how do i cook a small ham?

hello all!! i apologize in advance for any formatting issues, i’m on mobile.

this is my and my husband’s first year of thanksgiving away from our family. we moved across the country a few months ago and aren’t able to visit over thanksgiving for a few reasons (i’ll spare y’all the life story lol.) i’m just cooking for the two of us this year, and i’m really excited to try my hand at thanksgiving. in the past i usually just brought a store-bought side dish to the family dinner, but i’ve recently gotten really into cooking and baking and would like the challenge. this also means that when it comes to cooking this ham, i have absolutely no idea what i’m doing.

we both agreed that we would want ham instead of turkey, so i bought a small ham. only problem is, i have no idea how to cook it. there are lots of terms that i have no clue as to the meaning, and i’ll always think i found a good recipe, and then it mentions a technique or specific piece of cooking equipment that i don’t know how to utilize and it starts all over.

i have found a recipe for the glaze that i think we would enjoy, it’s for a large ham so i’m going to half it so we have less food waste.

“Ingredients: • 1 cup packed brown sugar • 1/2 cup orange juice • 1/2 cup honey • 1 teaspoon cinnamon • 1/2 teaspoon cloves” (link will be in the comments)

the ham is half of a small ham, only 4.39 pounds. i read online that ham needs 15-20 minutes to cook at 350 degrees, so mine would be a bit over an hour to cook. the source also said it needs to be 145 degrees when it’s fully done. i bought a food thermometer and all that jazz, so i’m good in that respect.

i have 2 of those big aluminum disposable trays, as well as a glass baking pan. the baking pan had instructions to pour about an inch-inch and a half of water or another liquid in the bottom of the pan when making a ham or turkey. i don’t believe the aluminum pans have this rule, but i could be mistaken.

i have no idea if halving the glaze would still be okay, or how to cook the ham. would the glaze only work with a certain cooking method, or would it be okay regardless? if it’s in the glass pan with the water, would i wrap it in foil to keep the water from touching it, or would it be okay if the water touched it? i don’t have anything specialized, i just have the aluminum and glass pans. will i need to buy another item to cook it with? i’m hesitant to stick with a certain recipe and just look into the equipment involved, because i don’t know if there is something about my ham specifically that would throw the recipe off.

we live in an apartment and have a very old oven. if it was a matter of slapping it on a pan and putting it in the oven it would be fine, but all this talk of broilers and roasting trays and all that is really confusing to me. this is my first time cooking a large piece of meat in general! if there is a specific piece of equipment i need to buy in order to make this ham i would be fine getting it, i just have no idea what i need.

thank you for your help!

submitted by /u/AmoGra
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