Food Review: Appleton Farms Spiral Ham
12/26/2018
By Mike Thayer
I'm a ham for Christmas dinner kind of guy, but it was just a party of one this year so I didn't need a big ham for my Christmas meal. Something less than 5 pounds did the trick, some ham for dinner and then the tasty leftovers to enjoy later.
I don't like to do a lot of carving either, I like low maintenance cuts of meat, so a boneless, spiral cut ham was on the shopping list.
Already smoke cured, I purchased an Appleton Farms spiral cut ham at Aldi for $9.39. Weighing in at slightly over 3 pounds, that's just $2.99 a pound and Appleton Farms throws in a brown sugar glaze. That's Bachelor on the Cheap friendly and the ham was delicious, a repeat buy!
I put my ham on the grill to enhance that smoke cure and the spiral cut really embraced that brown sugar glaze. Appleton Farms gets five out of five Bachelor on the Cheap stars, it was the perfect main dish for Christmas!
Putting a spiral ham on the grill is easy peasy. Just put the ham, flat side down on a disposable aluminum pan (you may want to double up on the pans depending on the weight of the ham), pour some kind of juice over the ham. Orange, pineapple, apple, whatever, I like to use a sweet & sour mix myself. Grill over indirect heat, for about 20 minutes per pound of ham at around 275 - 300 degrees. Wait to glaze the ham until that last 20 minutes of cooking time, brushing the glaze in between each slice. Pull the ham from the grill and let it rest for about 10 minutes, tenting with aluminum foil. A spiral cut ham from the grill is another dose of YUM!
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How long did you leave in on the grill after adding the glaze?
Posted by: teri | 04/16/2019 at 11:56 PM
Wait to glaze the ham until that last 20 minutes of cooking time, brushing the glaze in between each slice. Pull the ham from the grill and let it rest for about 10 minutes, tenting with aluminum foil.
Posted by: Mike | 04/17/2019 at 06:49 AM
Can I order a Spiral Ham from someone around me area code 60558
Aldi doesn"t have any...
Posted by: Rosalie G Lawinger | 05/07/2019 at 02:24 PM
Twice I've baked Appleton Farms spiral cut from Aldi, two years in a row. Both had good flavor, BUT the spiral slicing was NOT properly done. On the meatiest side, after the first inch or two, the cuts only went a couple inches deep. I had to cut another 3 or 4 inches of each slice before getting near the bone. This is not why we buy a pre-sliced ham! It definitely put me late on the meal preparation. I won't buy an Appleton Farms pre-sliced ham again.
Posted by: Diane Sylvestre | 11/21/2019 at 09:51 AM
Spiral hams aren't supposed to be completely cut through, otherwise, you'd have sliced ham, rather than a spiral cut ham. The spiral cut has two purposes: 1., It allows for a deeper penetration of a glaze or other seasoning and 2., Makes for far easier slicing (but not slice free). It's a bone-in ham, and still needs to be carved. Step 1: With the ham on its side, cut around the bone with a paring knife to free the attached slices. Step 2: Switch to a carving knife and slice horizontally above the bone to remove the entire section. Step 3: Turn the ham to cut side down and slice down along the bone to remove the remaining meat. Step 4: Serve up those beautiful slices, all layered out and nicely presented!
Posted by: Mike | 11/21/2019 at 10:44 AM
Best ham I ever had I will buy all there products
Posted by: Joan Claire Drega | 04/12/2020 at 02:18 PM
We've enjoyed four Aldi Appleton Farm spiral-cut hams since moving to Texas a year ago. Every one of them has been the best ham this 76-year-old ham lover has ever tasted. Importantly, they seem to contain less sodium than other hams; I'm on a low-sodium diet. Gravy made from the drippings is fantastic, unlike gravies made from other hams that always seems far too salty. The four Appleton hams we've consumed had less fat than most other hams, so there's hardly any waste. The leftover slices freeze perfectly, keeping me in sandwiches for quite awhile. My only complaint is that these terrific hams aren't available year-round. We only have a small 5-cu.ft. freezer, so I've ordered a larger 9 cu.ft. chest freezer that will let us stock up on these wonderful hams each time they become available.
Posted by: jack brown | 08/09/2020 at 01:57 PM
I bought the spiral ham for Thanksgiving. Best ham We've ever had.
Posted by: Dawn kennon | 11/26/2020 at 09:00 PM
Are these hams antibody/hormone free?
Posted by: Darlene Bischoffer | 03/25/2021 at 10:03 AM