Let's talk Ham

[blissful]

Can you share with me your knowledge of HAM?
There are so many kinds and I'm not sure what I want, and I want to find some on sale this time of year if you know of an online link.

spiral cut or not?
salt cured?
smoked?
virginia?
bone in?
ready to cook/cooked?

I'm sure each kind is good for a particular serving suggestion and use. What do you know about any of these? Is there a special kind your family enjoys as a treat each year?

I've purchased some really not so good ham like items but what I want is a really good ham, something special, extra good. What are your opinions?

 

[Uncle Bob]

I buy Whole bone-in Smoked Hams....Sometimes the butt portion....and smoke them again....I never buy boneless hams..I also buy whole dry cured (Country hams) for the special (salty) flavor, and to make red-eye gravy...These are just my personal preferences...Oh, I don't care for spiral cuts...IMO they are mostly flavorless....tend to dry out if heated etc. HTH

Fun!

 

[blissful]

I buy Whole bone-in Smoked Hams....Sometimes the butt portion....and smoke them again....I never buy boneless hams..I also buy whole dry cured (Country hams) for the special (salty) flavor, and to make red-eye gravy...These are just my personal preferences...Oh, I don't care for spiral cuts...IMO they are mostly flavorless....tend to dry out if heated etc. HTH

Fun!

I'm just learning the lingo here.
So a dry cured ham is a Country Ham, I didn't know that.
Thanks Uncle Bob.
Is a Virginia ham a smoked ham? Is that what it means?

Yes it does help!

 

[Alix]

I like smoked bone in ham. I'm adept at carving my own ham so its not an issue for me to cut it up when we're ready to eat it. I prefer this type because I like to save the bone to make either pea soup or beans later.

Spiral cut ham is essentially the same kind of ham, its just had a big spiral cut into the meat so its easier to carve after you heat it.

We are NOT fond of the salt cured hams, but have bought them on sale cheap. I tend to boil them to suck some of the salt out before serving. My girls really really dislike the little ham nugget things you can buy. They say the meat feels weird in their mouths.

Hope that helps!

 

[Zhizara]

If I buy a smoked ham, I prefer the Smithfield 25% lower sodium ham. It is just right. I've made the mistake of buying a ham just because of price and ended up with a piece of meat that is just way too salty for me.

That being said, I've been finding bone in fresh ham for 99 cents a pound not smoked just pork. It's great. I roast it until it's shreddable, cool and tear off large hunks and put into quart size zip bags, and then I have that huge, gorgeous bone that I leave a fair amount of meat on to use usually in some pot of beans.

 

[PrincessFiona60]

I prefer a smoked, bone-in ham. Size depends on what I'm going to do with it and how much time I have for packaging the left overs.

 

[DaveSoMD]

I buy the whole bone-in hams as well, both butt and shank. Like others have said, I think spiral hams are tasteless and tend to dry out. Carving a ham is really easy as long as you have a good knife.

 

[Kayelle]

Bliss, my answer would have been different before this last Christmas, but my son was gifted with a spiral honey ham from Omaha steaks of all places. Shocked the heck outa me as Omaha steaks I've ordered were just "ok".
I've had Honey Baked hams, and they sure didn't impress me. In fact I'm pretty hard to impress when it comes to hams. Not anymore.
This was without a doubt, the most wonderful ham I've ever eaten, bar none. Its perfectly smoky, not too salty flavor just blew my socks off.
Now they are on sale and a better buy to boot.

Omaha Steaks 1 (7 lb.) Spiral Sliced Ham: Amazon.com: Grocery & Gourmet Food

 

[taxlady]

What is spiral ham?

 

[Uncle Bob]

I'm just learning the lingo here.
So a dry cured ham is a Country Ham, I didn't know that.
Thanks Uncle Bob.
Is a Virginia ham a smoked ham? Is that what it means?

Yes it does help!

In my world a Country Ham is a dry cured ham....There are many producers of these hams in Various states...

A "Virginia" Ham is just a ham produced in Virginia...It could be smoked, dry cured, or even fresh....Some folks swear by "Tennessee" Hams...Again...just a statement of origin...Of course all of the brands, "States", etc have there Marketing strategy to sell their product! HTH

 

[PrincessFiona60]

In my world a Country Ham is a dry cured ham....There are many producers of these hams in Various states...

A "Virginia" Ham is just a ham produced in Virginia...It could be smoked, dry cured, or even fresh....Some folks swear by "Tennessee" Hams...Again...just a statement of origin...Of course all of the brands, "States", etc have there Marketing strategy to sell their product! HTH

So true, there is even a Montana Ham... Tres expensive!

 

[Robo410]

I like smoked bone in hams. I like the corn cob smoked hams from Harrington's in Vermont.

What you really don't want is water added, tasteless hams sold just about everywhere. (The ham area of the hog is quite dense meat.) If you like honey glazed or maple glazed, go for it. I prefer to roast and glaze my own.

