What You Should Do Before Heating A HoneyBaked Ham

HoneyBaked hams are the centerpiece of many weeknight meals and holiday feasts. What's not to love about the delicious "crunchy, crackling honey glaze" that is the hallmark of these fully cooked, spiral-cut treasures? They are also convenient and satisfying — a win-win in anyone's book. Per the New York Times, the whole point is to make your meal preparation as "effortless" as possible. HoneyBaked Ham's Chief Marketing Officer Jo Ann Herold even told the outlet, "We want the ham to be the one part of the occasion you don't have to worry about."

But, when it comes to serving this sweet cooked pork, many of us want to serve it hot, which goes against the brand's recommendation of simply popping it out of the refrigerator 30 minutes prior to serving in order to bring it to room temperature. So, why don't they recommend re-heating? Because as HoneyBaked Ham knows all too well, spiral-cut meat has a propensity to dry out when you try to reheat it — in fact, the National Pork Board revealed to the New York Times that 34% of all hams sold in the United States are of the spiral-cut variety so this affects a lot of meat. However, if you must reheat, this is what you need to do before you place your HoneyBaked Ham near any high temps.

According to HoneyBaked Ham, if you are going to reheat their sugar-coated delicacy, you should do so by the slice, otherwise you risk drying out the meat and could mess up that beautiful crunchy coat that makes it so iconic. Popsugar also suggests using a skillet to warm up your ham slices, or to turn up your oven to no higher than 275 degrees Fahrenheit and wrap it in tight aluminum foil while it's cooking.

But, if you need to heat the whole ham, which is more likely the case, Popsugar says there is a safe way to do so. The key is to allow it to set on your counter for about an hour beforehand. Bringing it to room temperature means less time in the oven, which minimizes the risk of it drying out. If you feel a little squeamish about having meat set out that long, we hear you. According to Recipe Tips, anything under two hours should be okay. Once you are ready to pop it in the oven, Popsugar recommends keeping the ham wrapped in the heavy-duty gold foil it came in when you do reheat to help it retain all that beautiful juicy flavor.