A local store has a whole ham fully cooked on sale for 99 cents per
pound. Aldi has a spiral cut ham on sale for 1.49. What is the best
deal? Would I be happier with the spiral even though it is more
expensive? I usually cook a ham, and then use it to make ham salad
sandwiches, and maybe a mess of beans. Also is it ok to freeze the
ham.

Thanks

Tom

On Tue 09 Dec 2008 01:29:17p, told us...

> A local store has a whole ham fully cooked on sale for 99 cents per
> pound. Aldi has a spiral cut ham on sale for 1.49. What is the best
> deal? Would I be happier with the spiral even though it is more
> expensive? I usually cook a ham, and then use it to make ham salad
> sandwiches, and maybe a mess of beans. Also is it ok to freeze the
> ham.
>
> Thanks
>
> Tom
>

Obvbiously, from a cost perspective, the whole ham is a better deal.
However, it really depends on what you want. Personally, if I'm serving
most of the ham at a dinner (sliced), I prefer the spiral sliced ham. Both
have bones which you can use for beans and/or soup. I suspect the whole
ham would grind better for making ham salad than would the spiral slices
which are about 1/8 to 3/16" thick on average.

That probably wasn't help, was it? Sorry...

--
Wayne Boatwright
(correct the spelling of "geemail" to reply)
************************************************** **********************
Date: Tuesday, 12(XII)/09(IX)/08(MMVIII)
************************************************** **********************
Countdown till Christmas Day
2wks 1dys 10hrs 28mins
************************************************** **********************
I'm sure it's in the manual somewhere...
************************************************** **********************

> wrote:

> A local store has a whole ham fully cooked on sale for 99 cents per
> pound. Aldi has a spiral cut ham on sale for 1.49. What is the best
> deal? Would I be happier with the spiral even though it is more
> expensive?


The problem I've found with spiral - sliced is that it dries out real
fast...


I usually cook a ham, and then use it to make ham salad
> sandwiches, and maybe a mess of beans. Also is it ok to freeze the
> ham.


Sure. I get a couple of spiral - sliced hams for my mom and sister every
year, they put a lot of it into the freezer. They like the convenience...


--
Best
Greg

wrote:
> A local store has a whole ham fully cooked on sale for 99 cents per
> pound. Aldi has a spiral cut ham on sale for 1.49. What is the best
> deal? Would I be happier with the spiral even though it is more
> expensive? I usually cook a ham, and then use it to make ham salad
> sandwiches, and maybe a mess of beans. Also is it ok to freeze the
> ham.
>
> Thanks
>
> Tom

*Which* is the best deal (you meant to ask)?? Well, if all you're going
to do is is use it for salad and beans, I think the .99/pound ham would
work very nicely. The spiral cut costs more per pound because of the
convenience of having someone pre-slice it when you want to serve slices
to your dining guests.
Some of the spiral cut hams have been pre-glazed also. This flavor
(usually sweet) might work for or against you when using it in ham salad
or beans?

> wrote in message
...
>A local store has a whole ham fully cooked on sale for 99 cents per
> pound. Aldi has a spiral cut ham on sale for 1.49. What is the best
> deal? Would I be happier with the spiral even though it is more
> expensive? I usually cook a ham, and then use it to make ham salad
> sandwiches, and maybe a mess of beans. Also is it ok to freeze the
> ham.
>
> Thanks
>
> Tom

Yes freezing leftover ham is OK be sure to temper it when defrosting.

The spiral is much easier to serve but the whole ham is a good deal @ 99
cents per pound. The big difference is the size usually the spiral are 1/2
hams I suspect this is the case. The whole hams usually run form 15 pounds
up to about 21 pounds. How much can you reasonably use.

Dimitri

> wrote in message
...
>A local store has a whole ham fully cooked on sale for 99 cents per
> pound. Aldi has a spiral cut ham on sale for 1.49. What is the best
> deal? Would I be happier with the spiral even though it is more
> expensive? I usually cook a ham, and then use it to make ham salad
> sandwiches, and maybe a mess of beans. Also is it ok to freeze the
> ham.
>
> Thanks
>
> Tom
>
>
If you want to warm the whole spiral sliced ham up and serve it slice by
slice at dinner, you'll find it's very hard to warm it up again and again.
The slices tend to fall apart, and the remaining ham, if reheated is dry. If
you want to have the ham slice by slice without ever warming it up it
should be OK. I avoid sliced ham and always go for the whole ham. Slicing
is easy. You can warm the whole remaining ham several times. Is it a
national brand? That's almost too cheap, unless it's a frantic sale by the
grocer.

