Ham cooking time per pound
Many holiday hams are sold fully cooked, so the job is reheating: 325 °F for roughly 10 to 30 minutes per pound until the middle reaches 140 °F. A ham sold to be cooked before eating takes longer, about 18 to 40 minutes per pound, and has to reach 145 °F. Check the label first, because that decides everything below. Then find your cut in the chart, and use the second table to see when it goes in for your dinner time.
The USDA chart
These figures come from the USDA's "Ham and Food Safety" sheet, timetable for cooking ham, which sets the oven to 325 °F and calls the times approximate. The fsis.usda.gov address blocked my fetch, so I read the sheet from a copy hosted by Utah State University Extension.
Cooked, reheat
| Cut | Weight (lb) | Minutes per lb | Internal temperature |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whole, bone in | 10 to 14 | 15 to 18 | 140 °F |
| Half, bone in | 5 to 7 | 18 to 24 | 140 °F |
| Arm picnic shoulder, boneless | 5 to 8 | 25 to 30 | 140 °F |
| Canned ham, boneless | 3 to 10 | 15 to 20 | 140 °F |
| Vacuum packed, boneless | 6 to 12 | 10 to 15 | 140 °F |
| Spiral cut, whole or half | 7 to 9 | 10 to 18 | 140 °F |
Cook before eating
| Cut | Weight (lb) | Minutes per lb | Internal temperature |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whole, bone in | 10 to 14 | 18 to 20 | 145 °F |
| Half, bone in | 5 to 7 | 22 to 25 | 145 °F |
| Shank or butt portion, bone in | 3 to 4 | 35 to 40 | 145 °F |
| Arm picnic shoulder, boneless | 5 to 8 | 30 to 35 | 145 °F |
| Shoulder roll (butt), boneless | 2 to 4 | 35 to 40 | 145 °F |
Fresh, uncooked
| Cut | Weight (lb) | Minutes per lb | Internal temperature |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whole leg, bone in | 12 to 16 | 22 to 26 | 145 °F |
| Whole leg, boneless | 10 to 14 | 24 to 28 | 145 °F |
| Half, bone in | 5 to 8 | 35 to 40 | 145 °F |
- 140 °F applies to cooked hams packaged in a USDA-inspected plant. Leftover ham, or one repackaged somewhere else, goes to 165 °F.
- Cook-before-eating and fresh hams need 145 °F and at least 3 minutes of rest before carving.
- For a spiral-cut ham, the sheet says to cover it with heavy foil and heat at 325 °F for about 10 minutes per pound. It adds that heating sliced hams can dry the meat and melt the glaze, so they are best served cold.
- Country ham is a different job: soak it 4 to 12 hours, boil 20 to 25 minutes per pound, then glaze at 400 °F for 15 minutes.
Ham start times by weight
The minutes are my arithmetic: the weight times the low and high ends of the USDA range. The clock times use the high end and leave a 20 minute stand before carving, which is my assumption (the USDA asks for 3 minutes on the cook-before-eating kinds). The ham goes in at the time shown for a 2 PM dinner, or for a 5 PM one.
| Ham | Weight | Minutes (estimate) | In for 2 PM | In for 5 PM |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spiral cut, cooked | 7 lb | 70 to 126 | 11:34 AM | 2:34 PM |
| Spiral cut, cooked | 9 lb | 90 to 162 | 10:58 AM | 1:58 PM |
| Half, bone in, cooked | 5 lb | 90 to 120 | 11:40 AM | 2:40 PM |
| Half, bone in, cooked | 7 lb | 126 to 168 | 10:52 AM | 1:52 PM |
| Whole, bone in, cooked | 12 lb | 180 to 216 | 10:04 AM | 1:04 PM |
| Vacuum packed, boneless, cooked | 8 lb | 80 to 120 | 11:40 AM | 2:40 PM |
| Half, bone in, cook before eating | 5 lb | 110 to 125 | 11:35 AM | 2:35 PM |
| Half, bone in, cook before eating | 7 lb | 154 to 175 | 10:45 AM | 1:45 PM |
| Whole, bone in, cook before eating | 12 lb | 216 to 240 | 9:40 AM | 12:40 PM |
| Fresh leg, bone in | 14 lb | 308 to 364 | 7:36 AM | 10:36 AM |
Start checking with a thermometer about 30 minutes before the high end. My estimates assume a ham straight from the fridge. An early finish is easy to hold covered. A late one is not.
What else fits in the oven at 325 °F
Side dishes written for 350 °F can go in alongside the ham at 325 °F if you add a few minutes. That is my rule of thumb, not a USDA figure, so check them by eye. The easier route is to let the ham stand covered while the oven moves up to 350 °F. A cooked ham holds for up to an hour in the plan below, which is an assumption, so check it is still at 140 °F or more before serving.
Example for a 2 PM Easter dinner: a 6 lb bone-in cooked half (2 h 24 min at 325 °F, the high end of 18 to 24 minutes per pound), then scalloped potatoes, green bean casserole and rolls at 350 °F. Side times are typical values I picked. The ham goes in at 10:36 AM and comes out at 1:00 PM, and the oven needs 15 minutes to change temperature.
| Time | Step |
|---|---|
| 10:21 AM | Preheat the oven to 325 °F |
| 10:36 AM | Put Bone-in ham, 6 lb (cooked) in the oven (325 °F, 2 h 24 min) |
| 1:00 PM | Take Bone-in ham, 6 lb (cooked) out (1 h before serving) |
| 1:00 PM | Set the oven to 350 °F and let it get there |
| 1:15 PM | Put Scalloped potatoes in the oven (350 °F, 45 min) |
| 1:30 PM | Put Green bean casserole in the oven (350 °F, 30 min) |
| 1:45 PM | Put Dinner rolls in the oven (350 °F, 15 min) |
| 2:00 PM | Take Scalloped potatoes out |
| 2:00 PM | Take Green bean casserole out |
| 2:00 PM | Take Dinner rolls out |
| 2:00 PM | Serve |
Cooking a turkey too? Both meats run at 325 °F, and the start times are on turkey and ham in the same oven. For a beef Christmas, see the prime rib timeline. Open this menu in the planner to change the weight, the dinner time or the dishes.