Savory Ham (Bone-In)

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This festive Savory Ham (Bone-In) is a delicious, hearty main dish recipe that favors herbs, onion, and garlic over its sweeter counterparts. It’s also perfect for leftovers, including sandwiches and soups! {Gluten-Free}

Spiriteds, I have wanted to make a savory baked ham FOR THE LONGEST TIME. And then the second born really wanted one for Christmas. We looked far and wide but couldn’t find one that wasn’t spiraled or already glazed. Then we found one at Aldi when we weren’t even actively looking. But that’s how luck works sometimes! And now here we are with this delicious, succulent, juicy, Savory Ham (Bone-In) recipe that is just perfect for family gatherings, all kinds of festivities, and leftovers!

Here’s my thing about ham. I love a good sweet ham. Brown sugar, honey, and oranges? Count me in, for sure. But I’m more savory-toothed than sweet-toothed. So years ago when I wanted something not-so-sweet, I scoured the internetwebs to see if savory hams were a thing. And, as evidenced by today’s recipe, they are. While I favor my terrific trio of sage, rosemary, and thyme, you can choose other herbs that suit your palate. The ground mustard and white pepper are excellent spices to include because they bring out the savory undertones of the ham shank without overpowering the flavor. Sometimes I just want my ham to taste like ham. So while this ham recipe is earthier than others, it’s also a little lighter on flavor. And it’s really quite divine.

Spiriteds, this one is too good not to share! And it’s all kinds of delicious. So let’s dive in and get savory baking!

Savory Ham (Bone-In) ingredients

• Ham shank (bone-in). Whereas spiral-cut hams are ideal for glazes because all those spirals are great catch-alls for the toppings, bone-in hams are often juicier and more flavorful. The pan drippings become a delicious basis for savory soups and stews.
• Water. Enough to cover the roasting pan by an inch or two.
• Fresh herbs. I’m partial to thyme, rosemary, and sage.
• Onion. One onion cut into halves, thirds, or quarters (depending on what size fits best in your roasting pan).
• Garlic. Several cloves, peeled and left whole. 
• Bay leaves. A few sprinkled through the pan.
• Olive oil. For basting the ham before it’s warmed.
• Dried herbs. You can use fresh herbs, if you’d like. I use dried herbs with the olive oil because they thicken it enough to easily and evenly baste the awkward surface area of the ham.
• Dried spices. Add the ground mustard and pinch of white pepper.

Side note: When your ham is done reheating, keep all of it, including the bone, pan drippings, onions, and garlic and transfer them to a slow cooker to make delicious Leftover Ham Bone Soup. Then none of your ingredients need go to waste!

How to cook a Savory Ham (Bone-In)

You’ll want a deep roasting pan to prepare this Savory Ham (Bone-In) recipe. It’s okay if the roasting pan doesn’t have an insert. We don’t use one in this recipe. Just the ham widest side down in the water so it doesn’t dry out.

1. Move the rack you’ll use to the lower third of the oven. Set oven to 350 degrees.
2. Unwrap the ham and place it face down in the roasting pan. Add the water to the pan. Then add the herbs, onion, garlic, and bay leaves.
3. In a small dish combine the olive oil, dried herbs, ground mustard, and white pepper. Using a pastry brush, baste the ham. Then cover the ham with aluminum foil and tuck the foil around the edges of the pan. Heat the ham until it reaches about 145 degrees. When the ham is heated through, then carefully remove it from the oven and leave tented on the counter for about 10 minutes before serving. 

Side note: When you purchase your ham, check the label. Some brands will list an ideal internal temperature to reach for the ham to be done. Others might list a timeframe based on the size of the ham. Our Appleton Farms ham suggested 12-15 minutes cook time per pound. Our actual time was between 2 and 2 1/2 hours cook time. We rotated our ham 180 degrees halfway through the cook time to ensure it heated evenly.

Can you eat pre-cooked ham cold?

According to Ask USDA, ham does not have to be reheated before eating. But it’s important to know what type of ham you have, how it was packaged, and whether it was inspected to know for sure. According to Ask USDA, “Both whole or half, cooked, vacuum-packaged hams packaged in federally inspected plants and canned hams can be eaten cold, right out of the package.” I encourage you to click the link in this section to compare how the USDA addresses the question with what you have on hand for your recipe.

