Shopping for ham for Easter or Christmas? Below you will find our guide to what Costco has to offer in 2022. We got all the prices and some tips as well.
This post includes affiliate links. This means that at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase. These are products and services I recommend because I use or trust them. Cookies will be used to track the affiliate links you click.
Twice a year I see a lot of activity on our ham posts on this blog - Christmas and Easter (and Thanksgiving to a lesser extent). A big hunk of ham is often our choice for big meals. It feeds a lot and it so easy to cook since it comes already cooked.
We have gotten plenty of hams at Costco over the years, so we have a good idea of what you can expect. This guide will help you pick out your ham and hopefully answer all of your ham questions.
Jump to:
💲 What is the Price of Ham
Here are the prices of ham at Costco. I recorded these prices while a Costco store in St. George, Utah on April 4th, 2022. Costco consistently offers their spiral ham and Master Carve ham. Below I list how much a pound for each ham and how much they weigh on average.
| Kirkland Master Carve Half Ham | $2.99/lb | 3-4.5 lb avg |
| Kirkland Spiral Sliced Ham | $3.29/lb | 8-12 lb avg |
| Smithfield Ham Steaks | $4.49/lb | 3.5 lb avg |
Costco use to offer a Master Carve ham in a full size until they went to the half size a several years ago. Also there use to be a currant glaze that came with the ham.
🍽️ Many people have complained about the glaze being gone, so I came up with a new glaze recipe that I like more than the one that use to come with the ham.
It's easier to still get a full ham, buy two halves!!!!
The Spiral ham in the red foil has been the same as long as I have been checking for hams at Costco minus some minor packaging changes.
🏆 What is the Best Ham to Buy
Which ham do I choose?
For a while I was going for the Master Carve Ham. The reason being is that I like that the Master Carve is a boneless ham that hasn't been shaped into a log. The ham has a more natural look. Reason why it's called a Master Cave is that it is so easy to carve since the bone is gone and you don't have any weird fatty areas.
I think the Master Carve ham is a better value as you get 100% useable meat. But I can understand that desire to bring to the table a delicious looking spiral ham. It wins for appearance.
If you are serving a very small crowd it might be tempting to just go with the ham steaks from Smithfield, but I don't think it's worth paying the additional cost. You can find the smallest Master Carve Ham (around 3 lbs) and just freeze whatever you don't finish. I have cut the Master Carve Ham into steaks before, they just look more irregular.
One of the biggest problems I have had with eating spiral hams cooked is that they dry out easily. So we came up with some tips on How to Keep a Spiral Ham From Drying Out.
🙋 What Does "In Nature Juices" Mean?
Both the Master Carve and Spiral are "hams in natural juices". What does that mean? The protein level is no less than around 18%. Water is added but less than "Ham, water added or ham and water product" both of which are going to have a lot of water weight and thus a watered down taste. If a ham just says "ham" then zero water is added.
A ham in natural juices is a stepdown from just "ham", which you don't find a lot of in stores, for more of us it's going to be our best option.
🍖 Read our post on different types of ham.
🧰 My Favorite Tool
As a final word of advice, I always recommend that whenever you are cooking a ham, that you use a probe thermometer. These take the guess work out of to when your meat is perfectly done the way you want it.
A thermometer has saved me so much stress and heartache over the years. I am always telling people to get one, for good reasons!
📧 Sign Up for Emails
Are you a fan of buying meat at Costco? Then you must sign up for our email updates below.
🐖 More Ham Posts
Here are some helpful ham posts you will want to read
- How to Freeze Leftover Ham
- What's in Ham
- Can You Cook a Ham in the Instant Pot
- How to Keep Spiral Ham from Drying Out
🥩 More Costco Guide
Here are guides to different meats at Costco
Leave a Reply