Theron

On Dec 9, 2:29 pm, " >
wrote:
> A local store has a whole ham fully cooked on sale for 99 cents per
> pound. Aldi has a spiral cut ham on sale for 1.49. What is the best
> deal? Would I be happier with the spiral even though it is more
> expensive? I usually cook a ham, and then use it to make ham salad
> sandwiches, and maybe a mess of beans. Also is it ok to freeze the
> ham.
>
> Thanks
>
> Tom

I can't think the spiral cut is worth 50 cents a pound, especially
because your don't particularly care if all the slices are perfectly
sliced ...you're making other stuff out of it. Get the unspiraled
one. It's a no-brainer. They are both fully-cooked, anyway.

N.

Goomba wrote:

> wrote:
> > A local store has a whole ham fully cooked on sale for 99 cents per
> > pound. Aldi has a spiral cut ham on sale for 1.49. What is the best
> > deal? Would I be happier with the spiral even though it is more
> > expensive? I usually cook a ham, and then use it to make ham salad
> > sandwiches, and maybe a mess of beans. Also is it ok to freeze the
> > ham.
> >
> > Thanks
> >
> > Tom
>
> *Which* is the best deal (you meant to ask)?? Well, if all you're going
> to do is is use it for salad and beans, I think the .99/pound ham would
> work very nicely. The spiral cut costs more per pound because of the
> convenience of having someone pre-slice it when you want to serve slices
> to your dining guests.
> Some of the spiral cut hams have been pre-glazed also. This flavor
> (usually sweet) might work for or against you when using it in ham salad
> or beans?


Per this week's Aldi ad the $1.49 ham has the glaze in an accompanying
packet...they have another for $1.99 that is pre - glazed and comes with an
additional packet.

Last xmas we had a spiral - cut ham from Whole Foods, for this Thanksgiving
we had the spiral - cut from Aldi. They were exactly the same except for
the wrapping, you could not tell them apart. I'd go for the Aldi, the price
is very good...


--
Best
Greg

On Dec 9, 12:53*pm, "Gregory Morrow" > wrote:
> > wrote:
> > A local store has a whole ham fully cooked on sale for 99 cents per
> > pound. Aldi has a spiral cut ham on sale for 1.49. What is the best
> > deal? Would I be happier with the spiral even though it is more
> > expensive?
>
> The problem I've found with spiral - sliced is that it dries out real
> fast...
>
> *I usually cook a ham, and then use it to make ham salad
>
> > sandwiches, and maybe a mess of beans. Also is it ok to freeze the
> > ham.
>
> Sure. *I get a couple of spiral - sliced hams for my mom and sister every
> year, they put a lot of it into the freezer. *They like the convenience....
>
> --
> Best
> Greg

I agree- we just had our holiday potluck at work which consisted of a
dried out spiral ham...

"tomba. wrote:
> A local store has a whole ham fully cooked on sale for 99 cents per
> pound. Aldi has a spiral cut ham on sale for 1.49. What is the best
> deal? Would I be happier with the spiral even though it is more
> expensive? I usually cook a ham, and then use it to make ham salad
> sandwiches, and maybe a mess of beans.

Both are fully cooked but still for safety they need to be cooked
according to the directions on the package. Even though the
difference in price they turn out costing about the same because the
spiral cut ham contains much less bone and fat... the spiral cut ham
has more bone removed from the distal end and the aitch bone is
removed from the butt end along with the portion of pelvic bone and
the accompanying extra fat and gristle. Plus the spiral cut ham is
much, much easier to serve. And if cooked as indicated teh spiral cut
ham will not dry out... I don't use the glaze packet, it's messy and
my cats don't like it. I save the glaze packets for nuking Spam! LOL

> Also is it ok to freeze the ham.

I would not freeze the whole ham, they are in the stupidmarkets every
day all year for about the same price, often they cost a bit less off
holiday times, they'll cost less after New Year... they really don't
freeze well and who wants that big cumbersome thing taking up space in
the freezer... I buy when I need them. I may freeze some left over
meat but by the third day of making sammiches, an omelet, etc., and
slipping some to my cats I don't have any real slices left, whatever
bits get frozen with the bone for soup.

