I picked up the ham on Saturday at a very busy Honey Baked Store. No instructions were offered to me, but I did overhear an employee telling another customer to heat the ham at 275 in the oven. When I checked the packaging, the label suggested heating the individual slices in the microwave (really), or serving it at room temp.

When I called my mother, she was absolutetly *scandalized* at the idea of eating ham that wasn’t HOT. This was dinner, after all, and was I really going to invite people to my house and not serve them a hot meal???

So in the case of Mom v. Fussy, Mom won. I heated the ham in a 300 oven for ‘long enough’. The cut edge became baked and crispy. It looked delicious, but I served it to my grandfather, so I don’t know for sure. The rest of the ham was juicy and very, very salty. Guests seemed to enjoy it, and truthfully, the saltiness did not prevent me from eating my share. Some of that nice crunch glaze melted off in the oven. I made sure to drag some of the slices of ham through the small puddle of yummy burnt sugar, but I do believe some of it was lost.

I’d give the Honey Baked Ham experience 3 stars out of 5. It was very easy, served plenty of people, and was tasty despite the saltiness. Plus it was free, since I won the gift certificate from Table Hopping by writing a few lines about how my cat invented “The Bacon Dance.”

I had about $5.00 left on the gc after getting the ham, and I knew I would lose the card before I made it back, so I took advantage of HBH’s ’25% off anything else when you buy a ham’ sale. The side dishes all looked incredibly fatty and/or sweet, so I used the gc with $6.00 of my own to get a rack of their pork ribs. They are the pre-cooked, pre-sauced variety, and will remain in the freezer until my sodium level returns to normal. I’ll report back on the ribs at that time.

Thanks for your efforts in spreading the word about HBH.

The hope is that you take the chill off the meat by leaving out of the refrigerator before it is served. I too would not want to serve chilled ham. They say half an hour is sufficient. This could be because they are bound by food safety regulations, and cannot advise anyone to take it out for longer. You may be more comfortable taking it out longer, especially if you have a crowd and do not expect leftovers.

IF you cannot bring yourself to keep it out of the oven, please do me a favor: Take a few inconspicuous slices off the cold ham and put them aside. Then you can compare for yourself the way the ham is supposed to taste versus what happens to the meat after being exposed to heat.