Ham cooking time calculator
Pick your ham and enter the weight, get the time.
How long do I cook a ham?
At 325 °F, by type and weight, from the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service chart. A 14-pound fresh whole leg, bone-in, takes 22 to 26 minutes per pound — about 5 hours 8 minutes to 6 hours 4 minutes.
What temperature should ham reach?
Fresh ham and cook-before-eating ham: at least 145 °F, then rest at least three minutes. A fully cooked ham packaged in a USDA-inspected plant: reheat to 140 °F. Cooked ham repackaged anywhere else, and leftover cooked ham: 165 °F.
How long to heat a spiral-cut ham?
The FSIS chart gives 10 to 18 minutes per pound at 325 °F for a 7- to 9-pound spiral-cut ham, whole or half, heated to 140 °F.
How do I cook a country ham?
FSIS: soak it 4 to 12 hours in the refrigerator, boil 20 to 25 minutes per pound, then brown in a 400 °F oven for 15 minutes.
Are the times exact?
No — they are a guide. Check the temperature with a food thermometer in the thickest part, not touching bone.
How long can cooked ham sit out?
FSIS says perishable food should not stay at room temperature longer than 2 hours, or 1 hour when the air is above 90 °F. Slice a large ham or cut it into portions and refrigerate it in shallow containers so it cools quickly.
How long do leftover ham and ham slices keep?
USDA guidance lists 3 to 4 days in the refrigerator for sliced cooked ham and 1 to 2 months in the freezer for best quality. Reheat leftovers to 165 °F.
How the time is worked out
The USDA chart lists a range of minutes per pound for each type of ham, at an oven temperature of 325 °F and for a stated range of weights. The calculator multiplies the weight by the lower and upper minutes per pound, which gives a window and not a single time. The window is long because ovens and hams differ, and because a bone-in ham heats differently from a boneless one. Treat the end of the window as a time to start checking, and let the thermometer decide when it is done.
For example, a 6 lb fully cooked bone-in half ham is listed at 18 to 24 minutes per pound, so the window is 1 h 48 min to 2 h 24 min. A 12 lb cook-before-eating whole bone-in ham at 18 to 20 minutes per pound takes 3 h 36 min to 4 h 00 min, and has to reach 145 °F, not just 140 °F. An 8 lb spiral-cut ham at 10 to 18 minutes per pound takes 1 h 20 min to 2 h 24 min and is heated to 140 °F.
Mistakes to avoid
Read the label first. “Fully cooked” and “cook before eating” hams are heated to different temperatures (140 °F and 145 °F), and they have different rows in the chart. A ham sold as ready to eat that was repackaged outside a USDA-inspected plant, as well as any leftovers, must reach 165 °F instead.
Do not pull the ham by the clock. Put a food thermometer in the thickest part without touching the bone, and check it near the end of the window. If your ham weighs more or less than the chart covers for that type, the calculator says so; rely on the thermometer even more then. And remember that a fresh or cook-before-eating ham should rest at least three minutes at the end.
Sources: USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service, “Ham and Food Safety” (cooking times, internal temperatures, rest time) and its general guidance on the 2-hour rule and leftovers. Related tool: turkey calculator.