The smell of sugar glazed ham topped with the obligatory pineapple rings and
cherries brought more pleasure to our household than the Easter Bunny. I know
many who would gladly trade those chocolate Easter eggs for a ham sandwich.
Thankfully, baking a traditional Easter ham is easier than ever with the variety
of hams on the market. Gone are the days where a ham demanded presoaking,
boiling and baking. Of course, if you want to cook the traditional country cured
ham you can. Most home cooks opt for the precooked, spiral-sliced wonders.
However, whatever ham you prefer it pays to bone up on the basics.
All varieties of ham are either bone-in or boneless. Bone-in ham is
traditionally seen as more elegant while a boneless ham is considered easier to
serve. Bone-in hams are available in a variety of shapes; whole or a shank or
butt half and typically serve two to three people per pound. Boneless hams,
recognizable by label and the heavy plastic or foil wrapping will keep for
several weeks in their original packaging in the refrigerator. A boneless ham
will yield roughly four to five servings per pound.
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