Last Updated on November 22, 2023
Aldi is a great place to get a ham for your holiday dinner. The discount grocer sells several varieties, including a double glazed spiral sliced ham we’ve reviewed before, an antibiotic-free ham, and a spiral sliced hickory smoked honey ham. I usually buy Aldi’s double glazed spiral ham, but this year I decided to give the honey ham a try for Easter.
Appleton Farms Spiral Sliced Hickory Smoked Honey Ham cost $1.99 per lb at the time of publication. I paid $19.74 for a 9.92-lb. ham. This is sold as an Aldi Find or Seasonal Favorite, so it’s something that is not available in stores year round. Hams tend to show up at Aldi during November and December and also in time for Easter, as was the case with this ham.
The ham is fully cooked and gluten free. The package comes with the ham and a packet containing a powdered glaze mix.
Appleton Farms Spiral Sliced Hickory Smoked Honey Ham, when served with the glaze, has 150 calories per 3-oz. (84-gram) serving. One serving with glaze also has 8 grams of total fat (12% DV), 2.5 grams of saturated fat (13% DV), 890 mg of sodium (37% DV), 7 grams of total carbohydrates (2% DV), 6 grams of sugars, and 14 grams of protein.
The ham is cured with water, honey, and 2% or less of salt, potassium lactate, dextrose, sodium phosphates, sodium diacetate, sodium erythorbate, and sodium nitrite.
Glaze ingredients are sugar, gelatin, fructose, paprika, honey powder, dextrose, spices, and natural flavorings.
The package states that if you’re serving the ham within seven days of purchase, you can keep the ham in the refrigerator. For longer storage it’s recommended to freeze the ham and use within three months.
A ham can take several hours to heat, so plan accordingly. To heat this ham, preheat the oven to 250 degrees. Remove all packaging materials and place the ham face down directly into a baking dish or roasting pan. Cover the ham tightly with a lid or with foil. Bake for approximately 12-15 minutes per pound (for my nearly 10-pound ham, that would be a minimum of about 120 minutes, or two hours). If you intend to glaze the ham, plan on removing it from the oven about 30 minutes before the end of the cooking time.
To prepare the glaze, about 35 minutes before the end of the ham’s cooking time, stir 2 tablespoons of water and the contents of the glaze packet in a saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat while stirring constantly. To glaze the ham, remove the ham from the oven (approximately 30 minutes before the end of the recommended cooking time, as mentioned above). Apply the glaze evenly over the surface of the warm ham. (I use a large spoon or a basting brush and try to get some of the glaze in between the slices of ham as well.) Return the glazed ham to the oven and bake uncovered for 25-30 minutes. Remove from the oven and serve.
To carve the ham, cut around the center bone with a knife to free as many slices from the bone as desired. Then cut along the natural seams of the ham slices to remove sections of those slices that you’ve already removed from the center bone.
I defrosted my ham for a full week in the refrigerator and then heated it for 12 minutes per pound, but at the end of the cooking time, it was still a little cold in the center near the bone. Since the directions give a range of cook times (12-15 minutes per pound), our ham could have benefited from being cooked on the longer end of that range, more like 15 minutes per pound. One reason why our ham was still cold in the center may be because the cooking temperature listed in the directions is on the low side, based on my experience heating other hams in the past. Other Aldi spiral hams I’ve purchased cook at 325 degrees, while this honey ham is cooked at 250 degrees, a 75-degree difference.
The finished ham.
Since the ham is already fully cooked and you are just reheating it, your ham’s final temperature when you serve it is a matter of personal preference, and I’ve been to plenty of gatherings where spiral hams are served cold right out of the refrigerator.
I served our ham for Easter alongside mashed potatoes, deviled eggs, salad, and plenty of chocolates and sweets. This one has more of a honey flavor than the glazed hams I usually buy, but the flavor difference was pretty minor, and everyone in my family enjoyed the ham. It seems like you really can’t go wrong with any of Aldi’s hams.
Remember to save the bone (it freezes well) to make ham and beans or broccoli, ham, and cheddar soup later. The best part of ham is all the leftovers, right?
The Verdict:
Appleton Farms Spiral Sliced Hickory Smoked Honey Ham is one of several ham options at Aldi. It’s fully cooked and tastes great, and the meat slices easily cut off the center bone. The instructions call for heating this ham at a lower oven temperature compared to other hams I’ve heated, so you may need to factor extra cooking time in when planning your meal, because it takes while to warm this ham all the way through if you heat it according to the instructions.
What side do I cook it on ?? Help please
cut side down
I always stand it right side up.
I have a 9 lb ham. How long do I heat it?
We’d recommend reading the directions on your ham’s label because Aldi sells several different types of ham, and instructions may vary for each one. If you look at the directions we shared above in this post regarding this specific ham, they say 12-15 minutes per pound. But again, you might not have this exact ham, so check the label on your own ham if you still have it.
The instructions on my ham (and the ham on this website) says “face side down”. What does that even mean?? What is the ‘face side’ of a ham???
I bought mine on Friday and they were on sale for 89 cents per pound! Really great ham!
