Tender, juicy, (never dried out, never rubbery) extra delicious honey baked ham in HALF THE TIME of baking.  You can cook a nice big spiral cut bone-in ham in a pressure cooker for 7 minutes! I’m showing you how and  you’ll never go back. Pressure cooker ham is the way to go!
WHY MAKE HAM FOR THE HOLIDAYS?
Ham is an elegant meat to serve and one that everyone- kids to adults- love. You really cannot go wrong by serving ham. It also pairs well with ANY other meat! Â Make a turkey, grill up steaks, serve a roast plus the accompany side dishes ham will be a great match.
WHAT DO I NEED TO MAKE PRESSURE COOKER HAM?
You will need a bone-in spiral cut ham, a pressure cooker and the ingredients for a homemade glaze. TRUST ME, you want to make a homemade glaze, it makes a huge difference.
HOW TO MAKE GLAZE FOR YOUR PRESSURE COOKER HAM
Step one is to make a homemade honey glaze for your ham. You will need
- brown sugar
- honey
- apple cider vinegar
- whole cloves
- one can of pineapple in 100% juice
Add ingredients to a large bowl and stir together. Stir until the sugar is dissolved and set aside.
HOW MANY POUNDS OF MEAT WILL FIT IN MY PRESSURE COOKER
This is pretty important to know right? I have found that no bigger than a 7.5lb ham will fit in my 6 qt pressure cooker. For an 8 qt pressure cooker I had a ham just over 10 lbs that just about didn’t fit. Also try to get one pretty uniform, if its extra wide it might not fit or fit very awkward.
- 6qt pressure cooker up to 7 lbs
- 8qt pressure cooker up to 10lbs
HOW TO MAKE PRESSURE COOKER HAM
Step 1.
Make foil handles. Take two long sheets of foil and fold them hot do style in half, then half again (watch the video below for a visual). Place your steam rack in, and then the foil, with the ends coming up above the ham to help you remove it later from the instant pot. (tuck the handles in before you put the lid on.)
DO YOU HAVE TO MAKE FOIL HANDLES, I DONT USE FOIL.
No, you don’t by any means HAVE TO HAVE the foil handles, but by the time your ham is cooked (and remember its spiral) it is very floppy and heavy and difficult to move.
ADD YOUR HAM TO YOUR PRESSURE COOKER
- Pour your glaze over your ham. Add all the pineapple.
- Reserve about 1 cup of the liquid to the ham.
- add 1 cup of water
COOK HAM IN PRESSURE COOKER OR INSTANT POT
You will need to cook your spiral cut ham for 7 minutes! Â yes, thats all! If the ham is larger it will cook longer simply becuase it will take longer for the pressure cooker to heat up and seal. If it is a smaller ham the process of heating up to pressure will take less time. That is why no matter what the size you pressure cook all hams for 7 minutes. Quickly release after.
HOW TO MAKE A STICKY CRISPY CRUST TO YOUR HONEY BAKED HAM
Having the sticky sweet outer shell is the best part!! Its very quick to do! There are two simple ways to do this.
- place under broiler for a couple minutes
- Use an air fryer lid
- Set aside the ham drippings before air frying or broiling.
- Remove all the pineapple to the side
- Add the remaining glaze.
WHAT IS A PRESSURE COOKER AIR FRYER LID?
Pressure cookers now will come with an air fryer lid or you can buy one as a separate attachment. They work amazing! And are perfect for crisping up meats after cooking, or making all sorts of foods and snacks. You’ll want to air fry your ham, after the glaze, for about 7 minutes or your desired crispiness.
HOW TO BROIL THE HAM
Place the ham on a pan, cover in glaze and broil for just a couple minutes. Keep an eye on it.
TIP! Do not broil or air fry too long or it will dry out the ham. Remove ham from the oven and using juices from the instant pot, baste the ham to restore any lost moisture. Cover with foil to keep warm and keep moisture in until serving time.
ADD BACK DRIPPINGS TO HAM
Ladle the juices you set aside back onto your ham to keep the meat nice and juicy.
DO I HAVE TO CRISP MY HAM?
If you prefer to serve your ham fresh out of the instant pot then instead of reserving the glaze for later pour the entire batch on the ham before pressure cooking.
HOW DO I STORE LEFTOVER HAM?
If you have any leftovers keep them in an airtight container or bag for up to a week in the fridge.
