Honestly I think just a plain old, bone in, ham is the best deal.

I really don't care for the spiral cuts, I think they tend to dry out and, while they look nice for presentation, they don't do as well for leftovers.

For Christmas Eve I'm serving a plain old ham that I will doctor up myself.

They are good.....no question.....but not as good as the price.
And I don't like the spiral cut aspect.
One time I got a shank half of a ham and poured honey iover the cut ent....let it sit until it was absorbed....repeated and again....it drank about 1/2 q cup of honey.
Then I covered it and baked as I usually do and it was wonderful!
Wegman's will likely be better.....make your own sugar and spice packet.....maybe even add some maple syrup!
Linda C

It's not hard to make your own honey baked ham with a regular bone-in smoked ham. I've made this recipe many times and hope I'm not offending anyone because I've previously posted it.

DURGIN-PARK BAKED HAM

1 (5 to 6 pound) fully cooked ham
3/4 cup fresh orange juice
1/2 cup dry sherry
1 cup honey
Whole cloves
1 cup packed dark brown sugar
2 Tbs. dry mustard

Trim the skin from the ham, leaving a thin, even layer of fat. With a skewer, poke the ham all over at 2-inch intervals. Place the ham in a large resealable plastic bag, and place in a large shallow pan. Combine the orange juice, sherry, and honey; pour over the ham and seal the bag securely. Marinate in the refrigerator for three days, turning the ham every 12 hours.

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Remove the ham from the bag, reserving the marinade. In a shallow roasting pan, with the ham fat side up, score the fat in a diamond design and stud with cloves. Insert a meat thermometer, making sure it does not touch bone. Pour all but a tablespoon of the marinade over the ham.

Bake for 1 � hours or until the meat thermometer registers 130 degrees. In a small bowl, combine the brown sugar, mustard and the tablespoon of the reserved marinade and brush the exposed portion of the ham. Cover with a tent of aluminum foil and bake for an additional 15 minutes or until meat thermometer registers 140. Remove from the oven and allow the meat to stand for 10 minutes; then thinly slice and serve. 10 to 12 servings.

Sounds wonderful.....and If you posted it before I must have been sleeping!
Wondering why a fully cooked ham? When you cook it....just a few more degrees would make it "cooked".....and perhaps better?
I haven't cooked a ham for "home" in years and years.....my family isn't crazy about ham.....but I just may say..."This is what's for dinner".....dammit!

Don't have a Honey-Baked or Heavenly Ham stor in my area anymore. I LOVE them! Yes, a bit pricey, but not much different than the "good" deli ham and makes a heck of a good sandwich with left-overs. SIL used to buy TWO bone-in honey-baked hams for Easter... I'd haul the bones home to make soup. Then she swithed to just buying POUNDS of the slices... no bone... a little more a pound, but NO WASTE. She actually was NOT able to convince the guy behind the counter that SHE made out better paying a little more for JUST HAM than wrestling with the bone.

So the consensus is a no-go on the spiral cut, pre-cooked ham? Ruthana, thanks for the recipe, that sounds delish!

I remember I used to get the pre-cooked, spiral hams from Sams years ago and they came with a spice packet. They were pretty good, but I haven't seen them this year.

A spiral ham is a no go for me . A precooked, smoked ham is what I serve doctored much like Ruthanna describes..

Just don't see the point of paying for the doctoring

That's what I'm doing for Christmas Eve.

Linda, They're talking about a ham that's precooked as opposed to a "country ham", which is not cooked at all before curing. You don't have to boil the ham before baking.

The meat stalls at our farmers' markets carry their own hams in addition to those from a variety of vendors year 'round. I get a bone-in ham end (approx. 2 1/2 to 3 lbs.) about once a month.

The culinary terrorists strike again with putting pecan pie filling on a delicious ham! I enjoy a good smoky ham for the meat, sans goop. Everyone wonders why North Americans are so fat and we have to treat meat like French toast (covered with syrups, sugars, etc), potatoes like a pizza (doused with cheese) vegetables like S'mores (covered with marshmallows), add 3-4T of sugar to the coffee and tea they drink with this and don't understand why they look like Fred Flintstone from head to foot.

Not suggesting one shouldn't indulge a bit and enjoy life but really, when did a good meat like ham get to the point it has to be served up like sugar frosted ham flakes? Ugh!

I'd say no to honey baked and no to spiral cut. I like a chunk of meat. I like a 3/4" slab of smoky (not sugary) ham on the plate. But even for a situation where you're serving sandwiches or something and trying to budget the meat I don't like the spiral cuts because they're hard to warm up without drying out. I've been served spiral cut ham too many times that is approaching ham jerky. Not that it's all bad, but when I want ham, I don't want ham jerky.

I don't buy ham much anymore since it's getting hard to get a ham in natural juices which is "ham" to me. I don't want water-added, sugar coated, imitation maple covered, mustard foot plasters coated or similar deviant activities.

And really... has SUGAR become THAT expensive to justify the ridiculous cost of these mutated meats? I think not. If you need your main course to be FAS approved, a good electric knife will carve it thin, a bag of sugar, pancake syrup and a cheap ham will work just fine. Under all that sugar you won't taste the meat anyway and you'll have plenty of cash leftover to buy a jug of booze to knock down the sugar buzz.

