Easy Roasted Ham
This easy and delicious baked or roasted ham, no glazed ham, is perfect for a Sunday or special dinner, including Easter or Christmas holidays. The roasted meat goes perfectly with Creole Sauce.
A roasted ham or a fresh bone-in ham is always welcome during the holidays! Ham recipes are usually easy to prepare. The magic to a successful ham is having the right spices and the right glaze if you’re using one. With fresh bone-in ham, brine is necessary for maximum flavor.
The perfect brine makes the ham moist, tender, flavorful, and delicious. Once you’ve tasted a ham without a glaze, you will want to have it all the time. Fresh ham is healthier and more flavorful, unlike traditional holiday ham or cured ham. It’s also very convenient to roast and serve.
Fresh Bone-In Ham vs. Cured Ham
Fresh ham comes from the rear leg of the pork and has not been cured or smoked. It can be the whole leg or part of the leg. This is the same for Cured ham. The difference is that one has gone through the curing process and the other has not.
Ham is usually cured using a wet brine or a dry salt rub. The ham is also smoked for curing. Whatever the process, the ham is usually pre-cooked and easier to prepare when compared to a fresh ham—minimal work to be done. But, is it as satisfying?
Why roast a fresh ham?
Baking or roasting is the easiest way to get this flavorful meat to cook properly. When baked or roasted correctly with the right herbs and spices, whole meat help creates different types of meal. For example, the leftovers can be added to pasta salad, baked macaroni, leafy salads, and even soup with this ham.
The ingredients you will need for the ham recipe.
The following ingredients are for the preparation of the brine. The flavors and aroma come from the brine prepared with spices, sugar, and hot pepper.
- Lemon Pepper Seasoning Salt: buy a large bottle for the same money.
- Montreal Chicken Seasoning: I use the one from McCormick; I can’t go wrong with that.
- Sugar: to balance out the salt content in the Lemon Pepper seasoning salt and the Montreal Chicken Seasoning.
- cold water: for the preparation of the brine
- Fresh Cayenne Pepper or ground cayenne pepper is a wonderful spice for pork. It leaves the pork with a subtle fiery taste.
- Whole Cloves: this spice is a must for all ham recipes.
- One 9-pound bone-in fresh ham with skin on
How to make the Roasted Ham
- The first step is to clean the ham your preferred way, pad it dried, and set it aside.
- In a large saucepan, combine the lemon pepper seasoning, salt, the Montreal Chicken Seasoning, and sugar with 2 quarts of water. Bring the liquid to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring to dissolve the seasoning and sugar.
- Remove from the heat and pour the brine mixture into a very large brining pot – large enough to hold the ham. Stir in the hot pepper and garlic cloves. Add the remaining 6 quarts of water and stir until well mixed. Let the brine cool at room temperature.
- Add the ham, skin side up, to the large pot or container; brine the ham in the refrigerator overnight or 24 hours. (this step is essential for a flavorful pork recipe.
- Preheat the oven to 400°F. Remove the ham from the brine and brush off any seasoning. Set the ham skin side up in a roasting pan (preferably on the rack) and let stand for 30 minutes at room temperature. (This will the ham retain its moisture)
- Cover the top of the ham with aluminum foil where the bone is to avoid the top burning rapidly. Roast the ham for 1 hour; turn the pan and add 1 cup of water halfway through. Reduce the oven to 300° F and roast the ham for 2 1/2 hours longer, until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the meat registers 150°. Transfer the ham to a carving board and let rest for 30 minutes.
- Strain the pan juices into a saucepan; skim off the fat. Create a Creole sauce and serve.
Notes and Tips
- The brine for the ham is prepared with store-bought seasoning spices, but you can use a mixture of the same spices you commonly have in your pantry. After brining, the ham is removed from the refrigerator and brought to room temperature. This helps again helps create the moisture.
- Serve the Roasted Fresh Bone-In Ham with a Creole Sauce and your best side dishes.
- If you have leftovers, make sandwiches and use them in salads.
- Use your preferred glaze and glaze the ham in the last 20 minutes of baking or roasting.
Enjoy!
Baked Fresh Bone-In Ham
Equipment
- Brine Container
- Roasting Pan with a rack lined
Ingredients
- 1 cup Lemon Pepper Seasoning Salt
- 1 cup Montreal Chicken Seasoning
- 2 cups sugar
- 8 quarts cold water
- 1 cayenne or finger hot pepper chopped
- 10 whole cloves
- One 9-pound bone-in fresh ham, with skin
Instructions
- The first step is to clean the ham your preferred way, pad in dried and and set it aside.
- In a large saucepan, combine the lemon pepper seasoning salt, the Montreal Chicken Seasoning and sugar with 2 quarts of the water. Bring the liquid to a boil over medium high heat, stirring to dissolve the seasoning and sugar.
- Remove from the heat and pour the brine mixture into a very large brining pot – large enough to hold the ham. Stir in the hot pepper and garlic cloves. Add the remaining 6 quarts of water and stir until well mixed. Let the brine cool at room temperature.
- Add the ham, skin side up in the large pot or container; brine the ham in the refrigerator overnight or for 24 hours. (this step is essential for a falvorful pork recipe.
- Preheat the oven to 400°F. Remove the ham from the brine and brush off any seasoning. Set the ham skin side up in a roasting pan (preferably on the rack) and let stand for 30 minutes at room temperature. (This will the ham retain its moisture)
- Cover the top of the ham with aluminum foil where the bone is to avoid the top to burn rapidly. Roast the ham for 1 hour; turn the pan and add 1 cup of water halfway through. Reduce the oven to 300° F and roast the ham for 2 1/2 hours longer, until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the meat registers 150°. Transfer the ham to a carving board and let rest for 30 minutes.
- Strain the pan juices into a saucepan; skim off the fat. Create a Creole sauce and serve.
Notes
- The brine for the ham is prepared with store-bought seasoning spices but you can use a mixture of the same types of spices you commonly have in your pantry.
- After brining, the ham is removed from the refrigerator and brought to room temperature. This helps again helps create the moisture.
- Serve the Roasted Fresh Bone-In Ham with a Creole Sauce and your best side dishes.
- If you have leftovers, make sandwiches and use them in salads.
Use your preferred glaze and glaze the ham in the last 20 minutes of baking or roasting.
Nutrition
Please keep in mind that nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary greatly based on the products used.
Nutrition info is automatically generated and provided as a courtesy and as an estimate only.
Originally published on December 26, 2016. Republished to add additional content.
