Carlton Farms Ham vs. Honey Baked Ham: Differences & Which Is Better
It’s that time of the year again, and all I have on my mind is turkey and ham, and I bet I’m not the only one! Which ham you buy makes all the difference in the world, especially around this time of the year. Imagine making a fabulous dinner and inviting your loved ones. The table looks fantastic, and all of a sudden, everyone realizes that ham tastes terrible.
It’s not a pretty picture. Don’t worry, I got you covered. In this article, I will tell you all about Honey Baked Ham and Carlton Farm Ham so you can choose the best one for your holiday table.
Differences Between Carlton Farms Ham and Honey Baked Ham
The main difference between Carlton Farms Ham and Honey Baked Ham is their uniformity. While Honey Baked Ham is more recognizable for its honey glaze, Carlton Farm Ham is known for its variety in flavor.
Although Honey Baked Ham offers only one flavor, packed in different shapes, it still offers variety, much like Carlton Farm Ham’s.
Appearance And Sizes
Honey Baked Ham is more standardized, so to speak, in this aspect. It is known for its glossy appearance from the signature honey glaze. It has shades of golden brown and an overall crispy appearance, as you’ve just taken it out of the oven.
It is very appealing and inviting, crispy-looking on the outside, and juicy and soft on the inside. It is as delightful for the eyes as it is for the palate.
Carlton Farm Ham has a somewhat matte exterior with a darker brown shade, giving it a slightly smoky appearance. Some varieties are creased, and some are smooth, but we will get to this in the latter sections. It isn’t as uniform as Honey Baked Ham in appearance since the hams come in different shapes and sizes, but it has its style.
Taste
While Honey Baked Ham is recognizable for its signature caramel flavors from the honey glaze, Carlton Farm Ham has a more natural porky flavor spiced up with some of their flavorings. Honey Baked Ham balances the sweetness from the glaze with the savory notes, resulting in a superb, refined, and elegant taste, perfect for a fancier gathering featuring sides that are more on the gourmet side.
Carlton Farm Ham focuses on bringing out the rustic and wholesome side of the meat. With its robust, slightly smoky, savory notes, it is perfect for a more traditional dinner table, with sides that remind you of the simpler things in life.
Still, I’ve served both hams with various sides, and they fit perfectly with mashed potatoes, peas, salads, breads, and roasted veggies.
Varieties
Honey Glazed Ham seems to support the phrase, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” it has mastered that paradigm to perfection. While you may think having a uniformed product people can recognize with closed eyes is unimaginative, Honey Baked Ham is here to prove otherwise.
Its signature honey glaze is the winning move they make with each new ham batch, and they have no intention of stopping. Even though they offer little variety in taste, they offer quite a selection in sizes and smoking times.
The bone-in-half is smoked for up to 24 hours, whole boneless ham- is smoked for up to 12 hours, bone-in-quarter- is smoked for up to 24 hours, boneless ham- is smoked for up to 12 hours, and a pack of bone-in-whole two halves is the options to choose from.
On the other hand, Carlton Farm Ham offers a different selection. Even though they have more than one flavor, they practice Honey Baked Ham’s tactic and stick to the winning combination.
Carlton Farm Ham offers whole bone-in ham that is classic, succulent, traditional, rustic, and perfect to pair with most traditional sides. Honey-cured nugget ham is the right choice for smoked ham aficionados. I love the smoky this variety gives to the entire inner ensemble.
And for those who like mixing smoky and spicy, there’s the applewood smoked honey-cured pepper ham, harnessing the best from both worlds.
All Carlton Farm hams come in different sizes.
Prices
Ranked as premium hams, both Honey Baked Ham and Carlton Farm Ham do cost a little more than the other less-known ham brands. Still, before you think they are out of your league, let me ease your mind and tell you that they are affordable and provide more value than the price indicates.
This week, I decided to make a pre-holiday dinner, and I went with Honey Baked Ham. I bought 6 lbs of Honey Baked Ham for $94, which is pretty cheap, but it is a decent price for their quality.
Carlton Farm hams are currently priced at $69.95 per 22-pound ham, which is drastically cheaper than Honey Baked Ham, but this is just one variety, the whole-in-bone. The applewood smoked honey-cured pepper ham’s current price is $21 per 3 pounds, and the Honey cured nugget ham costs $30 per 5 pounds.
When you do the math, Honey Baked Ham is in the lead price-wise, but that’s not an indicator of the quality.
Availability
This is the best feature of both brands! Both Honey Baked Ham and Carlton Farm Ham are available year-round.
Depending on the location of the stores that carry them, which are chain markets and retailers, the supply may vary since different areas have different demands for different products.
Still, you can order them online from their respective websites as well as other websites that offer order and delivery services.
Final Verdict: Which Is Better?
For me, this question is impossible to answer since I am a fan of both brands. However, I can see how one would prefer one over the other. They are different and mostly appeal to different palates.
I would advise you to choose Honey Baked Ham if you like rich and balanced notes accompanied by succulent and juicy texture. Carlton Farm Ham is the right choice for you if you prefer a meatier flavor with smoky or peppery tones.
