Wow!!... lots of questions.
Honey Cured....with the caps...I believe is a trademark. As for the honey cured, sugar smoked and all the other terms...I think it's hype.
I like a Smithfield, bone in, ready to cook....and if you can get it a whole ham. To me....and to many others judging from the compliments, the flavor is the best of the readily available hams. Now I know there are local hams in different areas of the country...a couple of smoke houses around here ( I live in Iowa) put out a wonderful ham...but Smithfield is almost everywhere.
You will have to really cook it....but I think that's a GOOD thing....and your instincts and a thermometer will tell you when it's done.
I trust, though, you weren't looking for a Virginia ham Were you? those that are cured and hung for a year and you have to scrub the mold off and soak it for days and boil it in 2 changes of water, and THEN think about glazing and baking. I think they always turn out salty....but delicious!
Linda C

Most of the traditional hams I have cooked (here in the South) have been sugar cured but not smoked. We always bought bone-in so we could have the ham bone for bean soup. And they were never spiral or pre-sliced. These hams were baked at 325 degrees for 20 minutes per pound.

Dr. Pete's Praline Mustard Glaze for ham is a very good bottled glaze for hams or you can make your own glaze from scratch.

Here is a link that might be useful: Dr. Pete's Glaze

Is also known in the South as country ham - and that is another thing all together different from cured ham. And a fresh ham is another creature different from those two and is to be treated like the fresh pork that it is.

We usually get a spiral cut, then my glaze gets deep into the meat.

I've had fresh ham before and it tasted similar to a pork roast and was delicious. We had a pig roast every year for our family reunion and my Aunt's father would raise the pig on his farm. Dressed out the pig would be about 80 lbs and fed about 30 people for 4 days.

Ham is one of the more creative meats due to the glazing and every time I make ham I change the glaze a bit and it just seems to get better. One Christmas I had turkey and ham and you could smell the ham clear out in our driveway. Needless to say, no one ate any turkey!

Michelle

I agree, fresh ham is basically a pork roast. it's just fresh pork.

Here we like our ham smoked rather than cured. I do two for Christmas, one glazed and one not. I don't care for the spiral sliced ones, the stuff is too sweet. I like them whole or halved, and with the bone in, in spite of those "carving challenges".

"Sugar Cured" is basically a ham that's been rubbed with sugar and "pink salt" or curing salt, basically nitrates to help preserve the ham. Then it's hung to soak up the "cure" for a period of time.

Smoked hams can have the same "cure", but they are smoked. I think most commercial hams are no longer actually smoked for any period of time, they have smoke flavor added. Eh.

Ham and water product? I think you made a good choice, go with the Natural Ham and don't pay for added water.

Annie

Ham Sandwich
A priest and a rabbi are sitting next to each other on an airplane. After a while the priest turns to the rabbi and asks, "Is it still a requirement of your faith that you not eat pork?"

The rabbi responds, "Yes, that is still one of our beliefs."

The priest then asks, "Have you ever eaten pork?"

To which the rabbi replies, "Yes, on one occasion I did succumb To temptation and tasted a ham sandwich."

The priest nodded in understanding and went on with his reading. A while later, the rabbi spoke up and asked the priest, "Father, is it still a requirement of your church that you remain celibate?"

The priest replied, "Yes, that is still very much a part of our faith."

The rabbi then asked him, "Father, have you ever fallen to the temptations of the flesh?"

The priest replied, "Yes, rabbi, on one occasion I was weak and broke with my faith."

The rabbi nodded understandingly. He was silent for about five minutes, and then he said,

"Beats the hell out of a ham sandwich, doesn't it?"

The joke made me laugh :D

Thanks Jessy, You didn't help with the ham question but I know what I'll be having for dessert. . .

rofl, jessy!

michael, how many will you be serving? I always buy a partially-cooked half ham (important to get the "shank" portion, rather than the "butt") since it's a 'secondary' dish on our holiday table. Here's a fabulous glaze recipe that I snagged from Bon Appetit (I think) years ago:

1 cup dark brown sugar, packed
3 Tablespoons Dijon mustard
5 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar

Score top of ham. Cook, uncovered, for about an hour and a half at 325. Then mix glaze ingredients and slather generously all over exposed portions of ham.

Continue cooking for another 30 minutes, or until ham reaches 'safe' temperature, basting every 10 minutes.

Mixing the pan juices with a little bit of glaze makes a fab gravy!

My mother always told be to buy the shank portion rather than the butt half ( she did write in her book of instructions that if I bought a whole ham then "lord help" mne!)
But...since I married an Iowa farm boy....well sort of....and 2 hogs a year were part of his compensation...I soon learned all about hams, whole, half, butt and shank! And I think the butt is more flavorfull and yields more tender meat....but it's the devil to carve!

Fun NEE! hahahaha!!

Thanks for posting that gif Shaun, I didn't want to say that was what Michael was thinking of having for dessert

(darfc now...far away...)

Lines are made for stepping over. There ya go again little sister. burp!

michaelp

This is really funny, my husband loved the joke and he is very picky about jokes.

Did you get your answer Michael? I have my ham in my fridge, bought it yesterday at Jewel. I used the $5.00 off coupon on the front of their add so I got a 10 lb ham for $8.00. I (almost) always buy the Cook's Super Trim Hickory Smoked Shank portion half ham. I have on occasion strayed and bought a fancier brand, or a spiral cut. The spiral cut hams tend to be a bit dry by the time they are reheated. Some of the fancier brands were a bit salty for my taste. This ham always tastes good and stays moist, even if you overheat it. I always line my roasting pan with heavy duty foil and then pop the ham into a cooking bag. A bit lazy maybe, but the ham comes out perfectly moist and I don't even have to think about it while I make the rest of the dinner. (and cleanup is a breeze.) I like the shank portion better because it is easier to carve, and the bone is better for soup IMO. Good luck with your dinner!

As it turns out, even with all the choices of stores that I have to purchase a ham, I struck out on what I actually decided to buy. I wanted a whole bone-in natural juices partially cooked. I settled for a local meat shop (good local reviews)whole bone-in natural juices honey cured smoked fully cooked. 17.5 pounds- for a large group that demands left-overs. I'll heat it up using the bag method. J why are you lining the pan with foil if you're using a bag? Do they leak? I've never used one.

michaelp