 

[Zhizara]

What is spiral ham?

A spiral sliced ham is precut in a spiral around the bone. One cut by you down the length of the ham and the slices just fall off ready to serve. Easy carve.

 

[taxlady]

A spiral sliced ham is precut in a spiral around the bone. One cut by you down the length of the ham and the slices just fall off ready to serve. Easy carve.

Thank you Zhizara.

Why would that make the ham tasteless? I know boneless is usually tasteless, but if the bone is there ...?

 

[Claire]

Oh, dear; they are all great, but different strokes. Some hams (on your list I'd say Virginia, also sometimes called country) are so salty that it pretty much makes your blood pressure rise just looking at them. One year I bought one to treat my parents (my husband was stationed in the Chesapeake area, where it is a specialty). I was told to expect mold on it, and scrub it off, which I did. Then to soak it in several changes of water. Huh? At the time I didn't have a pot that big, but did have two bath-tubs, so scoured one. Soak it forever, changing the water every XX hours (don't remember, never tried it again). Then bake. Well, the damned thing was so salty, even after all that. But in fact, my parents loved it, said it was a taste of their childhood, although, of course they couldn't imagine doing it themselves! I will say the meat and bone made the very best soups I've ever made: Split pea; bean.

 

[PattY1]

Bliss, my answer would have been different before this last Christmas, but my son was gifted with a spiral honey ham from Omaha steaks of all places. Shocked the heck outa me as Omaha steaks I've ordered were just "ok".
I've had Honey Baked hams, and they sure didn't impress me. In fact I'm pretty hard to impress when it comes to hams. Not anymore.
This was without a doubt, the most wonderful ham I've ever eaten, bar none. Its perfectly smoky, not too salty flavor just blew my socks off.
Now they are on sale and a better buy to boot.

Omaha Steaks 1 (7 lb.) Spiral Sliced Ham: Amazon.com: Grocery & Gourmet Food

OMG you think $7.15 a pound for ham is a good deal????

 

[PattY1]

Oh, dear; they are all great, but different strokes. Some hams (on your list I'd say Virginia, also sometimes called country) are so salty that it pretty much makes your blood pressure rise just looking at them. One year I bought one to treat my parents (my husband was stationed in the Chesapeake area, where it is a specialty). I was told to expect mold on it, and scrub it off, which I did. Then to soak it in several changes of water. Huh? At the time I didn't have a pot that big, but did have two bath-tubs, so scoured one. Soak it forever, changing the water every XX hours (don't remember, never tried it again). Then bake. Well, the damned thing was so salty, even after all that. But in fact, my parents loved it, said it was a taste of their childhood, although, of course they couldn't imagine doing it themselves! I will say the meat and bone made the very best soups I've ever made: Split pea; bean.

There is a difference between Virginia Ham and "Old Ham" or maybe called "Country Ham". Old Ham/Country Ham is salt cured, left hanging hence the mold.

Spiral Cut Ham is tasteless and rubbery. YUCK!!

 

[Alix]

There is a difference between Virginia Ham and "Old Ham" or maybe called "Country Ham". Old Ham/Country Ham is salt cured, left hanging hence the mold.

Spiral Cut Ham is tasteless and rubbery. YUCK!!

I'm learning a lot here! Thanks for the thread blissful.

PattY1, I've heard from some folks I trust that the best ham they've had was a spiral cut. Do you suppose it depends on who you get it from? What was the yucky one you had? I want to know what to avoid.

 

[Kayelle]

OMG you think $7.15 a pound for ham is a good deal????

Never said it was a "deal". I said it was the best ham I'd ever eaten in my life, and a better buy now. Big difference. Personally, I wouldn't give a plug nickle for a lesser ham.

Spiral Cut Ham is tasteless and rubbery. YUCK!!

I would have agreed with you before eating this Omaha ham. Not so now.

 

[Kayelle]

Oh, dear; they are all great, but different strokes. Some hams (on your list I'd say Virginia, also sometimes called country) are so salty that it pretty much makes your blood pressure rise just looking at them. One year I bought one to treat my parents (my husband was stationed in the Chesapeake area, where it is a specialty). I was told to expect mold on it, and scrub it off, which I did. Then to soak it in several changes of water. Huh? At the time I didn't have a pot that big, but did have two bath-tubs, so scoured one. Soak it forever, changing the water every XX hours (don't remember, never tried it again). Then bake. Well, the damned thing was so salty, even after all that. But in fact, my parents loved it, said it was a taste of their childhood, although, of course they couldn't imagine doing it themselves! I will say the meat and bone made the very best soups I've ever made: Split pea; bean.

Thanks so much for this info Claire!! I've been toying with the idea of purchasing one of these hams for years, now I can cross them off of something I'd like to try. I really do appreciate someone I "know" giving me their take on them. Wish you could buy just the bone for soups. Yumm