| How to Play Dreidel Posted: 24 Dec 2016 04:00 PM PST Dreidel is a traditional game of chance, and one of the most well-known symbols of Hanukkah. The dreidel is a four-sided top with a different Hebrew letter on each side. The game dates back at least to the time when the Greek King Antiochus IV (175 BCE) had outlawed Jewish worship. Jews who gathered to study the Torah would play dreidel to fool soldiers into thinking they were just gambling. Now, it's usually played to see who can win the most gelt (chocolate coins wrapped in gold foil). With a dreidel and some tokens, you can take part in this holiday tradition, too. We'll show you how! - Get a dreidel. The dreidel you will get will depend on where you live. Outside of Israel, the four letters on the sides of the dreidel are Nun, Gimmel, Hay, and Shin, which stand for "A Great Miracle Happened There," referring to the miracle of the oil. In Israel, where the miracle happened, the dreidel has the letters Nun, Gimmel, Hay, and Pey, which means "A Great Miracle Happened Here."
- Gather friends. You can play with as few as two, but the more the merrier!
- Distribute tokens evenly among all of the players. The tokens can be any little thing: pennies, nuts, raisins, matchsticks, etc. A lot of people use gelt.
- Ante up. Before each spin, players put one token in the middle of the circle to create "the pot."
- Every time the pot is emptied, or there's only one token left, every player should put a token in the pot.
- Take turns spinning the dreidel. When it's your turn, spin the dreidel once. The letter which comes up once it stops spinning determines whether you win, lose, or draw. According to the letter appearing, the player should perform the following action:
- Shin ("shtel" or "put in" in Yiddish) - Put one more token in the pot.
- Nun ("nisht"or "nothing" (in Yiddish) - Do nothing.
- Gimmel ("gantz"or "everything" in Yiddish) - Take all tokens from the pot.
- Hay ("halb"or "half" in Yiddish) - Take half of all tokens lying in the pot. In case of an odd number of tokens, round up.
- If you run out of tokens, you are either "out," or you may ask another player for a loan.
- Pass the dreidel on to the next player.
- Keep playing until someone wins by collecting all the tokens.
- A fun variation is to use chocolate instead of coins, so you can eat your winnings when the game ends.
- If there are no tokens in the pot, everyone puts one in.
- Don't have a dreidel? Download the pattern and make one for yourself! Many websites offer free patterns you can print out and use to make your own dreidel.
- In Israel, the letter shin is usually replaced with the letter peh for the word "poh" to create the phrase "a great miracle happened here."
- If a player runs out of tokens, he either leaves the game or takes a loan of tokens from another player.
- In Yiddish, the dreidel is also called "fargle" and "varfl." In Israel, the Hebrew term "sevivon" (from the root meaning "turn around or spin") is used.
- In a popular variation of the game, any player whose dreidel lands on Nun loses and is out of the game.
- In one variation of the game, you may match the pot when Shin appears, and put one token in when Nun appears.
EditThings You'll Need - Dreidel
- A few dozen tokens: buttons, coins, or small candies
- You can also use a bunch of gelt (chocolate coins)
EditRelated wikiHows EditSources and Citations |
| How to Get to Sleep on Christmas Eve Posted: 24 Dec 2016 08:00 AM PST Finding it hard to get to sleep on Christmas Eve? Well, you're not alone—it's a hard night to fall asleep, as excitement and eagerness abound. Santa's coming and you can't bear how long it takes for the time to tick away. Here are some suggestions that might help you to overcome the excitement and get some much-needed sleep before the big day. EditDistracting and Tiring Yourself on Christmas Eve Day - Wake up extra early Christmas Eve morning. Doing this will make you more tired when you want to go to bed.
- The night before Christmas Eve stay awake as long as you can until you fall asleep. Set your alarm clock for a very early time like 6 o'clock. When you wake up you will be very tired and want to go back to sleep. Make yourself get up though so when you have to go to sleep on Christmas Eve you will fall asleep easy because you are so tired. You might sleep in a little but it is worth it.
