven all day Christmas for other things.
Answers:
I cook my ham in one of those clear roasting bags that Reynolds makes for turkeys and roasts.. I keep it in the bag over night in the refrigerator until I am ready to slice it. Then I put it in the crockpot on warm or low and it stays moist and does not dry out.
I would cook the Ham to 25 degrees lower than specified. Early morning put on lowest and make sure to add liquids from Ham.
you can cook it, refrigerate it, next morning (early) cut up, put small amount (just enough to steam) water in crock pot, then add ham. this works! also, if you want to speed up process, you can put in pot on stove, after cutting up, and heat, then put in crock pot. if you have crisp skin on it, remove BEFORE heating! Good luck.
My crock pot has a warm setting - if your's does, that would be fine. If not, be very careful not to overcook - remember ham is already cooked so all you are really doing is heating it up anyway. If it were me, I would skip the oven cooking altogether and just do the ham in the crock pot.
If you want to 'crust up' the glaze just before serving, your oven will already be hot from the other stuff you've been cooking so preheat it to 500F and set the hot ham from the crock pot in there for maybe 15 min.
Better, IF you have a broiler deep enough to handle the whole ham, just set it under the broiler for 3 - 5 minutes.
Why not just look it in the crockpot all day? That usually how I cook mine. I mix water and brown sugar and cook it in that and it comes out so good!!
We did something like that once. We got ham that was mostly liquid. (It broke down into soup like stuff) What I'd suggest is, buy a cooked ham and just heat on Christmas, or get a spiral sliced ham that can be served cold or room temp. and provide a hot gravy or sauce for those who want it.