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I bought a fully cooked ham. It was frozen, and it's now thawed. How long should I put in the oven to warm it up?

Aaronut
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2 Answers2

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Since it's already fully-cooked, you don't need to be all that precise with time or temperature. The most important thing is to avoid drying it out, so use a roasting pan and add a little water to the bottom (not more than 1 cm) and cover it while it's reheating.

It's best if you have a meat thermometer; toss it in at 300° F / 150° C (or up to 350° F / 175° C if you're in a hurry) and aim for a temperature of about 140° F / 60° C. If you don't have a thermometer, this about.com page suggests 16-20 minutes per pound; it also suggests heating to 135° F which is also fine. But if you're not going by a thermometer then you'd better make sure that it's completely thawed first, all the way to the interior, lest you end up with a semi-frozen dinner.

If you also plan to glaze it then apply the glaze after it's been heated and raise the temperature to 400° F (205° C) as the above link suggests.

Aaronut
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  • I followed the directions on the package of the ham 15 t0 20 min. per-pound at 350 degrees and it was dried out. Why does the temperature need to be 140 degrees internally when it can be eaten as is? –  Jun 23 '15 at 21:00
  • @MadelynPfaller 15-20 minutes per pound is really just a rough guess; it may be that it was a bad guess in your case and you actually got well above 140°F internal temperature. Also, you didn't mention whether you covered and added a bit of water like this answer suggested; if not, that's why yours was dry. All that said, the main reason for the internal temperature recommendation is just making it actually hot to serve; as you say, it's fully cooked and could be eaten cold. – Cascabel Jun 23 '15 at 22:13
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Good instructions. It is easy to dry the ham out too much when you are heating it (precooked ham). I use a baking pan (with lid) AND wrap it in foil prior to putting it in the pan. A little water in the pan is a MUST. I usually go with 325 for about 18 minutes per pound. The combination of pan with lid plus foil seems like overkill but it insures a nice moist ham.

Doug
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