- If you have a calendar in your bedroom, turn it back to a different month and pretend it's that month during the night. Make a playlist on your iPod of songs you liked listening to in that time to capture the feeling even more.
- Exercise regularly throughout the day. Do some jumping jacks, go for a walk or do some cycling. If it's too snowy outside to exercise, play an exercising game, such as Wii Fit.
- Make up a long song, and try to memorize it. This will wear out your brain and make you tired.
- Help your mom and dad, other family members and even neighbors, to prepare for Christmas Day. Keeping busy and being helpful will take your mind off the excitement but will still help you to feel involved and happy.
- Track Santa. Tracking Santa's progress around the world is always a great way to get you excited for Christmas on Christmas Eve! Use websites such as NORAD Tracks Santa or Google Santa Tracker.
EditPreparing for Bedtime - Think of it as a normal night. Tell yourself that tonight is not Christmas Eve. Do the same things you always do in your bedtime routine: brush your teeth, read a book, chat with your friends, etc.
- Say to yourself: "What am I gonna do tomorrow?" -- like it's any normal day: "Oh..., hey, tomorrow maybe I will hang out with my 'bud', ______".
- Play a game with someone. A technique, that, strange as it sounds, works well is to play a quiet game you can play alone (or with another hyper and excited friend or sibling) is Mad Libs, while in bed. This will help take away your energy and help you fall fast asleep, this will also make Santa come a lot quicker than you thought!
- Try exercising. Although this may seem counter-intuitive, exercise can help to calm you down. A couple hours before you go to bed, see how many push-ups, crunches, or jumping jacks (etc) you can do in your room. Exercise only for thirty minutes though; you don't want to stay up too late. Exercising is a great way to help you feel physically tired, so your body will want to sleep. Better still, it will take your mind off Christmas for a little while. Remember the steps above.
- Take a warm bath. Having a warm bath will relax your muscles and make it easier to fall asleep. Squirt bath toys at imaginary targets, submerge yourself in bubbles and relax your muscles. Try scented bubbles and soap.
- Don't peek at the Christmas tree. This might spoil any surprises and will keep you very excited and awake! Remember, Santa Claus knows when you are sleeping and when you are awake. He won't come if you are peeking.
- Drink warm milk or at least some eggnog. The milk provides calcium, magnesium, and L-tryptophan, which can help you sleep. You can also try hot herbal tea; it is very soothing and calming to drink.
- When you're setting up a cookie plate for Santa is a great time to have some warm milk.
- Or, drink hot chocolate after you are in your pajamas. This will also help you to relax and keep warm! Don't drink coffee. The caffeine in it can keep you awake.
- Relax. If you are just jumping up and down and feeling hyperactive, you need to calm down; you're only feeding a build-up of excitement that it'll be hard to come down from. Read a book. Listen to music. Whatever makes you. calm down and relax.
- Read a book. It can be about Christmas, although it doesn't really matter. Try reading a school textbook... a really boring one, of your least favorite subject if you find it easy to fall asleep in class. Read a boring book to induce sleepiness; read an exciting one to get lost in and to help take away the urgency of thinking about Christmas things.Some good non-Christmas books are Harry Potter, Twilight, School of Fear, and Diary of a Wimpy Kid. They are fairly long and can keep you occupied for a while.
- Burn a sweet scented candle for a little awhile (preferably lavender or jasmine) in a safe place in your room, extinguish it and lie very still with your eyes closed. The smell may relax you. Do not do this if you might fall asleep with the candle on, or ask your parents to extinguish it for you.
EditGoing to Sleep on Christmas Eve - Think about how, the more you can relax and feel like falling asleep, the sooner it will be Christmas Day!
- Get into a comfortable sleeping position while in bed. Scrunch up really tightly—as tightly as you can. Hold that position for 30 seconds, then relax again. Try to stay still, don't move at all and you will become tired. This is important for anytime you try to get to sleep; but relax and close your eyes.
- See some of the related wikiHows in this article for more ideas on helping you to fall asleep, or visit the whole category on Better Sleeping.
