The Best Spiral Ham: Our Taste Tests

Let’s talk spiral hams.

First, what is a spiral ham? These pre-cooked and pre-sliced hams mean no fuss—you just reheat and serve.

There is a trade-off with the pre-slicing—they can be dry compared to an unsliced ham. In our taste tests, we noted which hams retained the best moisture. But here’s an important tip: follow the package’s reheating directions, as some hams require you to wrap them in foil to keep the moisture in. Ignore at your own peril—you’ll end up with a ham that might disappoint.

Some spiral hams are bone-in, while others are boneless. It depends on your preference, but some folks think a bone-in ham retains more flavor. After our taste tests, we concede that point—but the boneless ham we chose for this article were still quite flavorful.

Here are three tips to keep in mind while ordering a ham:

1. Pay close attention to the size of ham you are ordering. Ignore the picture. Some hams look large in a picture, but you can clearly read in the description how much they weigh.  Here are some benchmarks:

To serve two people, choose a ham that is a 1 to 1.5 lbs. For four people, choose a ham that is 2 lbs. for boneless or 3lbs. for a bone-in ham.

What about a larger dinner with 10 people? Choose a ham that is 5lbs (boneless) to 7.5 lbs. (bone-in).

2. Slicing should be consistent. The best spiral hams have consistent slicing (not thick and thin slices). We eliminated hams that were inconsistent in sizing.

3. Yes, hams are salty. When we surveyed our parent readers on this topic, we noticed there were quite a few complaints about spiral hams that were too salty. But that is the true for most traditional spiral hams. That said, we did find one lower salt ham we recommend later in this article.

About the Authors

Denise & Alan Fields are consumer advocates and best-selling authors. The Fields have authored 12 books with three million copies in print, including the best-selling guide to baby gear, Baby Bargains.

The Fields have been featured and quoted in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal and Los Angeles Times.

As consumer products experts, the Fields have been guests on the NBC Today Show, Good Morning America and ABC’s 20/20.

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We often turn to our readers (3 million strong!) to find products to recommend. We ask our parent readers for their favorites and consider their real-world experiences in our recommendations.

When we test a product, we always purchase it with our own monies. We do not take free samples, as we believe that compromises our independence.

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