They had all Appleton hams in a cooler bit when I got home I realized they charged me $3.99 a lb. the sign on cooler sad .89 a lb. I went back with receipt and told them they over charged me but they said I got the wrong one. Big money difference on a six lb. ham. They should have them all in the same cooler.
Guess I should proof read . They should not have them all mixed in same cooler if there is a $3.10 per pound difference. They were all Appleton hams
A really good ham. I’m buying two this
Christmas.
The greatest ham we’ve ever had no contest ❤️🎁❤️🎄
This Appleton Farms spiral cut smoked ham was the best ever! I made it for Christmas and my husband is still talking about it! He ranted and raved about it and wants another one, now! I told him he’d have to wait for Easter.
We purchase this ham often but we’re disappointed with the last one we bought. Way too much fat and very thick slices.. very dissatisfied
Is the package of glaze mix Gluten free also. You say the ham is Gluten free. My wife is sensitive to Gluten so before I use the glaze mix I would like to find out if the Glaze mix is ok to use for Gluten free.
Aldi sells several types of ham similar to this one, so you’ll want to check the label on your own ham because it might be different. If you’re still uncertain, you can contact Aldi for more information: https://www.aldireviewer.com/contact-aldi/
With that said, the gluten-free label on the specific ham covered in this review seems to indicate the entire product, including the glaze, is gluten free.
How long do you reheat this ham so it doesn’t dry out?
Your label should have instructions for a certain number of minutes per pound, and wrap the ham in foil to help keep it moist in the oven.
When things go wrong…
The day before Easter, I discovered I was to have 7 for dinner. First stop… ALDI and bought the last Appleton Farms Honey Ham. 10 pounds. I followed instructions and put the ham in a roaster I have. Set for 250 degrees and plugged in the roaster. 1 1/2 hours later I check to discover plug not working and roaster stone cold. Wrapped ham in foil and placed in bottom of oven with roast potatoes on top shelf. 450 degrees. Left 1/2 hour, added glaze and left another 15 minutes. It was wonderful and no one knew about my disaster. I love Appleton Farms and ALDI.
Too much cloves in the packet Overpowering. Check before you glaze the ham.
If it’s fully cooked, why are we baking it for 2 hrs. For the glaze?
I think it’s a matter of preference. From a pure safety perspective, I would think serving pre-cooked ham cold would be fine (just like you would making a cold ham sandwich), but I think most people like the subtle taste and texture changes that come with heating it up in the oven, especially when served alongside a holiday meal. And because it’s a large piece of meat, it takes some time to heat the whole thing through.
Exactly do I HAVE to heat it? I’ve had Heavenly Hams in the past, those I never heat, guessing Appleton’s is the same?
Spiral hams are already fully cooked, so you don’t have to heat them. It’s a matter of preference.
Ugh bought one on Thursday before Christmas, pulled it out o the fridge to cook and the cryovac package was inflated w air. It wasn’t this way when I put it in the fridge. It was fermenting or off gassing even in the refrigerator. Needless to say we did not eat it.
You may be able to return it to Aldi for a refund.
When will these hams be ready for Easter April 17 2022?
Aldi has a lot of hams in stores already.
They are there now, at least in my store in Portsmouth VA…and on sale at $.95/lb
Due to covid at our host’s home I am now cooking the ham for dinner on Easter. Today is Good Friday and I have one of these hams in the freezer. I don’t have time to defrost in the frig for days. Can it be cooked from a frozen state? Can I defrost in the microwave?
I’ve never heated a ham from frozen, but it looks like you may have some options, including heating it in a conventional oven. https://www.tasteofhome.com/article/cooking-a-frozen-ham/
What is the difference between the double glazed spiral sliced ham and the regular spiral sliced ham? Is it a more premium cut? I have cooked both and the double glazed was much more tender.
Great info. Thank you.
Please tell me the farm/country that raises the hogs from which the Appleton ham is cut? Also what company/packing plant packages the ham? What country owns the packing plant that packages the Appleton hams? I plan to buy a honey glazed spiral cut Appleton ham forEaster dinner. Thank You
https://www.aldireviewer.com/what-countries-does-aldi-source-food/
One of the worse hams I ever purchased. This 9 pound ham was at least 50% fat. Even the parts of the ham that looked lean still tasted fatty. Total waste of money. I do realize that with some hunks of meat, you can’t tell what the inside looks like till you cook it. Unfortunately, this was a lousy one. But because of this, I will never buy another Appleton Farms product again.
You should be able to get an idea by looking through the translucent plastic wrap covering the ham. Aldi would’ve certainly refunded your money although that wouldn’t have fixed the meal much, would it?
Bought an Appleton for this Christmas, worst ham ever had, the ham was only sliced about an inch all around the ham, very fatty. Had to cut sections out and then reslice.
Too much fat and work when it should have been cut already
sodium nitrite may cause colon cancer.
https://www.sciencetimes.com/articles/24502/20191223/processed-meat-containing-sodium-nitrite-may-cause-colon-cancer.htm
delicious ham, a bit of a struggle to remove all of the shrink wrap. Perfect to reheat for ham samwich. wish it was available more
When it is time to put the glaze on do you turn the ham on it’s side or do leave it face side down and continue cooking