Tips on Carving a Ham

Carving a ham ...

Whole ham

1. Place the ham on a cutting board with the shank — or lower leg — to the carver's right. Steady the ham with a fork and cut a few slices from the thin side of the leg.
   
2. Place the ham on the side where you removed slices. Make perpendicular slices to the leg bone.
   
3. To loosen the slices, cut along the leg bone, removing each slice with the fork.

1. Position the ham with the shank end to the carver's left, with the thicker piece of meat — the "cushion" meat — on top. Using a fork to steady the ham, cut along the top of the bone to loosen the boneless cushion meat.
   
2. Place the cushion meat carved-side down on the cutting board and cut in perpendicular slices. Transfer slices to a serving platter.
   
3. Turn the remaining meat carved-side down. Cut in perpendicular slices in the same manner as for the cushion meat.

1. Place pre-cut side of ham down on the cutting board. Carve along the bone to remove boneless section of meat.
   
2. Slice boneless section across the grain and transfer to a serving platter.
   
3. To carve the remaining meat from the bone, insert fork into meat next to bone and make horizontal slices. Transfer slices to a serving platter.

Source: National Pork Board

(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, www.shns.com.)