Sous Vide City Ham With Balsamic Brown Sugar Glaze Recipe (2024)

Why It Works

  • Since the ham is pre-seasoned, it can be cooked directly in the package it comes in, making the whole process easier.
  • Cooking the ham sous vide guarantees juiciness that extends all the way from the edge to the center.

Ham is not for everyone, but if you're a ham lover, lucky you, because ham is one meat that'sdarndifficult to mess up. Right off the bat, it's got several things going for it. First off, it's pork, which means it was born to be delicious. Second, it's got the right level of seasoning built into it—a good ham will have the right salt level all the way through to its very center. Third, because it's a cured product, it retains juices far better than a plain, raw product.

Want to make it even juicier andmorefoolproof? Cook the sucker sous vide. Because hams are precooked, it's really just a matter of reheating them. Typically, I'd suggest removing meat from its retail packaging, seasoning it, then resealing it in a sous vide bag before cooking it. But since ham's pre-seasoned, it can be cooked directly in the package it comes in, making the whole process even more appealing.

How to Sous Vide a City Ham

Step 1: Start With a Good Ham

Sous Vide City Ham With Balsamic Brown Sugar Glaze Recipe (1)

Hams come in various levels of quality, ranging from giant, chopped-and-formed Spam-like creations to actual whole-muscle cured and cooked cuts. The latter is what you're after. Once you move into the whole-muscle realm, even the standard supermarket option (Cook's brand is the most popular) will do, but you can also try a specialty ham, like thisKurobuta ham from Snake River Farmsif something a little more flavorful is on the agenda. For cooking in the oven, I'd generally recommend an un-sliced ham, as those spiral slices are a direct route to moisture loss. But with sous vide cooking, you're going to be heating the ham in a sealed plastic bag anyway, so spiral-cut hams will work just fine.

One thing to note: What you're looking for is a city ham, which is brined and cooked, as opposed to a country ham, which is salted and cured raw in the air, like a prosciutto or serrano.

Step 2: Warm It Up

Since city hams come precooked, you can serve them cold straight out of their packaging, but they're better when warmed up. If you're cooking ham using conventional means, this involves slow-roasting it using foil or an oven bag to attempt to keep those juices from drying out. With sous vide cooking, it's as simple as dumping the ham into a water bath, directly in its packaging. I cook my hams at 140°F (60°C) for three hours to guarantee that they're piping-hot through to the center.

Step 3: Make the Glaze

Sous Vide City Ham With Balsamic Brown Sugar Glaze Recipe (2)

Hams, with their smokiness and natural porky sweetness, have an affinity for sweet-and-sour glazes (hence the whole pineapple-and-cherry thing). In this case, I've made a quick brown sugar and balsamic vinegargastriqueby caramelizing some brown sugar in a saucepan, then deglazing it with balsamic vinegar and letting it reduce down into a sticky glaze. You could just as easily use any other type of vinegar and sugar.

Step 4: Preheat the Oven

Sous Vide City Ham With Balsamic Brown Sugar Glaze Recipe (3)

Once the ham is reheated, the only thing left to do is glaze it. In order to get that glaze to stick, you want to brush it on and then roast the ham in a very hot oven so that the glaze further reduces and coats the meat. A 500°F (260°C) oven is ideal.

Step 5: Give It the First Coat

Sous Vide City Ham With Balsamic Brown Sugar Glaze Recipe (4)

As with painting a wall, the best way to build up a good, even coat of glaze is to work in layers. Start by painting one layer on before popping the ham into the preheated oven.

Step 6: Repeat Glaze

Continue brushing the ham with fresh glaze every five minutes, for a total of three or four coats. When the ham is shiny and shellacked all over, you're done.

Step 7: Get Ready to Make the First Cut

Sous Vide City Ham With Balsamic Brown Sugar Glaze Recipe (5)

I'm a fan of practicality in the kitchen, which means that I'd rather serve my ham pre-sliced and ready to eat than fumble around at the dining room table trying to serve it. Here's the easiest way I know to slice a bone-in ham.

Sous Vide City Ham With Balsamic Brown Sugar Glaze Recipe (6)

It can be rather impressive to make lots of thin, parallel cuts toward the bone, so that you can then release the slices all with a single downward stroke, but here's a much easier way to do it: Start with that vertical cut first. To do this, identify where the bone is (hint—it's where that big, bone-shaped knobby bit sticks out of the ham), then slice down along one side of it.

Step 8: Cut Serving Portions

Rotate the piece you just cut off so that the cut side is facing down, then slice it into thin serving portions. You'll notice that, because of the gentle, in-the-bag preheating, your ham is about as moist as you could hope for, with a juiciness that extends all the way from the edge to the center.

Step 9: Profit

Sous Vide City Ham With Balsamic Brown Sugar Glaze Recipe (7)

Serve up that ham with some good wine, a big fork, and extra glaze tableside.

