Baked Ham Shank
Published April 16, 2025 • Updated July 8, 2026
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This baked ham shank uses just one surprising ingredient, apple cider vinegar, to create tender, tangy, fall-apart meat your family will request every holiday. I've been making this for years and it's become our non-negotiable Easter tradition.
I make this ham every Easter, and it’s become the one thing my family would riot over if I skipped it. One bottle of apple cider vinegar. No glaze, no rub, no extra seasoning. Just pour it over the ham, cover tightly with foil, and walk away. The first time I served this, my sister-in-law looked at me like I was joking when I told her there was nothing else on it. She didn’t believe me until she tasted it.
Here’s how it works. You place the ham in a roasting pan, pour an entire bottle of apple cider vinegar over it, cover it tightly, and let it bake low and slow at 325 degrees. As it cooks, the vinegar creates steam that soaks into the meat and delivers a deep, tangy flavor that balances the natural saltiness. The result is juicy, fall-apart tender meat with a subtle zing that keeps everyone reaching for more.
I’ve made this probably 20 times over the years, and without fail, someone always asks for the recipe. My husband, who usually doesn’t care for ham, looks forward to this one. One thing I learned after a few rounds: pour the vinegar around the sides of the ham, not just the bottom of the pan. The steam needs to reach the whole surface, and when I started doing this, the top half came out just as tender as the bottom. A reader named Corinne confirmed the same thing independently, which tells me it’s not just my oven.
No measuring, no mixing, no stress. I love this recipe because I can get it in the oven and then focus on everything else on the table. If you’re eating keto or low carb, ham is already a great protein pick since it’s naturally high in fat and has zero carbs on its own. I usually round out the holiday spread with something like braised short ribs or bacon wrapped pork chops when I want a second protein option. And despite how hands-off this is, the flavor is anything but boring. Sometimes the simplest approach really does win.
The leftovers are almost better than the main event. I slice whatever’s left and keep it wrapped tight in the fridge all week. Cold slices straight out of the fridge, chopped into eggs in the morning, folded into a breakfast scramble, piled onto crustless pizza, or stuffed into cheese taco shells. I’ve gotten five dinners out of a single 10-pounder. If you’re meal prepping for the week, one ham covers a lot of ground.
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Ingredients
10 lb half ham shank (smoked & cured) -
16 oz apple cider vinegar
-
aluminum foil
Step by Step Instructions
Step by Step Instructions
Preheat oven
Preheat oven to 325 °F. Place a rack inside a large roasting pan.
Add the secret ingredient
Remove ham from packaging, discard any fluids and place on the rack. Pour in apple cider vinegar.
- 10 lb ham shank
- 16 oz apple cider vinegar
Cover and bake
Cover the ham roast and pan tightly with aluminum foil. Place in the oven to bake at 325 °F for 15-20 minutes per pound (about 3 hours) or until the internal temperature of the ham is 140 °F and it is tender. Let rest for 10-15 minutes before carving.
Nutrition disclaimer
The nutrition information provided is an estimate and is for informational purposes only. I am a Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D.); however, this content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always consult your physician or other qualified health provider before making any lifestyle changes or beginning a new nutrition program.
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Get My Macros + Recipes →Frequently Asked Questions
What is a shank ham?
It's the lower portion of the pig's hind leg, below the butt end. I reach for this cut because it has one straight bone running right through it, so carving comes out in clean, even slices. It also runs a touch leaner than the butt portion, which sits higher on the leg and turns out a little meatier. Both work for this recipe, but I go with the shank almost every time for those tidy slices. Just make sure whatever you grab is labeled cured and smoked, so it comes already seasoned and ready for the apple cider vinegar to do its job.
How do you know when ham is done cooking?
I go by internal temperature. For a fully cooked ham shank, you're really just warming it through and letting the vinegar do its thing, so I pull it when my thermometer reads about 140 degrees in the thickest part. You'll also notice the meat pulling away from the bone slightly and it'll feel tender when you press on it. I usually check around the 2.5 hour mark and go from there.
Will the ham taste too vinegary?
Not at all. I was worried about this the first time too, but the vinegar mellows completely as it cooks. What you end up with is the slightest tang that offsets the salty, smoky flavor from the cured ham. My husband, who is suspicious of anything 'different,' couldn't even identify what made it taste so good. The vinegar just brightens everything without taking over.
Can I use a different type of vinegar?
I've only ever used apple cider vinegar for this and I wouldn't change it. The mild fruitiness of ACV complements ham perfectly. I tried white vinegar once on a whim and it was noticeably sharper, almost too acidic. Rice vinegar would probably be too mild to do much. Stick with apple cider vinegar. It's what makes this recipe work.
