We know what it’s like – you pull your gorgeous glazed ham from the oven on Christmas day, your guests mouths are watering and everyone is desperate to sink their teeth into Christmas dinner. But first, you need to carve the leg of ham.
It can be tempting to take to the glistening ham with a big knife and hope for the best, but you run the risk of cutting uneven slices, drying out your ham, or giving yourself a nasty cut (ouch!). That’s why our Test Kitchen experts have put together this guide on how to carve a leg of ham – so you can make the most of your delicious centrepiece.
How long do you let a ham rest before carving?
Hams can be very large pieces of meat, so resting the ham for at least 15 minutes before carving is ideal. This is because when a ham comes out of the oven it’s like any other roast and needs time to rest before serving to allow the juices to reabsorb into the meat. So, a rested ham is a lot easier to carve than one straight out of the oven and will ensure perfectly succulent meat. Resting could even be considered the first step to carving a leg of ham.
How to carve a Christmas ham
Cutting a wedge from the shank end of the ham makes it easier to create delicious even slices.
First, place the ham on a chopping board and steady it with a carving fork. Then, using a large sharp knife, make a vertical cut toward the bone at the shank (narrow) end of the ham. Next, make a cut at an angle to the first to remove a small wedge of ham. This creates a greater surface area for carving your first proper slice. Also, that first wedge is your treat for creating this masterpiece to begin with.
Continue to carve toward the ham bone, taking long sweeps with the knife to create lovely thin slices the full width of the ham. The pieces will increase in size as you carve your way up the bone. If your knife isn’t long enough, you can start to make slices from the sides of the ham to the middle, alternating sides as you move along the bone.
Working at an angle, carve thin slices from the Christmas ham with long, sweeping slices.
Carving the underside of a ham
The deliciously glazed slices from the top of the ham might be the first to get served, but there is still a lot of carving yet to do!
To carve the underside of the ham flip it over, and cut long, flat slices parallel to the ham bone.
There is less meat on the underside of the ham, so carving parallel to the bone is the best way to create nice big slices.
Five tips to help you carve a leg of ham perfectly
- It’s best to carve only as much ham as you need at any one time because the meat will dry out.
- Having the right equipment to carve your ham will help you get the best results. For example, Furi’s Pro Carving Set 2 Piece comes with a carving fork that’s designed to hold with precision and a carving knife that glides through the ham for smooth, even slices.
- Not everyone serves a hot Christmas ham, especially in Australia where cold cut ham is practically a Christmas dinner staple. If you’re carving a cold ham, allow the ham to come to room temperature for about an hour before carving. It will be easier to slice into and more tasty as well.
- The technique for carving ham is the same whether you have a store-bought glazed ham or one you’ve prepared yourself.
- For cooking inspiration, try our Christmas ham recipes and glazes.
What to do with leftover Christmas ham?
As much as we think our appetites will easily take care of an entire Christmas ham, more often than not we hit our limit earlier than expected and end up with a lot of Christmas ham leftovers sitting in the fridge (bizarrely, this doesn’t seem to happen with Christmas cakes and desserts).
Thankfully there is a lot you can do with a Christmas ham leftovers after Christmas.
For starters, once the meat is carved off the ham, you use the bone to make delicious ham stock or soup. The ham bone can also be frozen for up to three months.
As for the meat, there are all sorts of recipes for leftover Christmas ham to make including a classic pea and ham soup, delicious summer spaghetti with pea and ham and this stunning baked pasta with ham, blue cheese and fennel.
