1 Ham, 2 Ham, Just for You Ham

1 Ham, 2 Ham, Just for You Ham

Cayla Stoltzfoos |

Alright, so in last week's post you learned the process behind how our hams are made. You know what makes a Stoltzfus Meats ham different than other ham companies. Now your question is: which Stoltzfus Meats ham do I want to serve this holiday season?

Well, you came to the right place! Let’s start by talking about the difference between bone-in and boneless hams, and which of our hams fall into each category.

Bone-in Hams

bone-in ham

 

Bone-in hams, as easily deduced from the name, have the bone remaining in the cut of meat. Our bone-in hams are considered to be skinless and shankless. This means that the skin and the shank, which is the lower part of the leg, have been removed. What remains are two bones: the center leg bone and the aitch bone.

Bone-in hams are known for being slightly fattier cuts of meat. Around the center leg bone that goes through the ham is a pocket of fat, referred to as the “star fat.” Other muscles and fat tissue remain in the meat as well. Fat tends to absorb cure better, making for a flavorful piece of meat. While the inside contains more fat, the outside surface fat is hand-trimmed by our meat cutters.

We offer two kinds of hams that are bone-in. The first is our traditional bone-in ham, which is made with a modern cure and is available as a whole ham, half ham, quarter ham, or in individual slices. The second type of bone-in ham is our spiral-sliced ham. According to George Clayton, one of our salesmen here at Stoltzfus Meats, “spiral slicing is a process in which a ham is placed on a special cutting machine that spins the ham around while cutting thin slices all the way to the bone in a continuous spiral.” Our Stoltzfus Meats spiral-cut hams are a seasonal option, served over the holidays, and contain a glaze packet. These are sold as whole hams or half hams at our retail locations.

Boneless Hams

boneless ham

Boneless hams, on the other hand, have all of the bones removed. They are typically made of the two leanest muscles, called top and bottom rounds. All of the surface fat is removed, leaving you with a 96% to 97% fat free product.

In the boneless category, we have quite a few options available. As with the bone-in hams, we offer a traditional boneless ham, as well as a spiral-sliced boneless ham.

We also offer what we refer to as our Old-Fashioned Hams. While this is a boneless ham, it is processed exactly like our bone-in ham. The only difference is that it is cut just enough to allow the bone to be removed. The Old-Fashioned hams contain a higher fat content, which allows for great flavor. These are available in whole hams, half hams, and quarter hams.

homestead farm by Stoltzfus Meats logo

A final boneless option that we offer is our Homestead Farm honey ham from our Homestead Farm line of products. These products are cured with a natural cure process, using a mixture of celery powder, beet powder, and salt. When these ingredients activate with the heat from the smokehouse, the curing process is initiated. Typically, these honey hams are chipped for lunch meats in our deli counters, but they are delicious when served as a whole ham as well. We would recommend special ordering this ham at one of our retail locations just to ensure that we have the exact product you are looking for.

We do produce some additional ham options, such as our Tavern Hams, but these are not typically used for serving as a whole ham. Rather, we use these for chipping or slicing for lunch meat in our deli counters.

Whew! That was a lot of information at once. We hope you learned something from reading this and feel more confident in narrowing down which type of ham you want to serve at your holiday meal. Stay tuned for another post coming later this week, in which we’ll share some suggestions on how to pick the perfect size ham for your group.

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