How to Prepare a Tender, Juicy Ham With Apple Juice or Pineapple

Smoked ham comes from the cured leg of pork that's hung in a smokehouse, where the smoke slows down the rancidity process of the meat and adds flavor.

You can buy a pre-cooked smoked ham at your local supermarket or at a specialty meat store if you want to skip the process of cooking it yourself.

Here's how to cook a smoked ham with pineapple so it's tender, juicy and full of flavor.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Adjust your oven rack so that it's in the middle of your oven so your ham cooks evenly.

Place your pre-cooked smoked ham in a large oven-safe glass or ceramic baking dish.

Add 1 to 2 inches of water to your baking dish to prevent the ham from getting burned in the oven.

Glaze the ham to give it flavor by mixing brown sugar and crushed pineapple in the pineapple juice, and pouring the on top of your ham.

You can also use a cooking brush to brush your glaze over your ham if you prefer.

Cover your precooked smoked ham with tin foil, wrapping the foil to the edges of your baking dish.

If your baking dish doesn't have edges, make the sheet of tin foil big enough to wrap over the ham and under the baking dish so it remains tightly sealed during the heating process.

Place the covered ham in the oven and heat it for 10 minutes per pound of ham. This is an estimate, and your ham may take longer depending on your oven.

Open the tin foil covering and cut into the meat to make sure it is heated all the way to the center using a meat thermometer.

Remove the ham from the oven and keep the foil covering intact until you are ready to serve so the meat remains hot.

Apple juice is a common ingredient used to keep a pre-cooked ham tender, moist and juicy. The sweet and tart taste of the juice enhances the flavor of your ham, too. Here's how to use an apple juice glaze when baking pre-cooked ham for the most delicious result.

Soak the ham in water the night before cooking. Drain and trim the fat and rind from the ham.

Place the ham in a casserole dish coated with cooking spray.

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.

Add 1/4 cup of brown sugar, 1 teaspoon of ground cloves, 1/4 teaspoon of ground cinnamon, 2 cups of apple juice, 1 tablespoon of Dijon mustard, 1 minced garlic clove and 1/2 teaspoon of ground ginger to a mixing bowl. Mix well.

Pour half of the mixture over the ham. Bake the ham fat side up and uncovered for 2 hours or until the internal temperature reaches 145 degrees Fahrenheit (use a meat thermometer to check).

Pour the remaining apple juice glaze onto the ham and cover it with aluminum foil. Bake for another 30 minutes.

Remove the ham from the oven and let it stand for at least 10 minutes before carving and serving.