How Long Do I Cook Dressing

How Long to Cook a Holiday Ham: Cook Times and Temperatures

With helpful tips for roasting and glazing.

Two things must be determined before calculating the cook time for your ham: whether the ham is bone-in or boneless and whether the ham has already been fully cooked or if the packaging instructs to "cook before eating." Regardless of the bone, uncooked hams need to be cooked to 145°F for food safety. The already cooked hams only need to be heated to 140°F for adequate food safety. The guidelines below are to provide a timetable of when to expect your ham to be done, but a food thermometer should be used to check the internal temperature for the respective hams.

Step 3: Glaze Ham

Spoon the glaze over the top and sides of the ham as it cools for a glistening finish. Allow at least 20 minutes of downtime before carving to lock in the juices.

| Credit: Becky Luigart-Stayner

Pre-Cooked and Bone-In Ham

Cooking Temperature and Time: If the ham is a half ham weighing between 5 to 7 pounds, it should be heated at 325°F for 18-24 minutes per pound. If it is a whole ham weighing between 10 to 14 pounds, heat the ham at 325°F for 15-18 minutes per pound.

Internal Temperature: 140°F

Pre-Cooked and Boneless Ham

Cooking Temperature and Time: This ham should weigh between 6 and 12 pounds. Heat at 325°F for 10-18 minutes per pound.

Internal Temperature: 140°F

Uncooked and Bone-In Ham

Cooking Temperature and Time: A half ham weighting between 5 and 7 pounds requires 22 to 25 minutes of roasting at 325°F per pound. For whole bone in hams weighing between 10 and 14 pounds, cook the ham at 325°F for 18 to 20 minutes per pound.

Internal Temperature: 145°F

Uncooked and Boneless Ham

Cooking Temperature and Time: Depending on the cut, this type of ham can weigh anywhere between 2 and 8 pounds. For the Shoulder Roll cut, the ham will weigh between 2 and 4 pounds and should be cooked at 325°F for 35 to 40 minutes per pound. The boneless ham shoulder will be larger, weighing between 5 and 8 pounds. Cook at 325°F for 30 to 35 minutes per pound.

Internal Temperature: 145°F

Tips for Glazing and Roasting Ham

If you intend on using a glaze for your ham (you should), then brush the glaze liberally across the surface of the ham every 10 minutes for the last 40 minutes of roasting. Before putting the ham in the oven, we recommend scoring the skin of the ham in vertical and diagonal rows every 2 inches, creating a crosshatch pattern, to allow the glaze to soak into the meat while it finishes roasting.

The temperatures, times, and weights in this article can be found at fsis.usda.gov.