Wow-wee!

I love a spiral cut ham. I've been buying a hickory smoked one from Aldi's for the last few years, $1.69 per pound. I have an 10+ pound one in the frig now. The trick is to keep it covered and cook in a low 250 degree oven for 12-15 minutes per pound. It's DD's job to cook the ham, as my oven is working overtime on holidays. She tosses the sugar package that comes with it and makes her own honey mustard glaze (sauce) which we serve on the side for those that like it sweet. It's always delicious and I have nice bits and pieces and the bone left over for pea soup.

Di

I don't care for Honey Baked Ham. It is too sweet, that crunchy stuff on top is awful, and it is too expensive. Although, you can just unwrap and eat. Does not have to be heated unless you want it hot. Makes for a good addition to an office dinner where cooking/heating is not feasible.
I prefer to just cook a good ham without all the sugar added. Unfortunately it is getting harder and harder to find a good ham that isn't loaded with something....sugar, water, SALT, or something. Last year I cooked a whole ham from Publix and it was good. May look at them again.

Wow-wee is right! Somebody needs a hug.

lol, or a jug of booze!!!

cynic, are you sure you aren't my husband in disguise...HEEHEEHEE! But you forgot the part about, "it's no wonder everyone is so over-weight with sugar in/on everything." HA!

Sorry cynic, you did say Americans are fat..HEEHEE! Totally missed that!

Ignoring the outburst.....and back to hams...
To me....as I know it....a "country ham" is one that has been dry aged and has to be soaked, scrubbed and boiled in 2 changes of water before being baked.
Then there is a fully cooked ham which is ready to eat and only needs to be warmed to eat if you like it hot...if not then just cut 'er up and eat.
Than there is something else.....it's not cooked and the package says it needs to be cooked at thus and so for thus and so number or hours, or until a thermometer in the thickest part registers 160 degrees.
The last ham I bought like that (a Smithfield for a funeral lunch) was wonderful....even if a pain to prepare......and I know that they are "raw" because the one that someone else cooked was like raw meat inside....I had to bake it more.
I have no idea how those raw, but not country hams are cured.

And I LIKE brown sugar glazed ham and cranberry sauce on my turkey and applesauce with my pork and fruit stuffed pork loin and sweet and sour shrimp. I love asparagus with hollandaise and trice baked potatoes with sour cream and cheese. I like butter on my whole grain bread.....sometimes even JAM!!!!!

Forget the honey glazed ham and add your own honey if you want it sweet.
Linda C

Kathy, FWIW, I like Honey Baked hams. We've tried imitations and always go back to the Honey Baked. Of course I serve ham perhaps once a year at a large buffet party, but the leftovers are always good for sandwiches. I do think that some are better than others and the glaze is applied in the store, so check online to see which local store has more positive reviews. We have a number of stores nearby but there's one who is consistently better quality.

A note of caution on a Honey Baked ham. If you use the bone for a bean or pea soup, the overly sweet will be in your soup. Neighbor had one for a party last mnth, made her outstanding split pea soup and after tasting ended up tossing it as no one wanted to eat it. She sent me a bowl to taste that day and it truly was nasty.

I feel like I have to stick up for the poor honey baked ham. I love them! Are they over priced? Probably but I always have a $5.00 coupon so I can pretend I am getting a bargain. LOL

I also only get it once a year so it is just a little splurge for me. I always serve it at room temp so I don't have the problem with it drying out. My only problem is fighting my family for the yummy sugary coating.

I have tried the supermarket version and the costco version, which is about half the price but I always go back to the honey baked ham store. Our store even has holiday music and cashiers stationed outside to keep the line moving. Their sliced turkey breast is also a little over priced but very yummy.

Note taken pkramer, we serve honey mustard on the side for those that like it sweet. Have to have my ham bone unsweetened!

We used to on occasion smoke our turkeys, I learned early on that I don't like the smoked flavor in my turkey soup.

Di

It's all about the mustard! IMO - Ham is the best vehicle for mustard... So, I don't care how it is cooked, as long as there are several mustards to sample! :-)

But I do want to try these 2 slow cooker versions

Crockpot Maple Ham

Crockpot Honey Glazed Ham

Here is a link that might be useful: National Mustard Musem

No holiday is complete without a Honey Baked Ham on the table at our house, according to my husband.

Then I use the bone to make lima bean soup. I haven't found it too sweet though.

Ok, so you all have changed my mind; I'm going with the Honey Baked Ham! Going to put my order in today to pick up on Friday.

And I agree about the mustard!

I love their hams - they torch the sugar to brown it, I'm told and that is done at the store. I just picked mine up today. If you call ahead, they will give you a confirmation number that indicates the day you will pick it up and the size. For example my number was 222 - meaning I was to picke it up on the 22 and the either 2 indicates I wanted a 9 to 11 lb. I think 1 would mean I wanted the smaller ham.

I had 3 coupons so I used one and gave the other two away. No sense in anyone having to pay more than they have to. They run the ads each week since Thanksgiving.