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Spiral sliced ham can be tricky to remove from the bone and serve without tearing the spiral-cut slices into tiny bits. Below, I have broken it down into four easy steps, so now you will know what to do after the glaze has set and the ham has been removed from the oven.
A bone-in ham with some scalloped potatoes is the perfect dish for Christmas or Easter. When you place ham in the center of your dining table, you want the slices to be quick and easy for your guests to grab, not fight to tear it off the bone. Keep reading below so that you can host the perfect dinner party.
The first time I made a spiral ham I thought, “Well that was easy!” until I started to carve it. I needed to know how to carve a spiral ham. That darn bone in the center and all of the layers, with incredible smoky flavor, falling forward was creating a problem for me. Sure the ham was easy to make, put it in a pan, tent with foil and bake, but now how was I to serve it? And boy did I wish that I had those delicious dipping sauces that I posted last week. Pina Colada dipping sauce and sweet honey mustard? Booyah!
Carving a spiral ham is quite easy. I’ve never had a bone so perfectly in the center of the ham like this one, but it was fine by me.
How to Carve a Spiral Ham
- Turn the ham on its bottom, as shown in the picture.
- Find the bone, and using a large knife and fork, cut around the entire bone.
- There are natural breaks in the ham, generally where a line of fat is, cut through those breaks as shown in the picture.
- Lay the slices of ham out on a platter for serving.
What Side of The Ham Do You Put Down When Carving?
The fat side of the ham, which is typically the smaller side. You know you have it right when you are looking down on the first, big slice of ham, that is full of that irresistible flavor.
What Are The Best Spiral Cut Ham Recipes?
- World’s Best Brown Sugar Ham
- Honey Baked Ham Copycat
- How to Make Ham in a Slow Cooker or Crockpot
- Garlic Honey Mustard Ham
What Are The Best Dipping Sauces for Spiral Cut Ham?
Whether your ham is baked with a brown sugar glaze, an apple juice baste, or pure maple syrup, you will find the perfect pairing for the flavor profile here: Ham Dipping Sauces.
What Should I Do with Leftover Ham?
- Secret to the Best Ham Fried Rice
- Spring Ham and Asparagus Lemon Cream Sauce
- Cheesy Ham and Potato Bacon Casserole
- Ham Lemon Orzo with Parmesan and Peas
- Ham and Cheese Sliders
- Hawaiian Ham and Pineapple Casserole
- Ham and Cheese Breakfast Stromboli
- Hash Browns Ham Frittata
- Ham Hock Soup
- Easy Ham and Cheese Scones
- Ham and Broccoli Macaroni and Cheese
If you know what you are doing, carving a spiral cut ham is super simple! Just a few simple steps and you and your family will be enjoying juicy slices of ham for your next holiday feast!
“I’ve never had a bone so perfectly in the center…”
Words to live by, Sweet Basil, words to live by.
Anyhoo, thanks for the blog, it came in handy this Thanksgiving, four years later!
Your just not buying the right ham.
In step 1, “it’s” should be “its” as you’re using the possessive, not the “it is” contraction.
ARTHUR!!!!! We are NOT here to nit pick grammar. You certainly must be bored and with a whole lot of time on your hands. We are here for recipes, DIYs. Tips etc…. But NOT spelling. You disrespected her and I’m sure she’s embabarassed now thanks to you. An apology is needed.
Arthur, you are a jerk! :). I am sure there is a place for a grammar Nazi like you in the world, I just can’t imagine where that might be. I know for a fact however, it is not here!! Go bake a ham and get over yourself!
Haha, it’s ok Joanne, we got a good laugh from it since it happens to be one of those things that bugs me when it’s written wrong. I deserved a little humble pie for something that used to bother me. Now I will remember it can happen to anyone when we are tired. haha! Thanks for sticking up for us though. Our readers are so good to us.
NO HAM FOR YOU. End of the line.
Good job Arthur. We can all learn from each other, not just how to make family dinners.
Yes we can, and it was merely a tired mom writing a recipe too late at night mistake, so it has quickly been fixed. Thank you for being kind to him, we weren’t at all offended.
Hi Arthur, thank you for pointing out such a silly error. That’s what happens when you write a recipe late at night, haha. Quite humbling too since that happens to be one of my annoyances when others do it. Haha, now I will be a little more generous instead of being bugged by it.
My family loves those hams. Once you learn how to carve that bad boy it makes it so much easier!!
Carrian, this is THEE most gorgeous ham I’ve ever seen! Haha I barely know how to cut a steak, much less a gorgeous ham like this. And I def. think all that hard work needs a perfectly cut ham rather than me hacking away at it haha.
love this – i always make someone else cut it since I never really knew what to do! 😉 I can act like a grown-up now lol 🙂 Merry Christmas to you and your beautiful family! xoxo
what a brilliant post! so helpful!
Now I want some ham! Mmm. I love that stuff.
thank you…mine always turns into a mess…never thought to put it up on its bottom.
Yum!! I love spiral hams!!!
Me too! They are seriously so perfect for the holidays!
thanks for the tutorial– the way i’ve been cutting mine leaves the ham in jagged pieces
haha, same here. It definitely was not a pretty plating job until I started doing it this way.