How to Choose the Right Type of Ham for Your Holiday Dinner

Does your family sit down to a delicious ham dinner for Easter, or do you serve it at Christmas? Is this your go-to main entrée for another holiday your family celebrates? A big ham has long been considered a staple part of a special-occasion meal. To ensure yours is the perfect centerpiece on the holiday table, learn about the types of ham available and get our tips for choosing, storing, and cooking this dish.

What Is Ham?

Ham comes from the hind leg of a hog. Like many other cuts of meat, it can be prepared in many ways. Our focus is larger hams for the centerpiece of a holiday dinner, not sliced deli ham for sandwiches or prosciutto for a charcuterie board.

What kind of hog is used for the ham, what sort of curing or cooking process it undergoes before you buy it, and what you do to it after that all impact the look and taste of the ham on a plate.

Different Types of Ham

There are three types of ham readily available to consumers: fully-cooked, fresh, and country ham.

Fully-Cooked Ham

The most popular and readily available type of ham is also the easiest and most convenient to prepare. Fully-cooked hams, also known as city hams, are often just labeled as "ham" in supermarkets. They are either wet cured (in a solution that contains salt, sugar, and spices) or cured with a dry salt rub. The salt pulls out moisture and concentrates the pork flavor. Most often, these hams are also smoked. They are available bone-in and boneless.

While this type of ham is delicious as is, it benefits from a few more hours in the oven with a sweetened glaze and sugar rub, like our Glazed Ham with Horseradish Cream. For the best flavor, avoid hams with labels that read "ham, water added" or "ham and water product."

Spiral-Cut Ham

Of all the fully-cooked hams, this is the easiest option of all. It's also pre-cut, so you don't need to worry about carving it before the meal.

Fresh Ham

Fresh ham is a piece of raw, uncured pork, also often called a "green ham" or a "fresh leg of pork." It has not been cured; you can cure it yourself or just season and roast it like a turkey. Fresh ham tastes much like a pork roast and doesn't have the smokiness found in other hams. (Our Fresh Ham with Green Herb Paste makes a magnificent presentation.)

Country Ham

Country ham is also called a Virginia, Tennessee, or Kentucky ham and sometimes an old-fashioned ham; the best-known version is the Smithfield from Virginia. It is dry-cured, smoked, and aged during a period that can range from a few months to more than a year; six months is the average. This aging produces a drier ham ad it is very salty.

Preparing a country ham requires a long soaking and simmering process before baking. Even so, the meat retains much of its powerfully salty flavor, and is something of an acquired taste. Unless you live in the South, this type of ham is not available in grocery stores, but can be ordered online from specialty producers such as Benton's.

What Size of Ham to Buy

Ham feeds a crowd. Similar to when you purchase a turkey for Thanksgiving, this protein is going to be much bigger than the meat you buy regularly. You'll need about 3/4 pound per person for a bone-in ham and a 1/2 pound for boneless. A 16-pound bone-in ham can feed 18 to 20 people. Opt for slightly larger than you need to feed your guests, rather than slightly smaller, so you'll have leftovers for sandwiches, soup, fried rice, and more.

How to Store Ham

Fully-cooked ham can be kept in the refrigerator for up to one week in its original packaging before you heat it to serve. Freezing ham is not recommended; the quality and flavor deteriorate quickly. After it has been baked, ham will keep in the refrigerator for an additional seven to ten days.

Tips for Baking Ham

• Always line your roasting pan with aluminum foil to save on cleaning later.
• Leave the rind on the ham during the first two hours of cooking; this allows the layer of fat underneath to slowly baste and flavor the meat.
• Don't baste the ham with pan drippings; use extra glaze for basting
• Use a sharp knife with a long, thin blade for carving ham.
• If you have a bone-in ham, save the ham bone to use instead of ham hock to flavor split-pea soup or bean dishes.