How long does honey-baked ham last at room temperature?

In this brief guide, we will answer the question, ‘How long can a honey-baked ham stay at room temperature?’. We will study the ways that influence the shelf-life of honey-baked ham.

How long can a honey-baked ham stay at room temperature?

Ham is a terrific food for any event. A celebration calls for a ham-based dish. However, If you are not making honey-baked ham for a family dinner but an occasion, you need to keep tabs on its condition and remaining shelf-life.

The Honey-baked ham Company sells ham along with other gourmet meats as well. They are known to cook their ham pieces of wood and cut them in a distinct spiral shape. It is then glazed in brown sugar and honey variants, which gives its unique taste and texture. However, you can replicate the recipe to mimic the classic honey-baked ham, which will be scrumptious too. 

 If you can’t give up on their perfect ham crafted with the secret ingredient, you can always buy it from the store. 

Ham is pig meat, precisely from the leg or shoulder. Generally, the ham must be consumed within five days after having been cooked. 

Also, ham needs to be refrigerated at all times. A meat-based item is susceptible to spoilage bacteria. However, there are ways you can ensure that your honey-baked ham lasts a long time at room temperature. 

Before you consume your ham, you can leave it at room temperature after taking it out of the fridge. Let it sit for 30 minutes and refrigerate leftover ham immediately. 

Ham is a kind of meat, and you can not risk leaving it out for more than 2 hours. It is also not recommended to heat Honey-baked ham because it can dry out and become unpalatable. If you like it warm, heat it for a while on low heat in your oven.

If you intend to leave honey-baked ham at room temperature, follow the guidelines below:

  • Keep it covered or tightly sealed.
  • Try to keep it in the refrigerator until it is time to serve.
  • Put the leftovers back as soon as possible.
  • Take precaution before you cooked your honey-baked ham; when the ham was in its raw stage. Otherwise, be wary when you get pre-made Honey-baked ham from the franchise.

How can you make home-cooked honey-baked ham last longer at room temperature?

  • Get your ham from a trusted supplier who keeps their meat in the fridge at all times. 
  • When you get the ham, spare no time in getting it into the fridge or freezer.
  • Keep it wrapped or an air-tight container to prevent the ham from coming in contact with the environment.

There is a chance that the ham will not spoil even if left outside for more than 2 hours. It will be edible but will violate the health-code.

If you proceed to consume the honey-baked ham, do so if you can handle it. Your biological system will either permit it or not depending; on your age and overall health.

It is better to follow the guidelines provided by Food Authority bodies and throw away any meat that has been at room temperature for more than two hours.

Even if there aren’t any apparent indicators of spoilage of honey-baked ham, bacterial growth and risk for food poisoning are still present.

Moreover, cook and reheat with extra caution. Honey-baked ham from the store is sensitive to extreme temperatures. It is either served at room temperature or heated gently.

Honey-baked ham stays in the fridge for about 4-5 days while longer in the freezer. If you freeze, your fully-cooked ham will last for 45 days. 

Your home-cooked honey-baked ham will last for 7-10 days, that can not sit at room temperature for more than 2 hours. However, ham has a longer shelf-life compared to other meats because they of being preserved naturally. Hams are cured, smoked, or aged.

You can buy untreated ham from the store as well which is labeled as fresh. Fresh meat has a shorter life than cured meat.

However, if your ham is raw, you can expect it to last a shorter span than the cooked. If you are leaving it out, you are diminishing its shelf-life and speeding up the spoilage process.

Other FAQs about Ham which you may be interested in.

Can you eat a ham that has been frozen for 2 years?

How long is ham good for in the fridge?

How to tell if your honey-baked ham has spoiled?

If the honey-baked ham has an off-odor that you are not familiar with, it is an indicator of the ham being past its prime.

A change to the appearance is also a sign of meat spoilage. The color turns to green or gray, indicating the onset of a mold.

Sometimes textural changes occur as well and, you can spot a slimy layer on the ham.

In this brief guide, we answered the question, ‘How long can a honey-baked ham stay at room temperature?’. We studied the ways that influence the shelf-life of honey-baked ham.

Citations

https://cooking.stackexchange.com/questions/51708/fully-cooked-ham-left-out-for-10-hours-is-it-still-safe-to-eat
https://askinglot.com/how-long-do-you-let-a-honey-baked-ham-sit-out
http://oemmndcbldboiebfnladdacbdfmadadm/https://extension.arizona.edu/sites/extension.arizona.edu/files/pubs/az1089.pdf
https://www.thespruceeats.com/rainbow-sheen-on-ham-1807022
https://www.honeybaked.com/meal-prep#:~:text=Serve%20at%20Room%20Temperature,Refrigerate%20unused%20portions%20immediately.
https://www.honeybaked.com/content/send-gourmet-ham#:~:text=You%20can%20keep%20our%20ham,day%20or%20two%20in%20advance.
https://www.delish.com/food/a19600132/honeybaked-ham-history-facts/
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