- Fluff your pillow. If you fluff your pillow, it will give you something more comfortable for your head to rest on, and make it easier to fall asleep.
- Snuggle up with any pets. If the pet is small enough to fit in your bed (or wherever you are sleeping), try to fall asleep with it. It helps you to sleep when you have someone else in the room with you. It will make you fall asleep a bit faster, although if it is a hamster of something of that size you may squish it.
- Make sure you're warm or cool enough, depending on where you live. If cold, turn a heater on, put on some warm and comfortable clothes, or put some extra blankets on your bed. Just make sure you don't make yourself too hot, or it will be just as hard to fall asleep as it is when you're cold. If too hot, turn on the air conditioning, or open a window and sleep with just a sheet on you.
- Count sheep. Any of these methodical, centering and calming methods will help to move you out of being too excited into a calmer state, which may help you to feel sleepy. Try focusing on each of the sheep as they jump over the fence (or any other high platform). What do they look like? What type of fence are they jumping over? How high are they jumping? Focusing on these details will let your mind trail way from the idea of Christmas and will help you fall asleep.
- Lie in bed and say this in your head: "Relax my toes." (Wiggle them for a moment.) "Relax my arch. Relax my ankle. (Flex your ankle.)" It might sound corny but it really does work through the power of suggestion. Continue, working all the way up to your head. Even keeping up the effort of concentration on doing this is a great distraction from the night's excitement. You may not even get up to your head before you're snoozing away!
- Listen to slow Christmas music and think about the real reason why you celebrate Christmas. This seriously helps.
- Make a playlist on your iPod "sleep songs." Soothing music will definitely help take your mind off Santa, and lull you to sleep.
- Don't sit at the computer, laptop, or iPad late at night, if you can't sleep; this will only keep you awake. The light actually fools your body into thinking it's not bedtime.
- If you watch TV before bed, try to turn off or down all the other lights, so the room is darkened. That will get your body ready to sleep.
- Watch a movie. If you still have trouble going to sleep, watch a movie. Some good Christmas movies that play a lot during Christmastime include: A Christmas Story, The Polar Express, Elf, Home Alone 1, 2, 3, and 4, How The Grinch Stole Christmas, A Charlie Brown Christmas, A Christmas Carol, It's A Wonderful Life, Miracle on 34th Street, The Santa Clause: 1, 2 and 3, Frosty the Snowman, and Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.
EditWaking Up on Christmas Morning - Set a time to wake up. Make sure that the whole family agrees with it. That way, when it turns (for example 7:00) everyone is prepared to get up. If you get up earlier than this, have some breakfast, go to the washroom, get ready so that you actually look OK on video.
- If you know you are going to be videotaped in the morning, prepare your best set of PJ's. You don't want everybody to remember you wearing that raggedy old t-shirt and a pair of shorts on Christmas morning, do you? Don't forget to brush your hair in the morning before galloping downstairs!
- Have a Merry Christmas and a happy New Year!
- If you keep your stocking on your bed or anywhere you can see it then, put it under the bed; If this isn't possible you could always find a big cushion and stuff it at the foot of your bed with the stocking behind it. Or, place it somewhere outside your room where, from your bed, you can't see it but whoever walks by it can put a gift or treat! That way, you won't be panicking that Santa won't be able to find the stocking!
- Don't think about Santa Claus, that will make you feel excited, and will take twice as long to fall asleep.
- If you really want to, leave your room about a half an hour before everyone else wakes up and look at the presents and the tree. It may not sound like it, but it actually might calm you down a little bit. Be sure not to peek at the presents though! This will just ruin Christmas for you.
- You might flex your toes, fingers, and shrug your shoulders. Then after a few seconds, stop, and your body will feel relieved and you can relax and go to sleep!
- Slowly change your bed sheets and put on your pajamas in slow motion, after your nice hot bath; this can make you feel bored and relaxed; so you can sleep.
- Stop exercising around 2 hours before you go to sleep.
- If you like to keep a lamp on in your room while you sleep, keep it on low so it's easier to fall asleep.
- Turn all of your lights off so it will be easier for you to get to sleep.
