Do you have an instant read thermometer? If not you need to get one as it will keep you from over or under cooking your ham....and if it's a Smithfield, it is "ready to cook" not Just "warm and eat".
For a ham that isn't precooked you need to get the inside to 160 degrees for it to be tender. For a 10 pound ham that may not happen in 3 hours at 325.

I cooked easily 10 of those Smithfield hams in the past 2 years. All were "ready to cook" and all had some skin on them with a thick layer of fat underneath. I removed all the skin and all but a thin layer of the fat. I [put the ham in a covered roaster with about a cup of apple juice ( beer would work too) and roasted at 325 for 3 to 4 hours depending on the size of the ham ( one was a 20 pound whole ham). Since I wasn't making a "presentation" I didn't bother with any glaze....I just let it rest for 20 to 30 minutes once it had reached temperature and carved it.
BUT if you do want to glaze it, use a covered roaster, remove the skin and all but about 1/4 inch of the underlying fat and score the fat, before you put it into the oven. Stud with cloves if you wish, then I smear with my fingers about 1 Tablespoon of dry Coleman's mustard all over and sprinkle brown sugar over that. Add 1/2 cup cider vinegar to the bottom oif the pan. Cover and put into your oven. Baste with the drippings in the pan after 45 minutes and every 20 minutes until it's done.
Another method is to remove the skin and all but 1/4 inch of fat and them place canned pineapple rings all over the top of the ham, holding them in place with toothpicks, if you wish you can then put a cherry in the middle of the pineapple ring. Mix the juice in the pineapple can with about 1/4 cup of brown sugar and pour all over the ham and bake at 325, in a covered roasting pan as before....bastine as before.
very pretty and the pineapple keeps the ham moist.
believe me this is no "internet recipe"...but my mother's and grandmother's.
Linda C

You realize of course that this *is* the internet, so essentially any recipe we give you will be an internet recipe. ACK ACK ACK!!! Just cracking myself up here. Pay no attention.

I'm tellin ya, I put a ham in the crock pot and put nothing but brown sugar all over that ham and let it go all day.

Most tender/sweet ham I've ever had in my life.

Now who told us about that crock pot ham - I think it was called Holiday Ham? Whoever it was, thank you, it's really a great way to make ham. And if you're short on oven space, it's perfect!

You've totally confused me with the "no internet" thing. Is there a recipe in the world that isn't posted somewhere in cyberspace? lol

I'm guessing maybe the hams that you're buying say "partially-cooked" on the label. In that case, you're cooking it too long.

My method is to score it and bake for an hour and a half at 325. (No foil cover.) Mix a glaze of 1 cup brown sugar (packed), 3 tablespoons Dijon mustard and 5 tablespoons balsamic vinegar. Stir until smooth and slather generously all over the exposed portions of the ham. Return to oven, with temp still set at 325, for another 30 minutes, basting again every 10 minutes.

Just to be totally clear, you baste a total of 3 times -- once after 1-1/2 hours, then 10 min. later, and again 10 min. after that. Then it goes back in the oven for a final 10 minutes to let the glaze, well, 'glaze'. This makes more than you'll use, but you can mix some of the leftovers with pan juices for a wonderful gravy.

If you like balsamic vinegar, you will be crazy about the results. Just be sure that's it's very good quality. That's one ingredient that's absolutely awful if you go the cheap route!

sm

If you want a really simple way to cook a ham, go get yourself some of the Reynolds Oven Bags. Super easy! I always cook my hams in an Oven Bag and they come out great. I use the turkey size bags and place the ham in the bag after trimming skin as needed. Then I score the top in a diamond pattern and stud with cloves and add pineapple rings and candied cherries in a decorative pattern (held in place with tooth picks). Then I pour my glaze over the ham (Either store bought Boardshead Ham Glaze or my own pineapple brown sugar glaze, I can look up the recipe if you want, it has crushed pineapple with juice, brown sugar, mustard, and cornstarch) close the bag with the tie, cut six slits in the bag, and pop it in the oven. You don't need to do a thing until it is done, there is even a sheet in the box that suggests cooking times depending on the weight of the ham. When it should be done just check it with your thermometer. Even when I have had to leave a ham in the oven for almost an extra hour it was still juicy. By the way, I always buy Cook's close trimmed shank portion half hams.

BUT....the first thing to determine is if you have a fully cooked ham or one ready to cook. If you over cook a ham that is fully cooked it will be akin to bacon, and if you under cook one that is ready to cook it will be tough and perhaps not safe.
Linda C

What Shaun said.

For those who want to understand my heading.

I've found that the recipes on this web site have normally been tested by "seasoned cooks". If someone posts a ridiculous recipe/statement it is caught and comments are made.
That is NOT the case on a lot of Internet sites that just copy from someone else's, normally adding a little change of there own. This can go on and on till a tremendous amount or recipes can turn roasted chicken wings into Pigs feet royal!
The Internet is what one should consider a rather large gathering of people from all walks of life. There are some that are honest and above reproach to those who would get a big kick out ruining your day to your life!

I hope I explained my reasoning/heading, if not, just ask because I "thought" this is why some of you think of this as your home base for cooking, if I'm wrong just tell me?

jcrowley99, thanks for the reply, I have never used one of those bags for anything ( I can recollect) but cooking a venison roast one time and that came out pretty well! I appreciate your taking the time to inform me of a method that I am not familiar with.
I certainly would appreciate the sauce recipe you use to pour over the ham. I was going to cook it today but hadn't received enough (Glaze) input so I put it off. Thanks for you reply.

