Hosting Easter? Try Ree's All-Time Best Recipes Including Glazed Ham (2024)

FAQs

What is the best ham to serve for Easter? ›

What kind of ham is best for Easter dinner? Look for a fully-cooked, bone-in ham that isn't spiral cut—it stays juicier in the oven! Shank-end hams are the big, beautiful ones you're used to seeing for the holidays and those work great here.

What's a traditional Easter menu include? The main dish for an Easter meal varies, but some typical dishes include honey-baked ham, pot roast, pork chops, and fish. Some popular side dishes include scalloped or mashed potatoes, spring vegetables, and dinner rolls.

Because most hams sold at grocery stores are smoked and fully cooked, they only require heating before eating. However, glazing a ham adds that special final touch if you want to wow your crowd with extra flavor and texture.

In the world of cured hams, Jamón Ibérico de bellota reigns supreme. Its strict designation of origin standards, the uniqueness of the animals used, the quality, tradition, and expert hand-carving techniques make it stand above even the best Italian prosciutto.

For ages, Christians have avoided eating meat on Easter Sunday. Many individuals, devout or not, continue to eat solely fish on this day. Every year, millions of people around the world observe the tradition of eating fish on Easter.

My classic Easter dinner: Rack of Lamb, Parmesan Roasted Asparagus, and Orzo with Roasted Vegetables! (The secret is how easy it is to make!!) Plus Coconut Cupcakes you can decorate with jelly beans! Who wouldn't love that?!!

Here in the United States, one of the most traditional Easter foods is a big glazed ham. In fact, Ree Drummond says, "In Oklahoma, ham is everything on Easter!" The popularity of eating ham started in part because pigs were butchered in the fall, cured over the winter, and ready to eat come springtime!

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Unwrap the ham and rinse it in cold water. Place it on the rack in the roasting pan. Cover the pan with the lid and bake for half the estimated cooking time (Total cooking time is about 20 minutes per pound.)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Wrap ham completely with parchment-lined foil and place on a rimmed baking sheet or roasting pan. Transfer ham to oven and bake 1 1/2 hours. Unwrap ham; discard parchment and foil.

Should you baste a precooked ham? ›

Bake in the oven 12-15 minutes per pound (or cook according to specific package directions). Baste 1-2 times during the cooking time with ham juices that have accumulated in the bottom of the pan. Be sure to separate the slices as you baste. This ensures the ham will stay moist.

Cooking Temperature and Time

If the ham is a half ham weighing five to seven pounds, it should heat at 325°F for 22-25 minutes per pound. If it is a whole ham weighing between 10 to 14 pounds, heat the ham at 325°F for 18-20 minutes per pound. The internal temperature should be 140°F.

Roasting pan with a roasting rack: Ideally, use a large roasting pan with a rack. This will allow you to add water at the bottom of the pan to keep the ham moist as it bakes. Aluminum foil: To wrap the roasting pan tightly, and ensure that the steam does not escape. You want to keep the moisture trapped inside.

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.

Bone-in ham

The bone provides the meat with better flavor and texture. As a bonus, the leftover bone is great for making soups and stews, like this Old-Fashioned Split Pea Soup. Bone-in hams are sold as half hams.

Rump, Butt, Or Sirloin

The rump contains the femur and pelvic bone, which can be challenging to carve around. It is a more tender and flavorful cut of meat and can often be more expensive.

The butt end is meatier and less fatty than the shank end but it has odd-shaped bones, making it trickier to free the slices. The shank end is slightly fattier but, with a simpler bone structure, is much easier to carve.

Grass-fed lamb meat for Easter dinner

Lamb is also widely served for Easter, largely for religious reasons and the common springtime harvest of lambs. Grass Roots offers 7 pasture-raised lamb cuts, including lamb shanks, Frenched rack of lamb, and the always-popular leg of lamb roast.