December 2013

Recipe Details

Sous Vide City Ham With Balsamic Brown Sugar Glaze Recipe

Cook3 hrs 25 mins

Active20 mins

Total3 hrs 25 mins

Serves8to 12 servings

Ingredients

  • 1 bone-in half ham (7 to 10 pounds; 3.2 to 4.5kg), packing intact (see notes)

  • 1 cup (about 225g) brown sugar

  • 1 cup (240ml) balsamic vinegar

Directions

  1. Preheat sous vide cooker to 140°F (60°C). Add ham and cook for at least 3 hours and up to 8 hours. Meanwhile, heat brown sugar in a small saucepan over medium-high heat until melted. Continue to cook until deep brown but not black, and immediately add all of balsamic vinegar, standing back as you add it. Cook, stirring occasionally, until sugar is dissolved. Reduce to a bare simmer and continue to cook until mixture is thick and syrupy and coats the back of a spoon, about 5 minutes. Set aside.

    Sous Vide City Ham With Balsamic Brown Sugar Glaze Recipe (8)

  2. Adjust oven rack to lower position and preheat oven to 500°F (260°C) 30 minutes before serving ham. Allow oven to preheat for 15 minutes. Remove ham from water bath, remove packaging, and place cut side down on a rack set in a foil-lined rimmed baking sheet. Wipe surface dry with paper towels and brush with glaze.

    Sous Vide City Ham With Balsamic Brown Sugar Glaze Recipe (9)

  3. Place in oven and roast for 5 minutes. Pull out oven rack, apply another coat of glaze, and repeat. Repeat glazing step 2 more times. Remove ham from oven and let rest 5 minutes.

  4. To carve ham, place cut side down on a cutting board and make a single slice right next to the bone, dividing ham in two. Place boneless side with the newly cut side facing down and slice thinly into serving pieces. Repeat with remaining ham, cutting it from the bone one section at a time before slicing it into serving portions.

    Sous Vide City Ham With Balsamic Brown Sugar Glaze Recipe (10)

Special Equipment

Sous vide immersion circulator, rimmed baking sheet and wire rack

Notes

Most hams come in thick vacuum-sealed packaging that can be used for sous vide cooking. If not, seal your ham in a vacuum-sealed bag before cooking it sous vide.

Read More

  • The Food Lab's Definitive Guide to Buying and Cooking Hams
Sous Vide City Ham With Balsamic Brown Sugar Glaze Recipe (2024)

FAQs

Do you put the glaze on a ham before you cook it or after you cook it? ›

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.

How long to Sous Vide a fully cooked ham? ›

With sous vide cooking, it's as simple as dumping the ham into a water bath, directly in its packaging. I cook my hams at 140°F (60°C) for three hours to guarantee that they're piping-hot through to the center.

How do you use the glaze packet that comes with the ham? ›

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.

How long to heat and glaze a fully cooked ham? ›

Place in a 325-to-350-degree oven, brush with some glaze if desired and bake until heated through and the internal temperature reaches 135 degrees. Again, figure no more than 10 minutes per pound. An 8-pounder will take 1 hour and 20 minutes.

Do I cover ham when I glaze it? ›

Cover loosely with baking/parchment paper then loosely with foil. Reheat in a 130°C oven for 2 hours or until the centre of the ham registers 60°C/140°F (or a skewer inserted into the middle is hot). Add water as needed to prevent pan juices from drying out (we want a syrupy sauce at the end to serve with the ham!)

Should a glazed ham be covered when baking? ›

If you don't cover your ham while cooking it will quickly dry out. Instead: Put some aluminum foil over your ham while it's cooking. It is recommended that the ham is covered for at least half of the cooking process and only removed during the last half when you glaze it.

Does a fully cooked ham have to reach 140? ›

If reheating is desired, hams that were packaged in processing plants under USDA inspection must be heated to 140°F as measured with a food thermometer. Leftover spiral-cut hams or ham that has been repackaged in any other location outside the plant, must be heated to 165°F.

Why does precooked ham have to reach 140? ›

However, if you want to reheat these cooked hams, set the oven no lower than 325 °F and heat to an internal temperature of 140 °F as measured with a food thermometer. Unpackaged, cooked ham is potentially contaminated with pathogens.

How long do you cook a 5 lb ham that's fully cooked? ›

Place the ham, cut-side-down, on heavy-duty aluminum foil and wrap the ham thoroughly. Or use an oven roasting bag; follow instructions on the bag for preparation. Bake in a preheated 325F oven for 10-14 minutes per pound, or until a meat thermometer registers 135F.

Why is my ham glaze not thickening? ›

If you allow your glaze to cool off too much, you'll have a much harder time getting your thickening agents fully incorporated. When thickening glazes after the fact, low, steady heat is the key to achieving a smooth, consistent texture and unobtrusive flavor.

What is the point of glazing ham? ›

Cook's hint: To speed things up, you can score and stud the flesh 24 hours ahead of time then cover with the removed skin. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to glaze and cook. Cooking: As the ham is already cooked, the purpose of glazing is to add your own flavour notes and to caramelise the fat.

