Dearborn Ham Spiral Sliced

Dearborn ham spiral sliced.  You may have come across the delicious Dearborn ham spiral sliced if you live in Michigan.  Its hams, sausages, and other meats, based on European techniques, are available in over 150 Michigan locations.  The rest of us can find it on-line.

Spiral Sliced Hams , of which Dearborn is an example, are tasty because they are dry-cured.  They're rubbed with salt and sugar or honey.  After that they are aged and dried for up to 6 months. 

The Dearborn ham spiral sliced is slow cooked and smoked for as long as 24 hours.  This step in the dry-curing process preserves and flavors the ham.  Dearborn ham spiral sliced products are smoked with a goal of maximum flavor.  Americans have long enjoyed hickory-smoked ham.  Spiral Sliced Hams are also smoked over pecan, apple wood, maple, cherry, oak and other hardwoods.  Some countries even use fir.

Most dry-cured hams are sold fully cooked and ready-to-serve.  This is the case with Dearborn ham spiral sliced, making it a great offering for almost any gathering.  Dearborn ham spiral sliced is an example of a ham that is best served at room temperature.  Heating a spiral sliced honey glazed ham such as a Dearborn can dry out the meat and cause the glaze to melt and run off.

The slicing process used for the Dearborn ham spiral sliced was patented in 1957 by Harry Hoenselaar.  The machine he invented cuts a ham in one continuous spiral slice.  This helps to keep the ham moist and reduces waste.  At the end of the ham's "life," the bone of a Dearborn ham spiral sliced makes a fantastic ham and bean soup that you can freeze in meal-size portions (I use gallon zip-close bags) for winter use.  At Christmas I even share ham bean soup with my neighbors, when we exchange gifts.

I've been a registered dietitian for 25 years, and I use spiral sliced hams as part of a healthy diet.  Today's hams, such as the Dearborn ham spiral sliced, are much leaner than the hams our grandparents and great-grandparents knew.  For this we can thank the science of livestock feed.  Fat is now a much lower part of a hog's body weight.  A ham such as a Dearborn ham spiral sliced has a healthier balance of major nutrients. A 3oz portion of their glazed smoked ham has approximately 185 calories, 6 grams of fat (about 1/3 of it saturated), 45mg of cholesterol, and 18 g of protein.

Sodium in most processed hams remains high relative to other meats, so if you are on a special diet be sure to ask your dietitian or doctor about hams.

Ham and bean soup is where the real nutrition comes in. Use dried beans, especially a mix of your favorites, and a good recipe, remembering to pour the fat off the broth. Voila! You've got vitamin- and mineral-loaded, low fat, high fiber heaven.

Dearborn ham spiral sliced, and other ready-to-serve hams like it, are highly desirable for everyday use.  They are convenient and delicious.  For a tasty ready-to-serve ham, choose the Dearborn ham spiral sliced.