Most of us are having much smaller holiday feasts as the holidays approach, and this Air Fryer Ham is the ideal way to accomplish it with a tiny ham.
Making air-fried ham is incredibly easy and just takes a half-hour. You can have it with the glaze of your choice. Air fryer ham is one of the tastiest recipes which can be cooked in very less time and is very suitable for someone on a gluten-free diet.
Even in the absence of an oven or if your oven is already filled with any other recipe then air fryer ham is simply perfect. The circulating hot air in an air fryer makes the ham perfectly suitable for cooking in it.
Why Should You Cook Ham in Air Fryer?
It cooks juicy and full of flavor while being considerably quicker and simpler.
Additionally, it frees up the oven so that it may be used to prepare side dishes and desserts. A 3-5 pound ham, the typical size for a half-precooked, spiral ham, can fit in most air fryers.
Making this recipe only requires a few simple steps and is simple to do. A limited number of pure, uncomplicated substances are required.
Ingredients You Need to Cook Ham
| Ingredients | Details |
| Ham | A 3-pound ham is used in this recipe, but a bigger ham can be divided into two equal pieces if it would fit in the air fryer. Wrapping the ham in foil to allow it to heat through without becoming too browned or drying out is the secret to an incredibly moist air fryer ham. Make sure the box for your ham states that it is completely cooked. |
| Glaze | Making ham glaze is simple. If you don’t have any brown sugar, substitute any other sweetener you have, as we do (like honey or even melted jelly). Or for something different, try ham with raisin sauce! |
How to Cook Ham in Air Fryer?
The ham must first be taken out of its package and thoroughly dried with a fresh paper towel.
- Place the ham in the center of a wide piece of foil that has been spread out to completely encircle and cover it.
- To create a lovely basket for the ham, slightly raise the foil’s edges. Place aside.
- You can prepare the homemade glaze in the meanwhile. In a medium-sized pot over high heat, combine all the glaze ingredients and whisk them together as they come to a boil.
- After about 60 seconds of boiling, turn down the heat to a simmer for two to three minutes. It should be taken off the stove and given some time to cool.
- Brush a third of the glaze over the ham using a silicone or wire brush. Allow the ham to rest for 15 to 20 minutes at room temperature.
- The air fryer should be preheated to 320° degrees F. When the air fryer is prepared, gently put the ham in the foil and set it in the basket of the air fryer.
- Cook the ham for 20 minutes while it is enclosed in foil. Then, remove the foil from the air fryer, open it, and drizzle another third of the glaze over the ham.
- Cook the ham for 20 minutes at 320° degrees F with the foil still covering it.
- Open the air fryer, pull the foil down over the ham’s edges, and then drizzle the remaining glaze over the entire piece of meat.
- This time, don’t use foil to wrap the ham. Cook the ham for 3–4 more minutes at 360°F after raising the air fryer’s temperature.
Slice the ham after carefully removing it from the air fryer, and serve with your preferred sides.
What Happens if You See Smoke Coming From Your Air Fryer?
You could see a little smoke escaping from your air fryer if your ham is a little on the fatty side.
This happens when food fat drips off and settles in the drawer. Because air fryers circulate air 360° degrees, the air lifts the fat from the basket and strikes the coils close to the fan on top.
If this occurs, turn off your air fryer right away and choose between one of two options. Either place a slice of bread or a small amount of water under the basket.
Whenever I cook something that can be regarded as fatty, I like to cook with a slice of bread under the basket. We never run out of bread because we always have extra on hand.
How to Reheat the Ham?
Thermostatically, set the air fryer to 320 degrees. To prevent the ham from burning on the exterior before cooking inside, it’s crucial to keep the heat significantly lower than the original cook time.
Slices of ham should be cooked in the air fryer for two to three minutes to reach an even temperature. The ham can be slightly stacked if necessary. Enjoy the ham right after removing it from the air fryer.
How Long Does It Take to Cook Ham in Air Fryer?
In the air fryer, boneless ham needs about 15 minutes to cook per pound.
The size and shape of your ham, the beginning temperature, and the strength of your air fryer are a few of the variables that will affect the cooking durations, which are always an estimate.
Check the interior temperature with an instant-read meat thermometer; the target temperature is 140°F/60°C.
Tips for Cooking Ham in Air Fryer?
Here’re some useful tips that can help you when cooking ham in an air fryer:
- By scoring the top, the glaze can permeate the meat while it cooks, resulting in a juicy and mouthwatering dinner ham recipe.
- It gets even more flavor with intermittent cooking and glazing while remaining juicy and moist.
- Avoid letting the foil come into contact with any of the air fryer’s heating elements. If it does, your fryer is unable to accommodate it.
- Cut it in half and cook the halves separately if yours is too big to fit in your air fryer.
How to Prevent Ham from Drying Out?
The secret is to use numerous glazes and cook the food under foil.
- Ours are scored and glazed before being entirely wrapped in foil and cooked for 20 minutes.
- We then take it out, unwrap it, and brush on more glaze before wrapping it again and returning it to the oven for a further 20 minutes of cooking.
- The final glaze is applied, and the chicken is then roasted without the foil for a short period to caramelize the skin.
Excellent Ham Dinner Sides
Air fryer hams go with almost anything and are ideal for picnics and potlucks.
- Salads include broccoli salad, potato salad, and macaroni salad.
- Sweet potato casserole, scalloped potatoes, slow-cooked potatoes, or mashed potatoes
- Veggies: For the finest flavor, use peas and carrots, broccoli with cheese, or any roasted vegetable.
Uses for Leftover Ham
Here are all of our favorite leftover ham recipes.
- Homemade comfort food: Cheesy Ham Casserole
- Split Pea Soup – filling and tasty
- Reader favorite: chicken cordon bleu
- Broccoli Cheese Casserole with Ham – quick and easy!
- A 5-star recipe for ham salad
- Rich and creamy ham and corn chowder
- Ham balls that are juicy and delicious
- Comforting and cozy Crock Pot Ham and Lentil Soup!
Conclusion
- You might need to change the cooking time by your air fryer’s wattage since different air fryers operate at various wattages.
- Be aware that hams come in a variety of sizes and forms.
- When you remove the foil for the final 3 minutes of cooking, larger ham sizes may brown the top of the ham since they will be close to the heating element.
- The ham will cook more evenly if you let it sit at room temperature for at least 20 minutes. You’ll only need 20 minutes.
- You will need between 40 and 50 minutes to prepare a 2-3 pound ham. A thinner, flatter ham will also cook more quickly than a rounder, deeper one.
- The ham can be refrigerated for up to 4 days after it has been prepared and cooled. It must be stored in an airtight container. Slices can be quickly heated through in the air fryer or microwave at 325 degrees for a short period.
- Your ham must fit snugly inside the air fryer without touching the heating element. If so, you might have to cut some pieces of the ham off to make it fit.
- For a portion of the air-frying process, it is ideal to cook the ham in aluminum foil to keep it moist and prevent drying out.