At Easter, it’s all about the ham

Serving a holiday ham may seem like an easy choice. That is, until you get to the grocer.

That’s when you discover the often overwhelming variety of hams, leaving you to guess at the best choice.

But understanding a few ham basics can make your selection much easier, ensuring you get the best ham to suit not only your tastes and budget, but also the amount of effort you want to invest in the meal.

A true ham is the leg of pork that comes from the hind of the hog. This is the best choice for slicing and serving.

To confuse matters, the front leg, called the pork shoulder picnic, often is cured and called ham, as well. These hams tend to have more internal fat, making them better suited for dishes such as soups and stews.

Most true hams are cured in salt or salt water and sometimes sugar. After curing, American hams are smoked, then partially or fully cooked. European hams, such as prosciutto, are salted, air dried and eaten raw.

A few small U.S. producers still make traditional country hams, which are salt-cured, then cold-smoked over smoldering fires. This type of ham must be thoroughly cooked and is extremely salty.

Most of the hams carried by mainstream grocers are fully cooked. The various names on the labels generally refer to the cut of the leg you are getting and the style of flavors used to prepare it.

Here’s what you need to know:

Planning

•When selecting a ham, figure on buying 1/4 to 1/3 pound per person if boneless, 1/3 to 1/2 pound per person if partially-boned, and 3/4 to 1 pound per person for bone-in hams.

•If you hope to get your holiday shopping done early, you can store a ham, unopened, in the original packaging for 7 to 10 days. For longer storage, you can freeze a ham, in the original packaging, for up to 3 months.

Varieties

•Fully cooked or ready-to-eat hams can be eaten with no further preparation. They are available with or without the bone, or partially-boned, which still have a small part of the thigh bone, but not the big joints.

While the bone adds flavor during the cooking process, it can make carving more difficult. Regardless of the bone, fully cooked hams can be purchased in a variety of sizes.

Meat expert Bruce Aidells, author of “The Complete Meat Cookbook,” says a whole, 10- to 20-pound bone-in ham is the most flavorful and least wasteful cut. It can serve 15 to 20 people with leftovers, and the bone can be used as you would a ham hock, for seasoning soups and bean dishes.

For smaller groups, Aidells recommends buying a smaller section of the ham. The butt-end, which is the upper part of the leg, tends to have more meat than the smaller shank end, which is lower on the leg.

•Partially-cooked or ready-to-cook hams are made using traditional smoking and curing techniques and have been heated to at least 137 degrees during some part of the processing.

Aidells says that because these hams are minimally processed they usually have superior flavor and texture.

Finer markets may stock ready-to-cook hams during the holidays and they can always be purchased online and mail ordered from specialty producers.

•Fresh hams haven’t been cured or cooked. They must be cooked to an internal temperature of 160 degrees. These cuts are sometimes found with alongside other pork roasts, but you may need to special order them.

Mark Scarbrough and Bruce Weinstein, authors of “The Ultimate Cookbook,” praise fresh hams for their fat and lean meat, which they say creates and excellent moist texture and superior flavor.

•Spiral-cut hams, which usually are fully cooked and available with or without the bone, have become increasingly popular, in part for their ease of serving.

Aidells complains these hams tend to dry out, but the editors at Cook’s Illustrated magazine favor the spiral-cut hams for ease of preparation and flavor. They recommend cooking the hams in an oven-bag to retain moisture. Both agree that the best place for the enclosed glaze packet is in the trash.

Cooking

•Fully cooked hams can be eaten cold. If you plan to bake it, heat the oven to 325 degrees and cook to an internal temperature of 140 degrees. Leftovers, or hams not in their original packaging, should be heated to 160 degrees.

•A fully cooked whole ham will take 15 to 18 minutes per pound to come to temperature. A fully cooked half ham will need to cook for about 18 to 24 minutes per pound.

•Partially cooked hams must be heated at 325 degrees to an internal temperature of 160 degrees. A 15- to 20-pound ham needs 18 to 20 minutes per pound. A 5- to 7-pound ham needs 20 to 25 minutes per pound.

Glazing

Any ham looks and tastes better with a flavorful glaze. Most classic ham glazes combine a sweet ingredient, such as brown sugar, maple syrup or molasses, with a contrasting flavor, such as mustard or vinegar.

The sugars in the glaze caramelize while baking, giving the ham a beautiful glossy sheen.

Before coating ham with a glaze make sure to score it with a diamond pattern by cutting 1/4- to 1/2-inch slashes into the surface. This looks great and provides more surface area on the ham for the glaze to stick to.

If a ham has been cured and smoked in a net bag it may already have a pattern etched into the surface. But even these hams will benefit from being scored.

A ham can be coated with a glaze using a pastry brush or a large spoon at any point during baking, but every 15 minutes is a good rule of thumb.

A sweet glaze can certainly work well on a fresh ham, but because of the long cooking time, you will want to add the glaze toward the end so it doesn’t burn.

Carving

When carving a ham use a very sharp knife with a thin blade. Cut only the amount you will serve, as leftover sliced ham dries out faster than larger pieces.

To carve a bone-in ham, cut a few long slices parallel to the bone, then turn the ham so it rests on the cut surface. Make perpendicular slices toward the bone and then cut along the bone to release the slices.