How long does the glaze take on a ham? ›

You could apply 1/3 cup of glaze about an hour before the ham is done. Then 20 minutes later you can apply another 1/3 cup, and then the remaining 1/3 cup 15 minutes after that. For a smaller ham, it's fine to apply the glaze all at once.

How long to cook a 3 lb fully cooked ham? ›

Allow 20 minutes per pound when calculating how long to bake a fully cooked ham. For example, if the ham weighs 8 pounds, the cooking time would be 2 hour and 40 minutes. A fully cooked half ham will weigh approximately 3 to 4 pounds. Cooking time for a 3 pound ham would be 1 hour.

Can you glaze a ham ahead of time? ›

The glaze can be made up to a week in advance. Keep in a sealed container in the refrigerator. You can remove the rind and score the ham up to three days before using it.

What is the best way to cook ham covered or uncovered? ›

Ham is traditionally baked in the oven. Cook for approximately 15 to 20 minutes per pound at 300 F. No matter the size of the ham and the temperature of the oven, it should be cooked until the internal temperature reaches 140 F. Covering with foil throughout the cooking process keeps it moist.

Do you add water to ham glaze packet? ›

In shallow roasting pan, place ham. In large saucepan, stir together glaze packet contents, 2 cups water and brown sugar.

What is the best way to cook a pre cooked ham? ›

Place the ham on a rack in a large baking pan and add about 1/4- to 1/2 inch of water to the pan. If the ham is labeled "fully cooked" (does not require heating), heat it in the oven for about 10 minutes per pound, or to an internal temperature of 140 F.

How early can you glaze a ham? ›

Make glaze up to 5 days ahead – even further ahead should be fine; Remove rind from ham, score it, then return to fridge until required. On the day of, baste and bake!

References

Top Articles
Homemade Clodhoppers Recipe [Accurate Copycat Recipe!] - Celebration Generation
Spiced Fruit Christmas Wreath Recipe (vegan)
Sdn Md 2023-2024
Restored Republic January 20 2023
Nco Leadership Center Of Excellence
Google Sites Classroom 6X
Prosper TX Visitors Guide - Dallas Fort Worth Guide
How to know if a financial advisor is good?
Is Csl Plasma Open On 4Th Of July
Craigslist Pets Southern Md
Things To Do In Atlanta Tomorrow Night
Sports Clips Plant City
How Much Is Tj Maxx Starting Pay
Hartland Liquidation Oconomowoc
Nalley Tartar Sauce
Guidewheel lands $9M Series A-1 for SaaS that boosts manufacturing and trims carbon emissions | TechCrunch
Fear And Hunger 2 Irrational Obelisk
735 Reeds Avenue 737 & 739 Reeds Ave., Red Bluff, CA 96080 - MLS# 20240686 | CENTURY 21
Dc Gas Login
Best Suv In 2010
iOS 18 Hadir, Tapi Mana Fitur AI Apple?
Price Of Gas At Sam's
Aberration Surface Entrances
Craigslist In Flagstaff
Video shows two planes collide while taxiing at airport | CNN
V-Pay: Sicherheit, Kosten und Alternativen - BankingGeek
My Homework Lesson 11 Volume Of Composite Figures Answer Key
Grimes County Busted Newspaper
Homeaccess.stopandshop
Optum Urgent Care - Nutley Photos
Il Speedtest Rcn Net
Обзор Joxi: Что это такое? Отзывы, аналоги, сайт и инструкции | APS
Craigs List Jonesboro Ar
Studentvue Calexico
Movies - EPIC Theatres
This Is How We Roll (Remix) - Florida Georgia Line, Jason Derulo, Luke Bryan - NhacCuaTui
Past Weather by Zip Code - Data Table
5 Star Rated Nail Salons Near Me
Issue Monday, September 23, 2024
Jt Closeout World Rushville Indiana
2430 Research Parkway
Justin Mckenzie Phillip Bryant
Arcane Odyssey Stat Reset Potion
Barrage Enhancement Lost Ark
Craigslist Car For Sale By Owner
Elizaveta Viktorovna Bout
Check From Po Box 1111 Charlotte Nc 28201
VDJdb in 2019: database extension, new analysis infrastructure and a T-cell receptor motif compendium
Atu Bookstore Ozark
Wgu Admissions Login
Is My Sister Toxic Quiz
Tyrone Unblocked Games Bitlife
Latest Posts
Article information

Author: Aracelis Kilback

Last Updated:

Views: 6243

Rating: 4.3 / 5 (44 voted)

Reviews: 91% of readers found this page helpful

Author information

Name: Aracelis Kilback

Birthday: 1994-11-22

Address: Apt. 895 30151 Green Plain, Lake Mariela, RI 98141

Phone: +5992291857476

Job: Legal Officer

Hobby: LARPing, role-playing games, Slacklining, Reading, Inline skating, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, Dance

Introduction: My name is Aracelis Kilback, I am a nice, gentle, agreeable, joyous, attractive, combative, gifted person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.