How to Carve a Bone in Ham

Co-authored by wikiHow Staff

Last Updated: July 6, 2025

The smell of a fresh ham brings back memories of the holidays and time spent with loved ones. But before you can serve your ham, you have to carve it! Luckily, carving a ham is actually pretty simple if you have a sharp knife and use the right technique. You can carve slices as you need them from a bone-in ham or you can carve an entire bone-in ham quickly and easily by using a spiral-sliced ham.

Method 1

Method 1 of 2:

Cutting Slices from the Bone

1
Cut what slices you need to keep a bone-in ham fresher for longer. Cutting only the slices that you plan to serve from a bone-in ham keeps the rest of the meat that is still on the bone from drying out. It also allows you to slice the amount of ham you need for that meal, rather than carving the entire ham.
- The leftover ham will stay moist for longer if left uncut on the bone.
- If you have a whole ham, but are only feeding a few people for a meal, you should slice ham from the bone as needed, rather than carve the whole thing.
2
Use a sharp carving knife and carving fork to slice the ham. The carving fork has two tongs and will help keep the ham from sliding around while you cut it. A carving knife has a sharp, thin blade and is designed to slice through meat easily. Carving knives also have longer blades compared to other knives.
- If you don’t have a carving knife, you can use another long knife with a straight edge, like a chef’s knife. Don’t use a knife with a serrated edge or it will mangle and shred the ham.
Tip: Hone your knife before you cut the ham to have the sharpest and most even edge on the blade.

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3
Place the ham on a cutting board and cut off a small slice parallel to its length. After you set the ham on a cutting board, trim off a small ¹⁄₄ inch (0.64 cm) slice from the thin side of the ham to create an even surface to help stabilize the ham when you carve it. After you cut off the slice, turn the ham so that its resting on the flat side created by the slice you removed.^{[1]
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- Serve this slice with the rest of the slices you cut.
4
Bring the carving knife to the shank or narrow end of the ham. Cutting from the shank end first allows you to access the large bone running through the ham more easily when it’s time to remove the slices. Stick your carving fork into the middle of the ham to hold it stable and bring the edge of the carving knife to the end of the shank.^{[2]
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- Hold the knife about ¹⁄₄ inch (0.64 cm) away from the end or where the bone sticks out. This will be the first slice you cut away from the bone.
5
Cut slices across the ham and down to the bone. Secure the ham with the carving fork to make cutting easier and to keep the ham from moving around. Use the carving knife to cut across the ham and all the way down to the bone and slice down the length of the ham to cut the desired number of slices.^{[3]
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- Cut thin ¹⁄₄ inch (0.64 cm) slices for things like sandwiches and cut thicker ¹⁄₂ inch (1.3 cm) slices to serve with a larger meal.
- Use smooth, fluid sawing motions to cut through the ham. Short, jerky cuts can shred the slices.
6
Bring the knife to the shank end and cut along the bone to remove the slices. Once you’ve sliced the amount of ham that you want to use, turn the knife sideways and bring the edge to the shank or small end where you started making your slices across the ham. Keep the knife pressed against the bone as you cut along the length of it. The slices of ham can then be removed and served.^{[4]
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- If you’re not carving the whole ham, wrap the remaining ham in plastic wrap and store it in the refrigerator until you’re ready to carve it. Whole ham can last up to a week in your refrigerator.
- Store the uneaten slices in plastic storage containers in your refrigerator for up to 5 days.
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Method 2

Method 2 of 2:

Carving a Spiral-Sliced Ham

1
Choose a spiral-sliced ham to make carving the whole ham easier. Spiral-sliced hams are not fully sliced and require some more carving to free the slices from the bone. They’re a great option if you’re serving a lot of people and you want to carve an entire ham quickly.
- You could leave slices on the bone until you’re ready to serve them, but the meat will dry out quicker than a bone-in ham.
2
Lay the cooked ham on its side on a cutting board. Set the ham on a cutting board with the large end facing towards you. You should be able to see the large, round femur bone in the center of the ham.^{[5]
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- Don’t trim off an edge to keep the ham from moving. Spiral-slicing allows you to carve perfect slices of ham that still have the skin attached.
Tip: You can lay ham on a towel on the cutting board to keep it from sliding around.
3
Take a paring knife and cut around the large bone-in the center of the ham. Before you remove the slices from the bone, you need to free up the bone by cutting around the whole length of it. Cut as close as you can along the whole outer diameter of the center bone and be sure you cut deep enough to cut around all of the bone.^{[6]
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- A paring knife is easier to navigate for smaller cuts than a carving knife.
4
Use a carving knife to cut horizontally above the bone to remove a section of meat. Switch to a longer carving knife and cut from the top of the ham down to the bone in the center. Then follow along the center bone to cut through to the other side of the ham, cutting the whole ham in half lengthwise.^{[7]
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- Be careful cutting towards you because the knife could slip and cut you. Use a gentle sawing motion to slice through the meat.
- Keep the other half of the ham to slice as well.
5
Turn the ham so the cut side is down and remove the bone from the center. After you’ve cut through the length of your ham with the carving knife, place the large end cut side down. Grab the bone sticking out of the shank or small end of the ham and gently slide it out of the center of the ham.^{[8]
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- You can use your carving knife to gently cut any meat attached to the bone to help it glide out of the ham.
6
Cut between the slices to separate them. With the bone removed, place the sections of ham cut side down and use your carving knife to cut the small sections holding them together to separate them. Once the slices are separated, they’re ready to be served!^{[9]
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- Store leftover ham by wrapping it in plastic wrap or placing it in an air-tight plastic container then placing it in the fridge. The ham will last for up to 5 days.
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