Glazed Ham in a steam oven

Home made Ham steamed and then glazed

As an update to the home cured home cooked ham piece, I thought I would make a post about cooking it one in a steam oven, as they are 'all the go' nowadays.

The ham was a 'silverside' piece from the back leg of a pig (just in case someone doesn't know what ham is!) courtesy of Simon Boddy at T.H.E. Best Butchers, Great Brickhill. It was cut from a whole leg then tied in an effort to retain a nice shape.

The cure was identical to the previous post, and this piece weighed 6.5KG cured for 12 days then left to mature for about 10 days suspended in the fridge to let the cure 'burn through'

We have recently installed a flashy Miele steam oven, and I had been keen to try it on something like this. I used the temperature probe, placed in the meat and set it to 67 degrees C, then set the oven to steam at 87 degrees C. I was trying to keep the differential between oven temperature and final meat temperature fairly close together.

I let it run for an hour and checked it. I tasted the water that had accumulated in the roasting tin and discovered it was really salty. I hadn't pre-soaked the ham and immediately regretted it. However I emptied it out and added some fresh water to act as a soak.

I let it run for another hour and repeated the process, noting that this time it was less salty. I also figured that if the water tastes salty, then it can only be coming from the ham which hopefully was 'de salinating' somewhat so leaving it palateable.

Checked and repeated again after about 45 mins.

Now the last Ham of this size took 4 or 5  hours to cook through, but in the steamer it was much faster, and at three hours it was done. I was a bit worried that it wouldnt produce as good a finished product.

Removed from the oven, cut the strings that tied it, took the skin off and set the oven to 200. I then scored it glazed it and stuck the cloves in...Slammed it back in the oven for 20 minutes and re glazed twice in this time, removed it and left it to cool.

I was pretty worried about the saltiness at this stage, however the next day I tried a slice when cold and it was perfect. I would say it was much better than simmering in water and the salt level was fine. The texture was smooth on the cut surfaces and the slices were very flexible (if they are stiff its overcooked).

We had it on Christmas day along with a turkey that I cooked in the same oven using a combi setting, and that also cooked through really quickly (just over two hours for a 16 pounder!).

The lesson is...I will always cook ham in the steam oven from now on (but I might soak it for a few hours the day before, next time)