The Best Way to Reheat Leftover Ham So It Stays Juicy

‘Tis the season for hosting festive holiday dinners — and while serving your favorite bone-in, spiral-cut ham may be one of the best ways to feed a crowd, what should you do when that crowd leaves … and you’re stuck with a refrigerator full of leftover meat? While there are many delicious recipes for using up leftover ham, you may also find yourself hankering for a simple repeat of your original meal, or even just a classic ham sandwich — so, how do you reheat your ham safely without drying it out? 

To find out, I began by researching USDA-approved methods for reheating leftover ham. The agency notes that a pre-cooked whole ham should be reheated at temperatures no lower than 325°F and to an internal temperature of 140°F — and while I did test the process of reheating the bulk of my spiral-cut ham, I mostly focused my testing on reheating smaller portions that would be suitable for sandwiches or single-serve plates. 

In scouring the internet for ham reheating tips, one thing quickly became clear: Most sources recommend adding liquid back into the meat before cooking to retain crucial moisture and flavor. Although most of my sources recommended adding water or chicken broth to the ham, I decided to test each method twice by using chicken broth for one, and my homemade honey and brown sugar ham glaze for the other, to see which performed better (and to use up more of my very tasty leftover glaze!).

For this method, I reheated the bulk of my bone-in, spiral-cut ham, which — after initially cooking and removing meat for testing — weighed about five pounds. To reheat, I covered a roasting pan in aluminum foil with enough foil to fold over and cover the meat, placed the whole ham inside, poured approximately 1/2 cup of leftover glaze on top of the meat, wrapped the ham in the aluminum foil, and baked it at 325°F, until the internal temperature reached 140°F, which took approximately 45 minutes. 

I then repeated the process at a smaller scale, by testing a few slices of ham with leftover glaze and chicken broth. For these smaller portions, I covered the meat in approximately 1/4 cup of liquid each, wrapped them loosely in foil, and roasted them in the oven for approximately 10 minutes. 

The results: I found these methods to be effective in reheating the meat while retaining its flavor and texture. The oven is likely the only appliance in your kitchen that can accommodate a large ham — even one that has already been sliced into. The flexibility of being able to reheat ham in slices or whole without drying it out makes the oven the best overall. I would note that everyone’s oven behaves differently, so you may need to add liquid and adjust your cook time accordingly. To monitor my progress, I checked on the smaller pieces at the five-minute mark and checked on the larger whole ham every 10 minutes. 

Due to counter-space constraints, I don’t have an air fryer —  but I do have a toaster oven with a convection function (which works in a similar way to an air fryer). For this test, I replicated my standard oven method, and wrapped a few slices of ham covered in 1/4 cup of chicken broth and a few slices of ham covered in 1/4 cup of leftover glaze in separate foil packets before heating them at 325°F for 10 minutes. I also once again checked each packet after 5 minutes to ensure that I wasn’t overcooking. 

The result: This was my favorite method for reheating ham slices, for several reasons. Similar to the standard oven method, it’s pretty hands-off — other than checking the meat at the 5-minute mark, it didn’t take much effort. It doesn’t overheat your whole kitchen — which is helpful if you, like me, are cooking in an apartment where you can’t control the heat. It’s fast — while the microwave method was the fastest of those I tried, I preferred the slightly deepened flavor achieved by re-roasting the ham. And most importantly, as with the oven method, reheating ham in a toaster oven with convection function did not dry out the meat, although I would note that, like ovens, every air fryer or toaster oven is different and you may want to experiment a bit with your cook times and liquid measurements to achieve your desired taste and texture. 

To reheat over the stovetop, I covered several slices of ham with 1/4 cup of chicken broth and heated them in a saucepan over medium-high until the ham was warmed through, about 3 to 4 minutes, before repeating the process using leftover glaze instead of chicken broth with the same amount of ham. 

Results: In my first round, I found that the chicken broth evaporated very quickly, leading the ham to be slightly drier than I’d hoped — this can be fixed by adding small amounts of additional liquid as needed while cooking. The glazed plate reheated well — and while it wasn’t as moist as the ham reheated with chicken broth, the Maillard reaction produced by reheating the glaze on the stovetop gave the meat a pleasant caramelized taste and texture. 

Following the tried-and-true method of reheating leftovers under a damp paper towel, I prepped a few slices of ham covered in approximately 1/4 cup of chicken broth as well as a portion covered in approximately 1/4 cup of leftover glaze with a damp paper towel and heated each plate on high for 1 minute. Note that both your cook time and liquid measurements may vary depending on how much ham you’re reheating, but I recommend using enough that you can easily pour it over the full surface of the ham and cooking in 1-minute increments to avoid a rubbery texture. 

The results: Using both chicken broth and leftover glaze when reheating worked well — the ham remained moist, flavorful, and tender. While both plates reheated well, the leftover glaze tasted a bit more of the ham’s original flavor, likely due to the inclusion of drippings from its first roasting. 

• Always add liquid to your ham before reheating. This will prevent your meat from drying out during the reheating process.
• Be flexible with your cook time and liquid measurements. These will vary depending on how much ham you are reheating and your appliance’s individual temperature variations.
• Consider adding liquid along the way. If you’re worried that your ham isn’t done reheating but your liquid has dried up too quickly, add some in as you cook! 
• Still have too many leftovers? You can always freeze your leftover ham to reheat later!