- Keep your stockings downstairs and lock the door so that you won't be tempted to peek in your stocking.
- Make sure your door is closed. It helps you feel more relaxed and you fall asleep. And it makes less light shining in your bedroom.
- If you wake in the middle of the night go for a walk, this might tire you out.
- Once officially in bed, only get up for bathroom breaks, and if you do, try to get back into bed in the same comfy position you were in before.
- Don't leave your room; it will only make you more curious.
- Don't keep looking at the clock, as this will make it seem that Christmas Eve will never end.
- Don't unwrap any presents. Save the excitement so you can share it with everyone else.
- Don't drink any caffeine at least six hours before going to bed. If you go to bed at 10pm, don't drink any caffeine after 4pm.
- Be sure to empty your bladder before you go to sleep. It's harder to fall asleep with a full bladder, and if you do manage to fall asleep, you don't want to wake up in the middle of the night having to go to the bathroom.
- When reading your book, keep an eye on the time. You want to be asleep by midnight, so try putting your book down and closing your eyes around 10 or 11 pm.
- If you do exercise, don't exceed 30 minutes and make sure that it is at least one hour before you want to sleep. The endorphin you get from exercise can keep you buzzed and therefore awake, so leave some time to chill out. Leaving some time before bed gives you time to relax and maybe even try some other technique!
- Go to bed at the same time you do on a normal night. If you go normally go to bed at 10pm and go to bed at 11pm on Christmas Eve, it will not feel like a normal night.
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| How to Bake a Ham Posted: 24 Dec 2016 12:00 AM PST Baked ham, considered a staple of special meals at holidays such as Christmas or Easter, is a simple but tasty dish that even the most novice cook can master in short order. How you bake a ham will vary depending on whether it is fresh or preserved and whether or not it has been pre-cooked, but regardless of which type of ham you use, the method will be very straightforward. You can also vary the flavor of your ham by playing around with different glazes, a number of which are described in this article. EditPreparing the Ham - Choose a type of ham. Most hams that you buy at the grocery store have already been cooked or partially cooked, which means that you'll essentially be reheating the ham rather then cooking it from scratch. It is possible to buy raw ham (also known as fresh ham), but it is not common. Buying a precooked ham will save you a lot of cooking time, and many of them come pre-sliced and with a glaze provided.
 - Pork is a particularly risky kind of meat to undercook - more likely dangerous than undercooked beef and bigger and harder to cook through than chicken. Pre-slicing any meat can get pathogens on the outside into the inside where they are harder to cook. And cooked, sealed meat is semi-sterilized to last longer. So don't get a raw ham unless you are ready to prepare it carefully, including with a meat thermometer to ensure it is cooked through (recommendations vary from 140 to 160 degrees F). A cooked one need only be reheated to taste (and should not be overheated to avoid overcooking).
- You can buy hams with the bone-in or the bone removed. Bone-in hams are slightly more flavorful and make a dramatic dinner table centerpiece for any special occasions. They can be a little harder to cut than hams with the bone removed, however many brands spiral-cut their bone-in hams in advance, to overcome this problem. Spiral-cut hams are very easy to serve, but may become drier during cooking.
- In terms of weight, you can calculate the number of portions a ham will provide using the following quantities: For a bone-in ham, allow a minimum of 3/4 of a pound of weight per person; for a boneless ham, allow 1/4 pound of weight per person. This is because a bone-in ham provides less meat that a boneless one.[1]
- The bone with little bits of meat on it can be reused to flavor and add bits of texture to a soup, but it has little substance and value compared to the same quantity of solid meat.
- A sliced ham that looks like a whole ham is normally "spiral sliced" in a helical pattern perpendicular to the bone, most of the way to the narrow end, so the meat comes off in large thin sheets parallel to the cut end. A little finishing and recovery of final bits with a knife is still needed. Spiral slicing is very convenient, more precise than most amateurs can do, makes a nice presentation, and allows access to the interior of the ham for extra flavoring. But it can let the outer part of the meat dry, so wrapping for much of the cooking process is especially important. And, in letting some moisture out to the surface, it can hinder browning the outside and caramelizing a glaze: finish off cooking with high heat and a dense glaze for the best outer appearance, texture and flavor. Finally, handle and lift gently, as a mass, to reduce premature falling off the bone.
