Best Store Bought Honey Ham Slices, According to a Taste Tester | Sporked (2024)

By Justine Sterling |

Best Store Bought Honey Ham Slices, According to a Taste Tester | Sporked (1)

Let’s talk honey ham. It’s so good, it inspired a whole chain of stores. I speak, of course, of The Honey Baked Ham Co., which sells, almost entirely, honey baked ham. That crackling, sticky-sweet rind. That juicy, savory meat. My family used to get one every New Year’s Day for a party (leave the NYE party to the amateurs, the real pros party in the daylight). And the best part was the sandwich after the party made with leftover honey ham slices. But we’re not rich. Well, most of us, at least. And some of us have tiny fridges that couldn’t fit a whole honey baked ham even if we could afford it. So we can’t always have a honey baked ham on hand for sandwiches. Enter the best store bought honey ham.

I tasted eight different honey ham brands in search of the best honey sliced ham. I looked for a sweet, honeyed rind (really good honey ham has gotta have a rind) that contrasts with savory, well-seasoned meat. It could be thick or thin, but it should pack a flavorful punch. When I layer honey ham slices onto a sandwich, I want to know that flavor won’t get lost amongst all the toppings and condiments.

Here are the four best honey hams you should buy for those everyday honey ham needs. And if you’re looking for the best ham (not honey), we can help you out with that, too.

Best Store Bought Honey Ham Slices, According to a Taste Tester | Sporked (2)

Best Budget

Great Value Thin Sliced Honey Ham

This honey sliced ham is bouncy—like true, all-American deli meat should be. No, you won’t confuse this with roasted ham. But that’s not what it’s trying to be. It’s deli ham. And the flavor is good—it’s meaty and rich. The skin around it gives it nice snap and texture. There’s not a huge amount of honey flavor, but there’s enough to let you know you aren’t just eating ham. You’re eating honey ham. Plus, it’s the cheapest honey ham on this list.

Related: Best Low-Sodium Ham

Credit: Merc / Walmart

Best Store Bought Honey Ham Slices, According to a Taste Tester | Sporked (3)

Best Thin Sliced

Hillshire Farm Ultra Thin Honey Ham

Points for Hillshire Farm’s Tupperware-style containers. They’re reusable and they keep the meat fresh and easy to store. I also think Hillshire always does a great job with their ultra thin-cut meats. They really are so, so, so thin—and this honey sliced ham is no exception. And it’s extremely flavorful for being so very delicately sliced. The honey flavor comes in at the end and the meat itself is both seriously savory and sweet—it almost tastes like it has BBQ sauce on it.

Related: Best Roast Beef

Credit: Merc / Target

Rating:

7.5/10

Sporks

Best Store Bought Honey Ham Slices, According to a Taste Tester | Sporked (4)

Best Sandwich Sized

Hormel Natural Choice

This is the baby bear of honey hams—it’s not too thick and it’s not too thin, it’s just right. And it’s about the size of a standard slice of store-bought bread, making it perfect for stacking onto a sandwich. It’s rich and meaty and the honey flavor is there. Plus, it’s all natural—no preservatives, no nitrates, no added hormones.

Related: Best Deli Turkey

Credit: Merc / Walmart

Rating:

8.5/10

Sporks

Best Store Bought Honey Ham Slices, According to a Taste Tester | Sporked (5)

Best of the Best

True Story Uncured Wildflower Honey & Maple Ham

This isn’t the first time we’ve included True Story in one of our meat rankings. They’re also one of the best prosciutto brands you can find at the grocery store. Their honey ham has a great, thick rind that is filled with yummy, cooked honey flavor. And the meat tastes like ham cut off a spiral ham! Incredible. It tastes like Easter leftovers (or New Year’s Day leftovers, if you’re in my immediate family). It’s a fancy honey ham. And it comes at a higher price than the other honey hams on this list. But it’s worth it, I promise.

Related: Best Bologna

Credit: Merc / Instacart

Rating:

9.5/10

Sporks

Other honey ham brands we tried: Land o’ Frost Honey Ham, Boar’s Head Uncured Honey Ham, Good & Gather Uncured Honey Ham, Bar S Deli Style Honey Ham

Rankings

Best Ham to Buy, from Honey Ham to Ham Steaks

By Danny Palumbo |

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Here’s How Honey Is Made (Including Creamed Honey and Manuka Honey)

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By Justine Sterling |

Best Store Bought Honey Ham Slices, According to a Taste Tester | Sporked (9)

About the Author

Justine Sterling

Justine Sterling is the editor-in-chief of Sporked. She has been writing about food and beverages for well over a decade and is an avid at-home cook and snacker. Don’t worry, she’s not a food snob. Sure, she loves a fresh-shucked oyster. But she also will leap at whatever new product Reese’s releases and loves a Tostitos Hint of Lime, even if there is no actual lime in the ingredients.

Your thoughts.

Best Store Bought Honey Ham Slices, According to a Taste Tester | Sporked (2024)

FAQs

Best Store Bought Honey Ham Slices, According to a Taste Tester | Sporked? ›

True Story Uncured Wildflower Honey & Maple Ham

What is the best cut of Honey Baked Ham? ›

Our baked spiral ham is sliced through to the bone, making it easy to remove individual slices. Since then, HoneyBaked has earned a reputation as purveyors of the best spiral ham, setting the undisputed gold standard by which all other spiral cut hams are judged.