PS, Will it brown in one of those bags?

Sorry it took so long to get back. This was a crazy busy day. I just got in from blow drying my sump pump pipe! The wind chill here is -30 and the water froze in the pipe, only outside luckily. I just hope the motor did not get damaged on my pump.

So, here is the glaze recipe. For a large ham I would double it.

Pineapple Glaze

1 cup packed brown sugar
1 TBSP Starch
1/4 tsp salt
1 8 1/4 oz can crushed pineapple in heavy syrup, undrained
2 TBSP lemon juice
1 TBSP mustard (I use 1 tsp)
If you cannot get pineapple in heavy syrup, use pineapple in juice and add a second tablespoon of cornstarch.

Mix brown sugar, cornstarch, and salt in a 1 quart saucepan. Stir in pineapple with juice, lemon juice and mustard. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens and boils. Boil and stir 1 minute.

This is enough for a 4 or 5 lb ham. Just double for an 8 to 10 lb ham. I can't say I've ever paid attention to if the ham browns, there is so much stuff (pineapple rings, cherries, cloves, glaze) on my hams that not much ham shows! But the glaze and fruit do get browned, so I guess the ham would if it was not so smothered!

I like dark brown sugar and bourbon mixed together. I don't use a recipe but use about 1 cup sugar and 1/2 cup or so bourbon. Simple but very good.

I've cooked ham exactly once but can say everyone, including me, raved. This recipe is not from the internet, but rather from the world wide web:

City Ham Recipe courtesy Alton Brown

1 city style (brined) ham, hock end
1/4 cup brown mustard
2 cups dark brown sugar
1-ounce bourbon (poured into a spritz bottle)
2 cups crushed ginger snap cookies

Heat oven to 250 degrees F.

Remove ham from bag, rinse and drain thoroughly. Place ham, cut side down, in a roasting pan. Using a small paring knife or clean utility knife set to the smallest blade setting, score the ham from bottom to top, spiraling clockwise as you cut. (If you're using a paring knife, be careful to only cut through the skin and first few layers of fat). Rotate the ham after each cut so that the scores are no more than 2-inches across. Once you've made it all the way around, move the knife to the other hand and repeat, spiraling counter clockwise. The aim is to create a diamond pattern all over the ham. (Don't worry too much about precision here.)

Tent the ham with heavy duty foil, insert a thermometer, and cook for 3 to 4 hours or until the internal temperature at the deepest part of the meat registers 130 degrees F.

Remove and use tongs to pull away the diamonds of skin and any sheets of fat that come off with them.

Heat oven to 350 degrees F.

Dab dry with paper towels, then brush on a liberal coat of mustard, using either a basting brush or a clean paint brush (clean as in never-touched paint). Sprinkle on brown sugar, packing loosely as you go until the ham is coated. Spritz this layer lightly with bourbon, then loosely pack on as much of the crushed cookies as you can.

Insert the thermometer (don't use the old hole) and return to the oven (uncovered). Cook until interior temperature reaches 140 degrees F, approximately 1 hour.

Let the roast rest for 1/2 hour before carving.

Here is a link that might be useful: food network link

GARSH!!!???? I was just kidding! It was a joke, hardy har har.. hee hee.. LOL, LMAO... you know? When's the last time you threw your head back and really laughed? Life's short, dont be so serious. No one means any harm here, we all joke and kid with each other. It wasnt like no one talked about your ham.

By the way, I take it you didn't care for the ham in the crock pot recipe either? You didnt' mention that.

shaun & jessy - what kind of ham did you use in the crock? Just brown sugar and that was it? Sounds way too easy LOL but I love the idea.

I agree w/Linda that you need to determine if it is fully cooked or ready to cook. That makes a big difference.

I love ham and pineapple together. Normally when I make ham my family demands that I make pineapple casserole to serve along side.

jcrowley99, No problem with being late (you're not), this ham is in one of those heavy plastic jobs from the manufacturer ( Smithfield I think). They will last a week or two just fine (in cold frig), at least that is what I have found and been told, and I have cooked a lot of them, that is why I posted for help from experienced people.
I am just plain tired of what I've been doing and wanted to try something new.
I really appreciate your getting back to me and will let you know (honestly) what I think.
I'll probably wait till this weekend now, things are piling up in my life also!
Thank you very much for taking the time to post your recipe, I'm going with it!
Change

Your welcome, hope you like it as much as we do. I do taste as it cooks and adjust as needed. I use 1 tsp mustard to start since I'm not fond of it and add more while it boils if is seems too sweet. Sometimes I put in too much mustard, then I add a couple more spoons of brown sugar. Just be careful when you taste test, boiling syrup can really burn, trust me!

But seriously, shaun and jessyf - talk to me about that crock pot ham. Partially cooked? Just rub brown sugar all over it? No liquid? I've recently re-discovered the joy of crock pots and am on the lookout for something different. Thanks.

Dixie and jmzms - sorry I can't help you with the ham (I don't eat pork, we do pseudo kosher) - I was commenting on Shaun's humor that ALL cyber recipes are 'internet' recipes.

Luckily, we have a wonderful meat market here (kind of out in the country, actually) and have access to his fabulous hams; I ususlly buy a whole one, bone-in, and score the fat. Then I pack it hard with brown sugar and a healthy sprinkle of cloves. Then, as lots of Southern cooks well know, pour a can of Coca Cola or Dr. Pepper over it (you may need to kind of add more sugar if it all pours off) and put it in the oven for a long, slow cook. Absolutely wonderful...the smell alone is worth it! We have done this for years in my family.