- Always read the label accompanying the ham. This will help you to determine whether it is fresh or preserved and whether it has or has not been precooked. This information will help you to determine the proper cooking procedures for your ham.
- Store and thaw the ham. Ham must be stored properly to prevent the growth of bacteria on the ham. You can keep your ham in refrigerator at a temperature of or lower. Boneless ham can be stored in the refrigerator at this temperature for up to a week, while bone-in hams (such as the rump or shank portions) will keep for up to two weeks. If you're using raw ham, it will only last in the refrigerator for 3-5 days after the sell-by date.
- If you are buying your ham well in advance of the date you intend to cook it, your best option would be to freeze it, making sure it is well-wrapped or vacuum packed. Uncooked ham will keep for up to 6 months in the freezer, while cooked ham will keep for two, before the freezing begins to affect the flavor and quality of the meat.[2]
- Once you decide to thaw your meat, be sure to do so in a safe, correct manner. Ham should never be thawed at room temperature, on your kitchen counter-top, as the outer layers of meat will defrost and become a breeding ground for bacteria, while the center remains frozen.
- To thaw frozen ham correctly, you can either place the ham on a dish in the refrigerator to thaw the ham slowly (4-7 hours depending on the size of the roast) or place the bag in a water-tight bag and submerge it in cold water for a faster defrost (approximately 30 minutes per pound of meat).[3]
- Prepare the ham.
 - Remove and discard any packaging from the ham. If the ham is precooked in a factory-sealed pouch, retain the flavorful liquid for basting and/or dressing: cut open the big side of the package facing up, lift out the ham, and pour out the liquid into a container. Set it aside in a refrigerator. Because it has sat in meat for days, best to heat it to cooking temperatures before consuming.
- Optionally, score a non-presliced ham. (Cross-scoring will chip apart a presliced one.) then place it - fatty side up - on a chopping board. Score the ham with a sharp knife, making a diamond pattern. The slices should be about 1/4 to 1/2 an inch deep, with each parallel line about apart.[4]
- You should not cut into the meat itself when scoring, just into the layers of skin and fat. This will allow the flavors from the glazing to seep into the meat, while also producing a decorative effect.
- Traditionally, a clove is inserted into the center of each diamond for flavor and decoration. Just make sure to remove the cloves before eating because they are hard and strongly flavored. If you find the clove flavor too strong, you can use bits of dried fig instead (these will caramelize deliciously onto the ham during baking). You can also dust on ground spices. With clove, a little goes a long way!
- Some people prefer to trim away the extra layers of fat and skin before cooking the ham, but this is not necessary and roasted fat can add mouth-feel, flavor and appearance and reduce drying of the meat within. So better to leave the normal thin covering of fat.
- Optionally, flavor the interior of the ham. Ham is tasty as-is, generally is cured with some salt, and may have been smoked. But sweet and spicy flavors throughout rather than just on the edge and seeping into the surface can add a lot. Spiral slicing adds an easy to way to get them in! Or, try a marinade injector syringe, but ham's dense texture reduces diffusion and shows punctures.
- One tasty recipe is as follows: mix one cup honey, half a teaspoon cinnamon, and a quarter teaspoon of cloves in a mug or glass cup; microwave to a bubble (very hot and sticky; don't burn yourself) to extract and mix their flavors; and smear lightly between the spiral slices, rotating to get all sides (a silicone baking brush works well and is easy to clean thoroughly). A truly "honey baked" ham! Dessert baking spices tend to work well (check warehouse, discount and ethnic stores and sections for fair prices), as might extremely sour juices, preferably concentrated.
- Do not put pineapple products that have not been cooked thoroughly to destroy their enzymes inside the ham. They will tenderize it into mush.
