Choosing the Best Style Ham for Your Holiday Dinner
Each Holiday season, there are several types of meat that make the perfect holiday centerpiece. They can include beef, turkey, and ham. While turkey season is well underway, we wanted to focus on hams. We want to make choosing your Holiday ham easier! The following are some general guidelines on picking the right ham for your meal:Styles of Ham:
Country Ham
Country Hams are typically dry-cured and are aged, drier and saltier. They are usually hardwood smoked and a little harder to find than the more common City Ham.
Fresh Hams
Fresh Hams are much harder to find and are typically uncured. The packaging should have the term “fresh” on it.
Bone-In or Boneless?
Bone-in
If you choose a bone-in ham, you should be comfortable with carving. It is definitely worth the effort as the bone helps make the meat more flavorful. There are two types of bone-in hams: shank end or butt end. A shank end (leg portion) is the typical ham that you would see on a picture-perfect dining table. This ham is much leaner and only has one long bone, which makes carving a breeze. A butt end (top half of ham) is much juicier and sports a richer profile. It does have a T-shaped bone, which makes carving a bit trickier.
Boneless
Boneless hams are another option that can offer convenience, if that is a priority to you. The bone is removed and the ham is pressed into an oval shape which makes slicing a breeze.
How about Spiral-Cut Ham?
Thank goodness for the invention of the spiral ham slicer, otherwise this one would be hard to pull off! Spiral hams typically come fully cooked and glazed, so if you have a special recipe in mind for your Holiday ham, this one may be off the table (wink, wink).
Now that you know what styles of ham there are, it’s time to pick one that speaks to you!
Visit kuhnsmarket.com to start your shopping list.