Double The Cooking Time?

[sherrardk]

I couldn't get a ginormous ham so I have bought two large hams instead. Do I need to add their weights together to get a total cooking time or do I just cook them both for the length of time that one would take (if you see what I mean)? I will cook them in the oven (wrapped in foil with water around it, no pre-boiling either). Thank you.

[jennyjoan]

I wouldn't be the greatest but would say add the weight of the hams and cook accordingly.

[EDDIE51]

Base the cooking time one one joint with an extra 10 mins added. Cooking for the time required for the total combined weight will be well over cooked.
If you have a 'slow' setting on your cooker just use that and leave them overnight, no need to worry about time on slow as long as you use at least the minimum time ( say 5 hours)

[pastafreak]

+1 for eddies answer. Doubling the time would result in cardboard. :-(

[Old_Geezer]

Some of the time is needed for the heat to get through to the centre of the meat, so if the ham is smaller it will need less time. Even with 2 of them, if the oven maintains the temperature around them, they will simply cook together. In your shoes I'd let it go for the suggested time of the large ham and then check, let it go a bit longer if you are unhappy with the progress and then check again.

[humbersloop]

+2 for Eddie, you'll cremate 'em otherwise

the time it takes to cook a joint is how long it takes to get the middle of the piece heated properly, so say you've got two three pound pieces, they're both thinner than one six pound lump and will cook accordingly provided you leave enough space between them for heat to circulate

or roast one and bung the other in the slow cooker....;)

[diddlydo]

Definitely calculate the time based on the weight of the larger one. In a conventional oven they'll both be cooked in that time.

[EDDIE51]

As I have said on here several times I work in Pro kitchens , we often cook up to 10 joints of meat in the same oven at the same time. Ten 3 Kg joints cook in the same time one 3 Kg joint would. We time the cooking by the weight of a single joint with a few minutes extra if we are doing more than one joint. We always use meat themometers to test if meat is cooked, the calculated time is a guide only.