What is comparable to Honey Baked Ham? ›

See how The Honey Baked Ham Company compares to similar products. The Honey Baked Ham Company's top competitors include Plainville Farms, Hain Pure Protein Corporation, and Arby's. Plainville Farms is a company focused on the food industry, specifically the poultry sector.

What ham has the most flavor? ›

The shank end (or leg portion) sports that classic ham profile, so it's a good choice for a picture-perfect table. The meat tends to be leaner and it has one long bone, which makes carving easier. The butt end (the top half of the ham) has more tender, fattier meat, lending a richer flavor.

How to make a store-bought ham taste better? ›

Preheat the oven at 350F. Lay the ham in a deep oven pan on a layer of thickly sliced onions. For a different taste you could also add thick slices of apple, pear or pineapple under the ham . Score the fat diagonally about each inch and then repeat at 45 degrees to create a diamond pattern.

Which is better bone-in or boneless Honey Baked Ham? ›

We recommend our signature bone-in Honey Baked Ham for life's special occasions and our boneless ham for more casual gatherings. Our Bone-In Honey Baked Hams are cooked longer in a smokehouse with a hardwood blend for up to 24 hours, yielding natural smoke flavor from real hickory and maple chips.

What makes Honey Baked Ham better? ›

First, our Honey Baked Ham products start with a rigorous selection process, then the meat is smoked for up to 24 hours with our special blend of hardwood chips. The result is that every rich and flavorful bite, and every slice, is fall-apart-in-your-mouth perfect. There's something about that sweet, crunchy glaze.

Who makes Kirkland hams? ›

The FSIS said that the recalled product include Costco's ready-to-eat ham products produced by Sunnyvalley Smoked Meats in Manteca, California.

What is the best cut of ham for Easter dinner? ›

What kind of ham is best for Easter dinner? Look for a fully-cooked, bone-in ham that isn't spiral cut—it stays juicier in the oven! Shank-end hams are the big, beautiful ones you're used to seeing for the holidays and those work great here.

What happened to HoneyBaked Ham? ›

The Honey Baked Ham Company continues to be a family-owned business and serve customers online and at more than 400 year round retail locations in 40 states across the United States.

What is the most expensive slice of ham? ›

But what is the most expensive ham in the world, and why is it so coveted? The most expensive ham in the world is Jamón Ibérico de Bellota, also known as pata negra, from the Iberian pig breed. This ham can cost upwards of $1,000 per leg, making it a truly rare and indulgent treat.

What is considered the best ham in the world? ›

The combination of a unique and iconic pure breed, a longer curing process, strict POD standards , and traditional hand carving techniques, make Jamón Ibérico de Bellota the best in the world.

Which ham is best to eat? ›

  • A Moist, Flavorful Boneless Ham. Omaha Steaks Duroc Boneless Country Ham. ...
  • A Showstopper Bone-In Ham. D'Artagnan Berkshire Pork Bone-in Smoked Ham, Half. ...
  • Another Fantastic Bone-In Ham. ...
  • The Best Spiral-Cut Ham. ...
  • The Best Ham for Two. ...
  • Another Great Ham for Two. ...
  • The Best Fancy Dry Ham. ...
  • A Moist, Flavorful Boneless Ham.

How to doctor up a store-bought ham? ›

Add 1/2-3/4 of a cup of wine or stock to the pan (you don't want the ham swimming in liquid) and throw some aromatics in there—a few whole cloves, some star anise, and cinnamon sticks are all good options. Cover the ham with foil and place in a 250-degree oven until it reaches an internal temperature of 100℉.

What is the secret to good ham? ›

Cook it low and slow.

This ensures that the meat doesn't dry out as your ham spends at least a couple hours in the oven. The ideal temperature to cook at is 325°, and for a bone-in half ham it will take 20 to 25 minutes per pound to cook at that low of a temperature.

What can I put on ham to moisten it? ›

directions
  1. Foil line a lipped baking sheet.
  2. Place the ham with the large side down on the foil.
  3. Mix the applesauce, brown sugar and mustard in a bowl and then use your hands to cover the ham all the way around.
  4. Cover ham with foil.
  5. Put it into a 350 degree oven at 350 degrees for 14 minutes per pound.

What cut of ham is best for baked ham? ›

Shank: This portion comes from the lower half of the leg and is the most common cut used for baked ham. Butt: Also known as ham sirloin, this section comes from the upper region of the leg and is the most tender and flavorful cut of ham.

Which is better, boneless or bone-in spiral ham? ›

A bone-in ham makes for a great visual presentation on the table, and is perfect for carving. And it's not just there for show — a ham bone is an excellent starter for flavorful soups and stocks. Boneless hams are easier to carve, and better suited for sandwiches. There's no real difference in flavor or texture.

What is the best cut to make ham? ›

The most popular meat to use is pork, shoulder (picnic ham) or hind leg (leg of ham), but you can make a ham out of just about any piece of meat from almost any animal. Ham can be made with the bone in or out.

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