For A Flavorful Christmas Ham, Avoid A Simple Buying Mistake

The tradition of serving ham for Christmas is older than you thought, going all the way back to Germanic pagans feasting on wild boar during Yuletide. Thankfully there's no need to go hunting boar for your own feast this year, but that doesn't mean there aren't "foraging" mistakes you can make when you shop for a Christmas ham.

The simplest mistake to avoid is buying a boneless ham instead of bone-in. For one thing, that bone being left in makes for a more flavorful, juicier experience, plus you can reuse the bone for soups and stews. For another, the salt in boneless ham packaging breaks down and reforms the proteins to make it a solid product, and ground ham can sometimes be added to fill in the hole left by the bone. It's just not worth an easier time carving. But that's not all. If you do want to buy a bone-in ham for Christmas, there are actually three types you must decide between.

The bone-in ham you'll likely find the easiest is the shank cut. This is the traditional bone-in ham you see in all the pictures, the one that looks the best carefully displayed on a carving plate at the center of the table. It's a lean cut, and because it only has one long bone, it's fairly easy to carve around.

Or, you could look for a butt cut, also known as a rump or sirloin cut. It's usually pricier than a shank cut and more difficult to carve around because it has two bones, the femur and the pelvic. However, these negatives are balanced by this cut being fattier than the shank, making it more tender and flavorful.

Lastly, there's the semi-boneless ham. This sees the shank bone removed from the ham during processing but not the leg bone, making it easier to carve without sacrificing all of the benefits of keeping the bone in. Every one of these cuts is delicious so don't stress too much over your choice. Worry instead about how to cook your Christmas ham, and which elevating ingredients to add.