I love to plan for any food celebration! Easter is especially exciting because of all of the spring produce readily available. Your holiday dinner doesn’t have to be complicated! I truly believe that the best foods are the ones with the simplest preparation. There are many side dishes that can be prepared ahead and simply warmed before serving.
Personally, I especially love a precooked Easter ham. Since it’s fully cooked all you need to do is warm in the oven and add a tasty glaze. I make a simple glaze with apricot preserves, a little dijon mustard, and a little cider vinegar. Be sure to warm the ham with a little water or pineapple juice in the pan and cover it tightly with foil. Your ham will not dry out.
Warm a precooked ham at 350′ for 15 minutes per pound. (example: 10 lb. ham x 15 = 150 minutes. Divide 150 by 60 minutes=2 1/2 hours. You want an internal temperature of 160′. Even though it’s fully cooked, rewarming foods, especially meats, need to reach a certain temperature to make it completely safe. Use an instant read thermometer or one you can put into the ham and leave while in the oven. With the bone in, figure about 1/2 lb./serving. Save the bone for soup!
If you’re using a ham that isn’t pre cut, you’ll want to score it with a sharp knife about half way through cooking. So for a 10 lb. ham score after about an hour and 15 minutes of cooking. Simply run your knife lightly over the ham making a criss cross pattern. You will begin to glaze at this point as well.
My Favorite Easter Ham with Apricot Glaze
1 ham-can be spiral cut or uncut
1 cup apricot preserves
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
1 tablespoon dijon mustard
pinch of salt and pepper
2 cups Pineapple juice
1) Preheat oven to 350′. Place the ham in a shallow baking dish fat side up (you can use a pan with a rack). Add pineapple juice or 2 cups of water to the bottom of the pan. Cover tightly with foil and bake for about half of the cooking time. Remember, 15 minutes per pound. Insert your thermometer if using one that is oven safe. Try not to touch the bone.
2) Half way through cooking, remove from the oven and carefully remove the foil, watch out for steam, it’s terribly hot! Score the ham if you need to. Generously coat the ham with the glaze. Lightly re-cover with the foil. Add a little water to the pan if the pineapple juice has evaporated. Back into the oven. Baste with the glaze a couple more times before it’s done. Remove from the oven and keep the foil on the top to keep the heat in. Allow the ham to rest for about 30 minutes. This will allow you to use the oven to warm any other side dishes you’ll be serving. Baste the ham one last time before serving. Enjoy!
More easy Easter recipes to come!
Have a wonderful weekend!
Angie
Follow me on Twitter