Can I add a glaze with the vinegar method?
You could, but I don't. The whole point of this recipe is that the apple cider vinegar handles the flavor on its own. If you want a little extra something, I'd brush on a thin layer of sugar-free mustard during the last 30 minutes of baking. But every time I've served this without a glaze, nobody has missed it.
Can I use this method for spiral-cut ham?
I'd stick with a whole shank or butt portion. Spiral-cut hams are pre-sliced, so the vinegar steam can't penetrate the same way. They also tend to dry out faster since all those cuts let moisture escape. With a whole ham, the outside stays sealed while the vinegar works its way in during those three hours. That's where the juiciness comes from.
Can I make this in a slow cooker or crockpot?
I've done this in the slow cooker and it works. Pour in all 16 oz of apple cider vinegar, set it to low, and let it go for about 8 hours. The fall-apart texture is there, but you won't get any browning on the outside. No foil needed since the slow cooker traps the steam the same way the covered roasting pan does. I still prefer the oven because I like that slightly caramelized exterior, but if oven space is tight on a holiday, the slow cooker gets you most of the way there.
How do I reduce the saltiness of cured ham?
I soak it. If I get a ham that runs particularly salty, I submerge it in cold water for 12 to 24 hours before baking, changing the water every 4 to 6 hours. I've done this once with a picnic ham that was almost inedibly salty straight out of the package, and the soak pulled out enough salt to balance everything. Just pat it completely dry before it goes in the pan so the apple cider vinegar can do its job properly.
How do I know if my ham is precooked or raw?
Check the label. If it says 'fully cooked' or 'ready to eat,' it's precooked and just needs to be warmed through. That's what you want for this recipe. If the label says 'cook before eating' or 'fresh,' it's raw and needs to reach an internal temp of 145 degrees minimum. I learned this the hard way when I accidentally bought a raw pork shoulder thinking it was ham. The texture and flavor were completely wrong. Most bone-in hams labeled 'smoked' or 'cured' in the refrigerated section are precooked. When in doubt, ask the butcher.
Cooking for 8 this time, so going with a 5 lb shank instead of the full 10. Does the apple cider vinegar scale down too, or does the full 16 oz still work? Bake time at 325 -- half, or is it less linear?
A 10-pound shank feeds me ten days straight and I haven't tired of it yet. More than I can say for most things I batch-cook. Pulling it apart warm gives cleaner portions than cold, meat separates from the bone without shredding. I freeze most in six-portion containers. First ham I've batch-cooked where the texture holds through a freeze-thaw without going stringy.nnThe ACV and foil do something to the collagen that regular dry heat doesn't, and that change survives freezing. From frozen to a covered skillet at medium-low, it comes back to day-one texture in about eight minutes.nnEvery six weeks or so, three hours of mostly hands-off oven time for ten days of protein. I'll keep making that trade.
I'm hosting a dinner on Saturday and want to get ahead of the cooking as much as possible. If I bake the ham shank on Friday and refrigerate it overnight, what's the best way to reheat it without losing that fall-apart tenderness? My plan was to cover it tightly with foil again and add a splash more apple cider vinegar before putting it back in the oven, but I'm not sure whether to keep it at 325 or go lower and slower.
Luz, yep. I'd drop it to 275 instead of 325, slower is better when it's already done and you're just warming it through. Tight foil and a splash of ACV keeps the moisture in. Pull it when you hit 140 in the thickest part, coming straight from the fridge figure 60-90 minutes.
Threw in a few whole peppercorns and two bay leaves with the ACV before sealing the foil. The steam picks up a little depth that way, nothing dramatic, more like a base note underneath the tang. On a 10-pound shank at 325, I didn't notice any timing difference. Worth doing if you're the type who adds a parmesan rind to a long braise, it's that kind of move. The ACV does most of the work regardless, that's not in question. Four stars because I nicked the foil seal once rushing and ended up with drier meat on the outside, so don't skip that part.
Peppercorns and bay leaves in the steam makes sense, same idea as a parmesan rind, you're just giving the steam something to pick up. I'm doing this next batch. The foil thing is real, once it goes the outside dries out before the center's done.
Weird summer dish. Gone before the burgers.
Gone before the burgers is the only review that matters.
No rub, no glaze, no scoring the skin. I kept reading the ingredient list waiting for the part where it said to add something else. Made it anyway because I figured vinegar at least would do something, and I was right about that, just wrong about needing more. Pulled back the foil at the 4-hour mark and the bone was already separating on its own. The liquid pooled in the bottom of the pan smelled really good. Saved it and used it to baste the slices when I reheated them the next day. Worth doing.