CAN I COOK HAM FROM BEING FROZEN IN INSTANT POT
YES! Just cook it for a bit longer. Cook it for 15 minutes instead of 7.
CAN I COOK RAW HAM IN THE PRESSURE COOKER?
Yes! I dont have the time on how long to cook it, refer to your user manual and make sure the internal temp is 145 when finished cooking.
KEEP IN TOUCH!
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- 1 ham, spiral cut pre cooked ham for 6 qt pressure cooker stay around 7lbs
- 3/4 cup honey
- 3/4 cup brown sugar
- 1 large can Dole pineapple tidbits with juice
- 1 tbsp whole cloves
- 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 cup water
-
In separate bowl mix brown sugar, honey, apple cider vinegar, whole cloves, and 3/4 cup dole pineapple juice from the can. Set aside.
In pressure cooker place fold two long sheets of foil together to form one skinny long piece that will make handles. Place with ends coming up to the top and folding over edge of instant pot.
Place ham in pressure cooker and pour glaze on top, reserving 1 cup of the liquid. Top ham with remaining pineapple tidbits and 1 cup water. Seal and cook high 7 minutes. Quick release.
-
If crispness is desired, remove liquid from the pressure cooker and set aside. Add remaining glaze and add air fryer lid. Air fry for about 7-10 minutes. Ladle some of the remaining juices back on to ham to keep moist.
-
If crispness is desired, remove from pressure cooker to cookie sheet. broil for a few minutes until ends are caramelized and crispy. Ladle juices from pressure cooker on ham to restore any moisture. Serve immediately.Â
Recipe Video
The ham is a pre-cooked spiral cut ham.Â
Instant Pot Easter Recipes Blog Hop
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Was the ham the Pre-cooked variety?
yes! pre-cooked and spiral cut.
I am so excited to make our Easter ham in the Instant Pot! It looks absolutely delicious!
I have our ham ready to go…going to give this a try. The photo is fantastic. Thank you!
hI! Im so excited to try this, but are you sure the ham wont end up tough and rubbery if its pre-cooked? I havent made too much in my pressure cooker yet, but some of the meat has come out a little rubbery. Any tips?
This worked out perfect!
Will it work with a regular ham not spiral ? Using a 8qt
yes! It will work with either one :)
So.. rookie mistake.. make sure to tuck in the foil handles before sealing the lid! I never watched the video and thought the foil got left over the edge.. oops.
It doesn’t seal like that, shocker, I know. Lol.
It still turned out delicious after a little adjusting.
Good point! I’ll add that in the tips Cris!
I always thought the pressure cooker required some form of liquid. This recipe doesn’t seem to have any liquid. Is it able to come up to pressure without it?
YES! You do need liquid for this recipe you add the whole can of pineapple tidbits including liquid plus one cup of water. If you would prefer to not have the juice added you could add water and only the tidbits :)
Yes it does. I says to pour in a cup of water. Read directions again.
If I only have a 3.5 lb. Spiral ham do reduce the time on the pressure cooker?
No it will naturally cook faster because of the smaller ham!
Is a 14lb bone in ham too big for an 8qt pot?
I had a ham a little over 10 lbs and it fit, but it was tight! 14 is probably to big, but might work! Especially if it is more uniform all around.
Is the ham thawed or cannot come straight from the freezer?
You can do a frozen ham with the instant pot! I would just add a few more minutes (or maybe double the time).
What if you are cooking a fresh (uncooked) ham? Not sure how much time to add?
I’m not sure how long to cook raw ham. Check the user manual and make sure the internal temp is 145 degrees when finished!
Ham won’t fit the 8 qt insta pot because of its shape. What to do? Cut off some of it to make the shape com pliable to the insta pot?
yeah, if you cant bend part of the ham to the side or push it up or down then cut the section off and place it on top around the sides. They can come in such funny shapes! sorry this one didnt work as well!
No steam rack/trivet needed: Followed the directions exactly and it came out fantastic! The glaze is a perfect complement to the ham. I struggled with whether or not to put a steam rack/trivet in the pressure cooker. The top part of this page says to use one, the bottom part of this page does not reference one. I finally decided not to use it and it it gave me more room for the ham and came out perfect!
No trivet needed: Followed the directions exactly and it came out fantastic! The juice mix is a perfect complement to the ham. I struggled with whether or not to put a trivet down in the pressure cooker. The top part of this page says to use one, the bottom part of this page does not reference one. I finally decided not to use the trivet and it it gave me more room for the ham and came out perfect!