- Place the ham in a roasting pan. Line the pan with aluminum foil first, as this will make the clean-up easier, as well as helping to catch any juice from the meat. Place the ham fat side up and leave uncovered. The fat from the top of the meat will melt and run down the sides of the ham, helping to baste it in the process.[3]
- Some chefs recommend adding half a cup of white wine to the base of the pan before baking, to prevent the ham from sticking. You can also use water or juice if you don't want to use wine.
- Alternatively, wrap the ham in aluminum foil to keep it moist and let retained vapor's heating condensation speed through most of the warming (or cooking) process. Set it cut end down in the middle of a long sheet of aluminum foil in a pan. Bend up the edges to form a trough, then join the ends over the top and bring the sides together. Put another piece over the top and sides first to cover the entire thing if needed. Wrap it around the in-oven or remote-reading meat thermometer (or punch that through) if you're using one.
EditMaking the Glaze - Check to see if your ham came with a packet of glaze. If it did, then prepare the glaze following the directions on the package if you like. Set aside for later.
- Make a homemade glaze. There are an endless amount of homemade glaze recipes out there - which one you choose depends on your personal preferences - whether you like your ham sweet and succulent or herby and slightly spiced! Some simple, yet delicious suggestions are outlined below. The key ingredient is sugar, which can caramelize to a crunch. Heat, such as a microwave's, will help mix it up with less water (careful!). A little corn syrup or honey can prevent excess crystallization; too much can make it gooey. To keep the glaze from running off under heat before it binds to the surface, add a teaspoon or so per cup of corn syrup, mixing it in cold, and finishing dissolution to a clear gel warm.
 - Make a mustard and brown sugar glaze: Mix equal amounts of honey mustard and brown sugar. 1/4 cup of each is a good measurement to go by, though this will vary depending on the size of the ham.
- Make an orange and pear juice glaze: Mix 3/4 cup each of pear juice and apple juice for a sweet, fruity glaze.
- Make a brown sugar and maple syrup or honey glaze: Mix equal amounts of brown sugar and honey or maple syrup. Use about a 3/4 cup of each, depending on the size of the ham.
- Make a raspberry preserve glaze: Mix a cup of raspberry preserve with 1/2 a cup of light corn syrup, stirring until well combined. You could also substitute the raspberry for another flavor preserve, depending on your tastes - apricot, cherry and orange marmalade are all good options.
- Make a honey thyme glaze: In a saucepan over a medium heat, combine 3 tablespoons of butter, 2 tablespoons of freshly chopped thyme, 1/4 cup of cider vinegar, 1/4 cup of honey, a tablespoon of brown sugar and a teaspoon of Worcestershire sauce. Stir constantly until the butter has melted and the sugar has dissolved, then remove from the heat.[4]
- Glaze the ham. Regardless of which glaze you choose to use, separate a third of it and set the rest aside for now. Use a pastry brush to apply the glaze to the top of the ham, making sure to work the glaze in between the scored lines.
- You will keep the ham moist during cooking by continually brushing the meat with the reserved glaze at 20 minute intervals. In this way, all of the glaze should be used up by the end of the cooking time.
- Be wary with sugar-based glazes as the sugar may start to burn on the surface of the ham before the ham is fully cooked. Keep a close eye on the color - if it starts to turn dark brown or black, make a "tent" from aluminum foil to cover the ham while it finishes cooking.
- Alternatively, just heat the ham wrapped up and brown and glaze it at the end. Flavoring the ham between spiral slices will do best for the inside, and this method requires little maintenance.
EditBaking the Ham - Preheat the oven. Set the temperature to 350ºF (180ºC) if using a conventional electric or gas oven. Set to 325ºF (170ºC) if using a convection oven.
- A lower temperature such as 275 degrees will reduce drying for similar interior warming time (the outside can't heat past boiling to conduct heat in faster, but will just let out more steam at higher heat) but is not conducive to browning and glazing.
- Place the ham in the preheated oven for baking. The amount of cooking time will depend on the size off the ham and whether it has been pre-cooked or not. Follow the guidelines below for cooking times:
- Bake a partially- or fully-cooked preserved ham for 10 minutes per pound (0.5 kg) to reheat the ham completely through.
