It is more expensive than other already-cooked whole hams because the slicing has been done, making it very easy to serve and “carve” at the table.
The hams are sliced on special cutting machines that spin the ham against a blade in a spiral fashion, cutting it almost to the centre and making thin slices, without going all the way through or detaching the slices. The ham is then packaged and sold.
You can get whole or half ones. Half a ham will be 7 to 10 pounds (3 to 4 ½ kg.)
Most are bone-in, but you can get boneless. You can get them thickly or thinly sliced.
Some are already glazed; some come with a package to make a glaze from, to make the Easter Ham fool-proof (some wags say “thought proof”) from oven reheating to table serving.
If you have your own special glaze you like to make, be sure to check the packaging to make sure it isn’t already glazed.
Ones that say “with natural juices” didn’t have brine injected into them.
Cooking Tips
To reheat: Let the ham come to room temperature (about 90 minutes). Heat oven to 325 F (160 C). Place flat side down in a roasting pan. Glaze if desired (if it isn’t already). Cover with foil, if the pan doesn’t have a cover. Bake for about 2 hours on lowest rack, or until internal temperature reaches 140 F (60 C). If you wish, you may bake it in a plastic oven bag, to ensure it stays moist. If you do, can you lower the temperature to about 300 F (150 C), and possibly even reduce the oven time, because the bag will hold heat in and cause it to cook faster. You may wish to cut the bag open for the last ½ hour or so of cooking to allow the glaze to brown.