To carve a boneless ham, cut a few long slices to make a flat surface, then turn the ham onto the cut surface and slice to your preferred thickness.

This glaze of tomato sauce and sautéed chopped onion is a less sweet alternative to traditional fruit- or sugar-based recipes. Since a glaze only coats the outside of the ham, you might want to double the recipe to serve as a sauce.

Tomato and Onion Glaze

From “The Good Housekeeping Cookbook,” Hearst Books, 2007

1 tablespoon butter or margarine

2 tablespoons finely chopped onion

1 (8-ounce) can tomato sauce

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter or margarine. Add the chopped onion and cook until tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in tomato sauce, brown sugar and Worcestershire sauce, then bring to a boil.

Reduce heat and simmer until glaze thickens, about 5 minutes. Use the sauce to glaze a ham, basting as desired.

Yield: About 1 cup

Approximate nutrition per 1-ounce serving: 29 calories, 1 gram fat (less than 1 gram saturated, 35 percent fat calories), less than 1 gram protein, 4.7 grams carbohydrate, 3 milligrams cholesterol, less than 1 gram dietary fiber, 166 milligrams sodium.

Ginger Ale-Glazed Ham

This sweet and tangy glaze from celebrity chef Paula Deens’ sons was inspired by a cola-glaze they grew up with. From Jamie Deen and Bobby Deen’s “The Deen Bros. Cookbook,” Meredith Books, 2007

3- to 4-pound boneless ham

1 cup white wine

2 1/2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

2 tablespoons molasses

Pinch cayenne pepper

2 cups ginger ale

2 tablespoons honey

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Place the ham in a roasting pan.

In a medium saucepan, combine the wine, mustard, molasses and cayenne pepper. Bring to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes. Stir in the ginger ale. Pour the glaze over the ham. Bake for 1 1/2 hours.

Increase oven temperature to 325 degrees. Bake for another hour, basting the ham every 15 minutes.

Brush the ham with honey. Bake, basting every 15 minutes, until the ham is well glazed, about another 30 minutes. Slice and serve.

Servings: 8 to 10

Approximate nutrition per serving, based on 10: 309 calories, 17.5 grams fat (6 grams saturated, 51 percent fat calories), 22 grams protein, 11 grams carbohydrate, 63 milligrams cholesterol, less than 1 gram dietary fiber, 1,312 milligrams sodium.

Roasted Fresh Ham with Simmered Sauerkraut

To make a beautiful rich gravy for this roast, combine 2 tablespoons of fat from the drippings with 2 tablespoons of flour and cook over low heat, stirring constantly, for 2 to 3 minutes. Whisk in the rest of the de-fatted drippings and bring to a gentle boil until the gravy thickens. If you want extra gravy you can add some chicken broth to pad the mixture.

2 tablespoons dried sage

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

6- to 7-pound butt-end fresh ham

3 cloves garlic, cut into slivers

1 1/2 cups chicken broth

6 tablespoons butter, melted

2 teaspoons dry mustard

1 tablespoon lemon juice

4 small yellow onions, quartered

Arrange an oven rack in the lower third of the oven. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.

In a small bowl, combine the sage, salt and pepper in a small bowl. Using your hands, rub the sage mixture onto the outside of the ham.

Using the tip of a knife, puncture the roast all over to produce dozens of little holes about 3/4-inch deep. Insert the slivered garlic into the holes.

Using a knife to score the ham, making 1/4-inch deep slashes about 2-inches apart.

Place the ham in a large roasting pan, fat-side up. Roast for 20 minutes, then reduce heat to 325 degrees.

Meanwhile, in a medium bowl make a basting liquid by combining the chicken broth, melted butter, dry mustard and lemon juice.

After the ham has been in the oven for an hour, add the onions to the pan, then baste the ham using some of the chicken broth mixture. Continue cooking, basting every 30 minutes, until the ham reaches an internal temperature of 155 degrees (plan about 25 minutes per pound).

Remove the ham from the oven and transfer to a cutting board. Cover the ham loosely with foil and let rest for 20 minutes. Discard the onions and de-fat the pan drippings and use to make a gravy. Slice the ham and serve with simmered sauerkraut.

Servings: 8 to 10

Approximate nutrition per 6-ounce serving: 336 calories, 17 grams fat (8 grams saturated, 49 percent fat calories), 41 grams protein, less than 1 gram carbohydrate, 143 milligrams cholesterol, less than 1 gram dietary fiber, 286 milligrams sodium.

Simmered Sauerkraut

Simmering the sauerkraut for several hours makes it melt-in-your-mouth tender. Juniper berries give the dish a distinctive flavor, but if you can’t find them just omit them from the recipe.

3 pounds sauerkraut, drained

3 1/2 cups chicken broth

1 medium yellow onion, chopped

1 teaspoon juniper berries

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

In a medium saucepan with a lid, combine the sauerkraut, chicken broth, onion, juniper berries and pepper. Bring to a boil, then reduce to low. Cover and simmer 2 to 3 hours. Serve with roasted fresh ham.

Servings: 12

Approximate nutrition per serving: 28 calories, less than 1 gram fat (less than .5 grams saturated, 10 percent fat calories), 1 gram protein, 8 grams carbohydrate, 1 milligram cholesterol, less than 1 gram dietary fiber, 711 milligrams sodium.