Michigan State University Extension has thoughts about it, too, in the post, How to identify cooked and uncooked ham, that may be helpful. 

North Carolina State University’s NC Cooperative Extension also has something to say about Serving Ham Safely. If you click the article link, you’ll be directed to a PDF download that may be helpful.

How to cut a ham with a bone

How you go about carving your bone-in ham will depend on its size and how it’s positioned. Ours was delicious, to be sure, but a little awkward to manage. K-Hubs placed the ham widest side down on a cutting board, followed the path of the bone, and then moved a few inches back from it and sliced down through the ham. This separated a good portion of the ham that DIDN’T have any bone in in it. Then he went back to the portion that DID have the bone in it and started cutting around it, essentially working in sections. A surf of the Internetwebs yields several videos on how to cut a ham with a bone, if yours looks vastly different than ours.

And, yes, K-Hubs did come across a related search for whether you can cut a ham bone with a hacksaw. He discovered the answer is yes. Although we haven’t tried it ourselves. 😬🤣😬

Do I need to baste my ham while it heats up?

We found we did NOT need to baste our ham. The foil did an excellent job of holding the moisture in. However, it’s a good idea to check on your ham after 30-45 minutes of heating to make sure it isn’t drying out. If you think it is turning dry, during any point in the heating process, then baste it with a little extra olive oil. You can also sprinkle a few extra herbs on it as well.

If you run into trouble cooking your ham, then check out our recipes for Herb-Roasted Turkey and Herb-Roasted Chicken. We have troubleshooting tips in those recipes that you may find helpful here.

More festive main dish recipes!

Whether you are hosting friends and family or want to make a main dish to create lots of delicious leftovers, then you are in luck! Here is a snippet of some of our favorite holiday-inspired main dish recipes!

• Herb-Roasted Turkey
• Herb-Roasted Chicken
• Oven-Roasted Turkey Breast

Spiriteds, stay well and stay wild. I am so glad you’re here! ❤️

Savory Ham (Bone-In)

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This festive Savory Ham (Bone-In) is a delicious hearty main dish recipe that favors herbs, onion, and garlic over its sweeter counterparts. It’s also perfect for leftovers, including sandwiches and soups! {Gluten-Free}

• Prep Time: 20 minutes
• Cook Time: 2 hours
• Total Time: 2 hours 20 minutes
• Yield: 8–10 servings 1x
• Category: Main Dishes
• Method: Oven
• Diet: Gluten Free

Ingredients

Units USM Scale 1x2x3x

• 8 pound ham shank, bone in
• 1–2 cups water, enough to cover the bottom of a roasting pan
• Several springs fresh thyme, rosemary, and sage leaves
• 1 onion, halved/quartered (however it will best fit in the pan)
• 3–4 garlic cloves
• 3 bay leaves
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon ground thyme
• 1/4 teaspoon ground sage
• 1/4 – 1/2 teaspoon ground mustard
• Pinch or two of white pepper

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Instructions

1. Move the rack you’ll use to the lower third of the oven. Set oven to 350 degrees.
2. Unwrap the ham and place it face down in the roasting pan. Add the water to the pan. Then add the herbs, onion, garlic, and bay leaves.
3. In a small dish combine the olive oil, dried herbs, ground mustard, and white pepper. Using a pastry brush, baste the ham. Then cover the ham with aluminum foil and tuck the foil around the edges of the pan. Heat the ham until it reaches about 145 degrees. When the ham is heated through, then carefully remove it from the oven and leave tented on the counter for about 10 minutes before serving.

Notes

• Save the pan drippings, ham bone, leftover ham, onion, and garlic to make Leftover Ham Bone Soup.
• Read the ham shank package label for official cook times and temps, as they may vary, depending on how the ham was prepared and packaged.
• Our 8-pound ham needed about 12-15 minutes cook time per pound, and ended up being ready a little after two hours.
• Rotate the ham 180 degrees at least once during the cook time to ensure it heats evenly.