Reheat Ham in an Air Fryer

Doneness

The glaze surface is glossy and amber — not matte-dull (under-warmed) and not darkened or acrid-smelling (over-temp). A slice holds its shape with a gentle bend when lifted; flopping means under-warm, cracking means overdone. A probe at the thickest point reads 140 °F with no cold-pink core. Diced pieces are uniformly hot with no grey-cold clumps.

Technique

Load straight from the fridge — no thaw, no preheat. Before placing in the basket, brush each piece with 1 tsp reserved glaze, pan juices, or honey mustard to restore surface moisture. Arrange glaze-side up in a single layer; glaze-side down transfers sugar directly to the grate and scorches within 30 seconds. Set 320 °F (160 °C) — lower than most reheats because the sugar glaze caramelises to bitter above 340 °F. No oil needed. Pull at 4 minutes and check with a probe. If slices have been sitting out and read above 130 °F before loading, tent loosely with foil for the first 2 minutes, then uncover for the final 2. Variant times, all at 320 °F: ¼-inch spiral-cut slice — 4 min, no flip; ½-inch dinner-cut slice — 5 min, no flip; diced or cubed ham — 3 min, shake at 1:30; 1-inch ham steak — 5 min, flip at 2:30.

Watch out for

• !Keep the temperature at 320 °F. The glaze sugars scorch to bitter-burnt within 60 seconds above 340 °F, and the lean meat dries to jerky within 90 seconds. If your air fryer runs hot, drop to 310 °F and add 60 seconds rather than risk scorching.
• !Target 140 °F internally — not 165 °F (poultry standard) and not 145 °F (fresh pork). Leftover spiral-cut ham was fully cooked at the processing plant via wet-cure and smoke; this is a warming step, not a cook step. Overshooting to 165 °F dries the meat irreversibly.
• !Brush 1 tsp of reserved glaze, pan juices, or honey mustard on the cut surface before loading. Refrigeration overnight draws moisture out of the surface, and skipping this step leaves a dry, matte slice. Plain water steams rather than glazes and is not a suitable substitute.
• !Tent loosely with foil for the first 2 minutes if the slices read above 130 °F before loading — a sign they have been sitting at room temperature. Counter-warmed slices can overshoot the 140 °F target by the standard 4-minute mark; the tent slows centre warming during the first half so you hit 140 °F at the pull without overshooting.