- Bake a preserved ham that has not been precooked at all for 20 minutes per pound (0.5 kg).
- Bake a fresh bone-in ham for 20 to 25 minutes per pound or a fresh boneless ham for 30 to 35 minutes per pound (0.5 kg).
- Baste the ham every 20 minutes. To add moisture and flavor to the ham, open the open door and baste the meat with additional glaze, along with any juices that have escaped.
- A closely wrapped ham will not need basting and should not be opened prematurely.
- Test the internal temperature of the ham. You can do this by inserting a meat thermometer into the ham which stays there during cooking, or by using an instant read thermometer once the ham is cooked. When the thermometer reads 160ºF Fahrenheit (71ºC), the ham is done.
- When using a thermometer to test the temperature of a bone-in ham, make sure that the thermometer is not touching the bone, as this will affect the reading and give an inaccurate result.
- Note that if a ham has been fully pre-cooked, it is okay to remove the meat from the oven once it reaches a lower temperature of between 110º to 120º F, as you are simply reheating it for eating.[4]
- Brown and glaze the ham now if it has been heated tightly wrapped. Take the ham in its pan out of the oven, or work quickly. Open up the aluminum foil on top. Increase the oven temperature to . Once the outside is not wet looking, which should only take a few minutes, brush or spoon the ham with a dense, sugary glaze. Watch through the oven door or open and check periodically for some caramelization. A little underdone is much better than a burnt surface.
- Baste the meat in its juices, cover and leave to rest. Let the ham rest, covered in aluminum foil, for at least 15 minutes before carving. This will allow the ham to finish cooking, while also letting the meat settle, making it easier to carve. (Do not pour pan drippings over the outside of a sugar glazed ham. They won't get in and will tend to wash off the glaze.)
- Prepare sauce. The pan drippings can be tasty on ham, but a denser sauce can be even better. Pork is very light for a heavy, greasy, floury sauce. Try combining the pan drippings, the liquid that came with a sealed precooked ham (if applicable), a half-teaspoon of cinnamon, a quarter-teaspoon of clove, a small can of pineapple juice, and a teaspoon of corn starch, stirred and heated to clarify the starch. This makes a lighter meaty-fruity sauce that won't run off entirely.
- Carve the ham. Once the ham has finished resting, you can carve the ham, typically perpendicular to the bone, using a long sharp knife. If it's a bone-in ham, you should first cut around the bone to loosen the meat, then slice it thinly.
- Do this off a fancy platter at the table for best presentation. The ham should be sideways or cut-side up on a heavy wire stand sold for this purpose.
- Thin slices are best, to expose more tasty surface area and not emphasize ham's unusually dense texture.
- A spiral sliced ham is so easy to cut even a child with a table knife can do it!
- Alternatively, you can rest the meat on its side and cut a slice off the wide end to make a flat surface. Turn the ham so that it's sitting on this flat end and then cut long, thin slices down the length of the ham.[5]
- Make sure to save the bone, which you can use to add great flavor to soups. If you won't use it immediately, wrap it in plastic to reduce desiccation.
- Serve the ham. Place the ham on a serving plate and bring to the table for your guests to admire. Make sure to keep the leftovers for use in sandwiches, quiches, casseroles or whatever you like!
- Leftover ham slices are tasty and different grilled, like thick-cut, low-fat bacon. Takes just a minute with a skillet before adding to cool lettuce, tomato, mustard, mayonnaise or other sandwich fixings or breakfast! Caramelization of a little sweet mixture added between spiral slices can make this even more delicious. Also a great way for initial serving to those who fundamentally dislike basic ham.
- Leftover ham reheats well and can be used in many "second generation" dishes to breathe new life into a tired dinner lineup.
- Make sure you don't throw away the glaze packet if one came with your ham. To save on time, this is the quick way of making the glaze.
EditRelated wikiHows EditSources and Citations - The Fannie Farmer Cookbook, Thirteenth Edition, by Marion Cunningham
- Stephanie Alexander, The Cook's Companion, p. 491, (2004), ISBN 978-1-920989-00-2
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