Saving those drippings for reheating is smart. Never thought of that.
My grandmother made a ham every Easter that I thought about for years after she passed. Different recipe entirely, but something about this one coming out of the oven stopped me cold. That smell. I couldn't place it at first, then realized it's what the apple cider vinegar does as the fat renders, that deep tangy-savory thing that fills the whole kitchen. I've been keto for going on three years and I had honestly written off holiday ham as something that would never feel right again. I was wrong. Grateful for this one.
That smell is what hooked me too. ACV into rendered ham fat is not an obvious combo. Glad it brought holiday ham back.
I almost didn't make this because I couldn't figure out what apple cider vinegar was supposed to do to a ham that's already smoked and cured. Seemed like a weird move. But I'd tried three different Easter ham recipes in the last two years and none of them had that falling-apart tender thing I was after, so I figured fine, one more shot. The foil tent with the vinegar underneath is doing something I cannot fully explain, but when I peeled back the corner at two hours the smell that came out stopped me cold, like a real holiday dinner, not just meat sitting in an oven. Went to carve it and the whole thing just gave way. I've had hams that are technically done but still fight you at the carving board, this was not that. The apple cider vinegar is doing something to the texture I still can't put into words. This is my Easter ham from here on out, I'm done auditioning other recipes.
Done auditioning is right, Taylor. The foil trap turns the pan into a little steam oven, ACV braises it from below. I've never had a ham from this method fight me at the carving board.
Made this for Easter and it came out really tender, but there was a ton of liquid pooled at the bottom (I used the full 16 oz of apple cider vinegar). Normal? I wasn't sure if all that liquid was what made it so fall-apart or if I overdid it.
Normal. The ACV steams inside the foil and breaks down the collagen. That pool at the bottom is the recipe doing what it's supposed to. You didn't overdo it.
My 9-year-old pulled the bone clean at the table and announced this is 'the only ham that counts now.' The apple cider vinegar does something to the meat I can't explain. It was falling apart before I even touched it with a fork.
'The only ham that counts now.' I'm putting that on the recipe page. The ACV breaks down the collagen as it steams inside the foil, which is why the bone pulls clean before you ever try to touch it.
Made this for Easter and I was nervous the whole time (I almost skipped the apple cider vinegar because it seemed strange for a ham). Pulled the foil back and it was falling apart tender in a way I've never managed before. Do you think this works the same way with a smaller bone-in ham?
I was very careful about crimping the foil around the pan, and the top of my ham was extremely dry. We had to eat it with BBQ sauce to give it some moisture to swallow. It was fall apart tender. It was a 12.9 lb shank. The lower 2/3 of the ham was great! What's left of the dry meat will be used for ham salad and for scrambled eggs.
Made this for Easter dinner and my mother-in-law, who has been making holiday ham the same way for probably 30 years, got very quiet after her first bite and then asked me to walk her through exactly what I did. The apple cider vinegar does something to the meat, it comes out falling-apart tender in a way I wasn't expecting the first time I made it either. Now she's trying it for her side's family reunion in May.
Thirty years of holiday ham and she went quiet. That's the review. Good luck at the May reunion.
Made this for Easter and it came out falling-apart tender. One thing I'd flag though: the foil seal matters way more than it sounds. I was casual about crimping it the first time, steam escaped, and the top half dried out while the bottom stayed perfect. Had to re-tent it with extra foil to salvage it. Second attempt, night and day. The apple cider vinegar does something interesting to the fat layer, renders it down completely instead of just sitting on top, which I think is why the meat stays so moist when you do it right. Wish the recipe had flagged that seal step more clearly before I learned the hard way.
The foil seal is the whole recipe. I've had the same split result when I rush the crimp and don't go tight around every edge. What you noticed about the fat layer, that's the ACV doing exactly what it's supposed to.
Made this for Easter Sunday and my mother-in-law, who brings her own ham every year without fail, kept asking what I used to get it so tender. I told her apple cider vinegar and she genuinely didn't believe me until I showed her the bottle.
A woman who brings her own ham every year asking what you used on yours. That's the one.
Made this for Easter dinner and my son asked me, completely straight-faced, if we ordered it from somewhere. He never says stuff like that. I had real doubts about the apple cider vinegar step but the meat fell apart so easily it was almost embarrassing. That question settled it.
When a kid who never says stuff like that asks if it came from a restaurant, that's the one. Those are the comments I screenshot.