Tag: uncured ham

Trader Joe’s Spiral Ham

A few days ago, I wrote about my decision to purchase a spiral ham from Trader Joe’s.

The Trader Joe’s “uncured” ham was a compromise between the Smithfield supermarket brand and high-end humanely-raised Whole Foods offerings.

Anyway, EVERYONE at Easter thought the ham was absolutely delicious. DELICIOUS! Scrumptious. I was really surprised how good it tasted. It was a little fattier than supermarket brands, which are loaded with salt. The TJ’s ham was almost half the sodium, and it had a smokey flavor. I’m actually tempted to get another one just for us. LOL

Easter Ham Compromise: Trader Joe’s

My mother-in-law has offered to pay for the Easter ham.

I knew it would be troublesome to knowingly cook a Smithfield brand ham. Whether it’s Smithfield, or one of their hidden brand like Carando, it’s all you can find at most local supermarkets!

But how could I even suggest that she pay for a natural brand like Wellshire or Neman’s, which sells for at least 3x the amount of a cheap Smithfield ham?

My husband told her that we could pay for any extra expense, but she insisted that it was fine to purchase a more natural brand…but I still feel it’s inappropriate, so I compromised and picked up an “uncured” Trader Joe’s spiral ham which was less than half the price than the Whole Foods Market offerings.

No, it’s not antibiotic free, and I’m positive it’s not humanely raised, but it’s got a lot less sodium and there’s no added nitrates (except for the naturally occurring).

It’s not the perfect ham, but it makes me feel a little better than if I had to purchase the regular supermarket Smithfield hams.

Let’s just hope it tastes good and there’s no complaints! :) Happy Spring!