Sous Vide Your Holiday Ham
I love holiday ham, especially when paired with a sticky sweet frosting. The salty, greasy pork slices taste good and you won’t have to worry about it. Since all of the spiral-cut hams you find in the store are already cooked, all you have to do is reheat them. The main thing, of course, is not to dry it.
The key is to prevent moisture loss, so a cooking method that prevents any evaporation is ideal. Cooking sous vide ham in an airtight bag provides a very humid cooking environment that allows your large chunk of jerky to warm up gently in its own juice and fat. (In the oven, I would not dare to heat my ham to over 120 ℉, but with sous vide I can cook this suction cup up to 145 ℉ without drying it out.) No need to keep a close eye on it – half the ham can stay in the small jacuzzi until eight hours without any problems, allowing you to concentrate on the cooking time of the side dishes. It’s absolutely tender, juicy and juicy, and once it reaches the target temperature, all you have to do is apply the frosting and place it under the roasting pan for a quick toast.
Shooting ham in your own way is easy – for this you need:
- 1 quarter or half of the bone-in ham, left in the airtight bag it comes in
For the glaze you will need:
- 1 cup Mexican Coca-Cola
- 2 cups brown sugar
- 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
Fill a large tub or bucket with water, install a submersible circulation pump, and set the temperature to 135 ℉. (You can lower it to 120 ℉, but I like it a little hot.) Remove the outer wrapper from the ham, but leave it in an airtight bag. Place the ham in the tub. Go away for at least two and a half hours for a quarter ham, or three hours for a half.
While the ham is cooking, prepare the frosting by mixing all the icing ingredients in a saucepan and heating it over medium heat until it turns into a thick frosting. After the sous vide cooking time has elapsed, reheat the meat, remove the ham from the bag and place it on a baking sheet or in an oven-safe dish where it will hold. Pour the icing over the ham, trying to get between the slices, then use toothpicks to attach the slices to the body of the ham to keep them from fanning out. Swollen slices are a dry slice. Place the glazed ham under the roasting pan for about 5-10 minutes, until shiny and sweet. Remove toothpicks, fan and serve.