Ham Cooking Time Calculator

If you like tools that make your kitchen life more comfortable, you just struck gold with this ham cooking time calculator! 🍖 Whether it's for your daily sandwich or the star of your Thanksgiving dinner, there is nothing like a piece of meat done right. With the help of our calculator, you will never have to wonder for "How long do I cook this ham for?" again!

Read on if you want to find out more about how to cook ham, see the perfect ham cooking temperature for each popular type and cut, and learn some tips and tricks to make it as perfect as possible. With our help, you will never have to wonder how long to bake ham anymore!

Using the ham cooking time calculator is as easy as (meat) pie. Follow this short set of instructions, and you will get your calculations done in no time.

1. Start by choosing what type of ham you are planning to cook. You can choose from the four most common types: smoked, cook-before-eating; smoked, cooked; fresh, uncooked; and country ham.

2. For the first three types, you need to pick the cut. Because each cut of meat is slightly different, the time they need to be cooked varies as well.

   • In the case of country ham, the cut makes no difference. Remember to soak your country ham in the fridge anytime between four and twelve hours before cooking!

3. Next, input the weight of your ham.

4. And voila! At the bottom of the calculator, you will see for how long to cook the ham for, given the parameters you provided. You will also be given the ham cooking temperature appropriate for the specific kind and weight you have.

If you're interested in the math we use to calculate how long to bake a ham, we're more than happy to explain it. It's based on one simple equation. To figure out how long to cook ham for, you need the following formula:

ham cooking time = weight × time per unit of weight

Please note that in our ham cooking time calculator, we use an equation based on the average number of minutes it takes for a pound of a certain kind of meat to cook. This time is usually within a range of about five minutes, so, in reality, small variations from your calculated result may occur.

For example, it takes between 35 and 40 minutes to cook a pound of boneless shoulder roll of a cook-before-eating smoked ham. This means it takes an average of (35 + 40) / 2 = 37.5 minutes to cook a pound of this particular cut. Let's say we want to cook a pound and a half. We will need 1.5 × 37.5 = 56.25 minutes. Of course, in the circumstances of your home kitchen, it's most likely impossible to get it right to a fraction of a minute, so it's perfectly fine to stick with "about 56 minutes". The exact time also depends on your oven - they tend to have their own "personalities", so in most cases, the answer to the question of how long to bake a ham for will be approximate.

Naturally, if you're a professional cook/food scientist and have access to technology allowing you to time your cooking to a fraction of a second — we encourage you to go for it! We can't help but wonder what's a professional like you doing here, though 😉

And, if you really value precision, it might be a good idea to calibrate your oven. In some cases, electric ovens show a temperature that's slightly different from the actual one inside, so it may influence the cooking time.

In the later part of this article, you will find a table with more precise information about how long to cook ham for.

You will notice that the ham cooking calculator also mentions the temperature at which you should cook your ham. So, what is the perfect ham cooking temperature?

Luckily, with temperature, there is not much calculating. It all comes down to one short rule of thumb that you need to remember: For your ham to be cooked perfectly, no matter the type or cut, you need to keep its internal temperature at least 145°F. This translates to about 63 °C. Feel free to use our temperature converter if you want to get more precise numbers.

In order to get that internal temperature, you should have your oven at 325 °F / 160 °C.

Finding out how long to cook ham and the perfect ham cooking temperature is not all! There is more stuff that you can do to ensure that your ham is cooked just right. Check out these tips to learn more:

• Soaking country ham before cooking helps remove its saltiness! Soak anytime from four to twelve hours before cooking, according to your liking;

• When it comes to slicing, it's the easiest when the ham is cool. If you want to serve it warm, give it a few minutes after taking it out of the oven so that it cools off a little;

• Avoid basting the ham with its juices when it's cooking. It will likely add to the saltiness to the point where it might become too salty to eat; and

• It's always a good idea to glaze your ham towards the end of the cooking process. Not only will it add flavor, but also it will make the finished product look way more appealing!

As you already know, our ham cooking time calculator tells you the average time you need to cook ham of a given kind. Here's a more precise time chart you can refer to if you're still wondering how to cook a ham perfectly! Use it to see how many minutes it takes to cook a pound of a particular kind of ham.
If you're interested in a different weight unit, feel free to use our weight converter.