Dear Customers,
I like ham. I like the taste, the texture and the fact that it lends itself to literally hundreds of recipes. For instance, if somebody offers me their famous Potato Soup, my first question is, “did you add ham to it?” Otherwise, why bother? It’s just potatoes – and even though I wore green on March 17th, I’m not really Irish!
I like it diced in my scrambled eggs. I like it in a sandwich with whatever cheese is on hand, it really doesn’t matter, but most of all I like to pick at it when I’m slicing it for Easter dinner! We usually buy a bigger ham than we’re going to need for dinner because my youngest son, Noah, likes to carry around what he calls, “a big bag of meat”, one hand cradling it and the other buried deep inside!
There are certain traditional food pairings during the year; turkey at Thanksgiving, prime rib at Christmas, brisket at Hanukkah and hamburgers and/or hotdogs for any patriotic summertime holiday. So why ham at Easter? Pigs were usually butchered in the fall and smoked or cured to last throughout the winter months before the days of refrigerators. Ham was also an economical alternative to lamb which led many people to choose it.
Hams are available in many varieties. A boneless ham offers very little waste and can easily be sliced for sandwiches, making it one of the most popular choices. A semi-boneless ham with a long shank bone running diagonally through it has better flavor, but it’s not as easy to carve. On the plus side, you have a great start to your split-pea- with-ham-after-Easter-soup! The bone also adds stability to the ham which makes it a bit easier to carve and also helps keep it from drying out during cooking.
Spiral sliced hams often have a packet of glaze included with them which helps with the fact that those “spiral slices” tend to dry out in the oven. The glaze makes the spiral ham almost a candy-like delicacy. If you’re cooking a half a ham, make sure to put the cut side down and apply the glaze within 30 minutes of the end of cooking.
As you peruse our meat department ad this week, you’ll notice we have you covered! There are boneless hams, semi-boneless hams and even spiral-cut hams in various flavors, none costing more than $2.99/lb. There are also legs of lamb – with or without the bone – for those of you so inclined.
Keep in mind that Easter Sunday, we will be closed all day as we are every year and always have been. Normal hours will be in effect from Monday through closing Saturday night.
Have a Happy and Blessed Easter holiday – from the Costa family to yours!