" > wrote:

> A local store has a whole ham fully cooked on sale for 99 cents per
> pound. Aldi has a spiral cut ham on sale for 1.49. What is the best
> deal? Would I be happier with the spiral even though it is more
> expensive? I usually cook a ham, and then use it to make ham salad
> sandwiches, and maybe a mess of beans. Also is it ok to freeze the
> ham.

Just for the record: A spiral-cut ham is a fully cooked ham. Both
just need re-heated, or can be eaten cold right from the store.

Look for the better brand, and the least amount of water added.
Ones that do not mention the addition of water and/or say "in
natural juices" will be the better ham (usually).

-sw

> wrote in message
...
>A local store has a whole ham fully cooked on sale for 99 cents per
> pound. Aldi has a spiral cut ham on sale for 1.49. What is the best
> deal? Would I be happier with the spiral even though it is more
> expensive? I usually cook a ham, and then use it to make ham salad
> sandwiches, and maybe a mess of beans. Also is it ok to freeze the
> ham.
>
> Thanks
>
> Tom

My choice is neither. The 99¢ ham is probably watery and spiral sliced hams
dry out quickly. I like to buy a decent ham that is not overly injected.
They are usually about 2.49 or so.

Yes, you can freeze ham but it may have a little texture loss.

"Ed Pawlowski" > wrote in message
...
>
> > wrote in message
> ...
>>A local store has a whole ham fully cooked on sale for 99 cents per
>> pound. Aldi has a spiral cut ham on sale for 1.49. What is the best
>> deal? Would I be happier with the spiral even though it is more
>> expensive? I usually cook a ham, and then use it to make ham salad
>> sandwiches, and maybe a mess of beans. Also is it ok to freeze the
>> ham.
>>
>> Thanks
>>
>> Tom
>
> My choice is neither. The 99¢ ham is probably watery and spiral sliced
> hams dry out quickly. I like to buy a decent ham that is not overly
> injected. They are usually about 2.49 or so.

Do you mean a bone-in "pic nic" ham?

"cybercat" > wrote in message
...
>
> "Ed Pawlowski" > wrote in message

>>
>> My choice is neither. The 99¢ ham is probably watery and spiral sliced
>> hams dry out quickly. I like to buy a decent ham that is not overly
>> injected. They are usually about 2.49 or so.
>
> Do you mean a bone-in "pic nic" ham?
>

Bone in, but not the picnic. John Morel E Z Cut hams in the red wrapper is
a good one. Usually only see them at Easter and Christmas. Better than the
hams they have the rest of the time.

Ed Pawlowski said...

>
> "cybercat" > wrote in message
> ...
>>
>> "Ed Pawlowski" > wrote in message
>
>>>
>>> My choice is neither. The 99¢ ham is probably watery and spiral
>>> sliced hams dry out quickly. I like to buy a decent ham that is not
>>> overly injected. They are usually about 2.49 or so.
>>
>> Do you mean a bone-in "pic nic" ham?
>>
>
> Bone in, but not the picnic. John Morel E Z Cut hams in the red wrapper
> is a good one. Usually only see them at Easter and Christmas. Better
> than the hams they have the rest of the time.


We served a Honeybaked spiral sliced ham at a Christmas buffet dinner once
and nobody ate it, waiting for it to get carved. Everything else
disappeared. Talk about a food backfire!!! Once announced that it was
already sliced it too quickly disappeared.

Andy

Ed Pawlowski > wrote:

> My choice is neither. The 99¢ ham is probably watery and spiral sliced hams
> dry out quickly. I like to buy a decent ham that is not overly injected.
> They are usually about 2.49 or so.

Smithfield brand wet-cured hams ('Ready to Cook'), are $1.29 (shank)
and $1.49/lb (butt) here every day of the week and are the best
brand on the market. It's pure ham that weighs within 7% as when it
was butchered (IOW: No added water).

Even though they still need cooking (technically), I eat them raw.
It's melt-in-your-mouth Swine Sushi.

-sw

cybercat > wrote:

> Do you mean a bone-in "pic nic" ham?

Picnic hams come from the shoulder, not the hind leg. They are
fattier, have more separate muscles, and are not for serving as a
whole or half ham as a butt or shank ham.

-sw

Andy > wrote:

> We served a Honeybaked spiral sliced ham at a Christmas buffet dinner once
> and nobody ate it, waiting for it to get carved. Everything else
> disappeared. Talk about a food backfire!!! Once announced that it was
> already sliced it too quickly disappeared!

Was everyone named Andy?

-sw