Carving Whole Bone-In Ham
With different hams come different carving strategies. Let’s start with a whole bone-in ham.
Begin with the shank or lower leg to the carver’s right, steady the ham with a fork and locate the notch where the aitch bone sits. Cut through the ham alongside the aitch bone until reaching the femur (center bone). Make a similar cut on the opposite end of the ham just before the shank. Then carve out the meat between the two slices by cutting along the femur.
Place the freshly removed large chunk of ham on its flat side. Then make perpendicular slices to where the ham previously met the center bone, cutting meat across the grain for maximum tenderness.
Remove additional boneless pieces for carving by cutting along both sides of the center bone.