Cooking Ham and Turkey in the Same Oven: The Ultimate Holiday Meal Hack

The holidays are a time for friends, family, and lots and lots of delicious food. For many of us, that means cooking up both a ham and a turkey to feed a crowd. But who has two ovens to cook both in? Not me!

After years of juggling oven space and cook times, I’ve finally figured out how to easily cook both ham and turkey in the same oven. Keep reading for my tips and tricks to pull off this holiday meal hack.

Why Cook Both Ham and Turkey?

You may be wondering why anyone would go through the trouble of making both ham and turkey for the same meal. There’s a few good reasons

• Tradition Some families simply always have both meats for holiday dinners. It’s what they look forward to every year

• Leftovers: Having both ham and turkey leftovers means more options for sandwiches, soups, casseroles, and snacking during the busy days following the holidays.

• Crowd pleasing: With both ham and turkey on the table, you can please more guests. Some people prefer one over the other.

• Change of pace: After months of chicken, beef, and pork, it’s nice to enjoy both ham and turkey during the holidays. The variety is welcomed.

So if your crowd is expecting both ham and turkey, read on to learn how to pull it off in one oven.

Oven Space Challenges

Cooking two large meats in one standard size oven can be tricky. Here are some of the challenges you may face:

• Fitting both in: Hams and turkeys are bulky, irregularly shaped, and take up a lot of room. Fitting both on one oven rack is likely impossible.

• Monitoring doneness: With one meat on each rack, it’s harder to baste and check temperatures for both.

• Matching cook times: Hams and turkeys often require different oven temperatures and total cook times. Getting them finished at the same time takes planning.

But have no fear – with some preparation and planning, you can totally nail cooking both meats successfully in a single oven.

Tips for Cooking Ham and Turkey Together

Follow these tips and you’ll have a gorgeous, golden brown turkey and glazed holiday ham coming out of the oven at the same time:

• Choose the right sizes: Opt for a small-to-medium turkey (10-16 lbs) and a 4-7 lb bone-in ham. Large sizes of either one won’t fit and will take too long.

• Prep ahead: Thaw turkey and ham in the fridge 1-2 days before cooking. Pat turkey dry and rub ham with any glazes or seasonings. This saves time on the big day.

• Start turkey first: Calculate turkey and ham cook times and put turkey in the oven first at 325°F since it takes longer.

• Use a meat thermometer: Monitor temperatures of both meats instead of cook times. Cook turkey to 165°F and ham to 140°F.

• Add ham later: After turkey cooks for 2 hours, add ham to oven on lower rack at 325°F. Continue monitoring both.

• Rotate racks halfway: Swap oven rack positions halfway through cooking so meats brown evenly. Baste turkey as needed.

• Let turkey rest: When turkey reaches 165°F, remove it from oven, tent with foil, and let rest 20 minutes before carving.

• Finish ham: If ham needs more time after turkey is done, increase heat to 350°F to finish it, glazing ham in last 30 minutes.

• Make gravy: While ham finishes up, make gravy from turkey drippings. Have sides warming or ready to serve.

Oven Rack Positioning

To fit both meats, use these oven rack positions:

• Place turkey on lower rack in a roasting pan.

• Later, put ham on middle rack in a foil lined baking sheet.

• Halfway through, swap rack positions and rotate pans. Turkeys cooked low brown better.

Check your oven manual for exact rack heights but typically:

• Lower rack = closest to bottom heating element

• Middle rack = center of oven

• Upper rack = closest to broiler

If ham internal temperature is already 140°F when turkey comes out, you can broil ham 2-3 minutes to finish glazing instead of using oven.

Cook Times and Temperatures

Use these cook times as a general guideline but always rely on meat thermometers for doneness:

• Unstuffed Turkey: Cook at 325°F allowing 15-18 minutes per pound. A 12 lb turkey takes ~3 hours.

• Bone-in Ham: Cook approximately 18-20 minutes per pound at 325°F. A 5 lb ham takes 1.5 – 2 hours.

• If ham needs more time: Increase heat to 350°F to finish glazing after turkey is done.

Handy Holiday Meal Prep Tips

Here are a few bonus holiday meal prep tips:

• Prep side dishes and desserts ahead of time and refrigerate or freeze. Reheat or bake day-of.

• Set table and prep beverages, garnishes, sauces, and gravy ingredients one day before.

• Cook any make-ahead side dishes early in the day or day before.

• Clean as you go and delegate tasks to helpers like setting table, tossing salads, and slicing bread.

• Carve turkey and slice ham before guests arrive so you don’t miss out on bonding time!

Enjoy Perfectly Cooked Meats

Now that you know how to properly prep oven space, calculate cook times, monitor temperatures, and stagger cooking your ham and turkey, you can relax and enjoy perfect meats every time.

No more choosing between ham or turkey. With this handy holiday hack, your whole crowd can enjoy the best of both worlds. Here’s to a stress-free holiday with all your treasured flavors on the table!