Ham For The Holidays

For many, the true flavor of the holidays begins with the sweet, crunchy glaze of a HoneyBaked Ham. Under that glaze, between the spiral-cut layers, only the best in grain-fed, hand-selected meat soaks up the secret family recipe. That’s the smell, the taste of tradition, said Les Pierce, owner of the HoneyBaked Ham franchise in Corpus Christi. 
“At HoneyBaked, our motto is ‘celebrating life, one meal at a time,’ so we try to do it all for you,” Pierce said. “That way, Mom isn’t living in the kitchen with cooking and cleanup. The whole family can spend time together, making memories around the dinner table.”
HoneyBaked offers a full menu of deli sides and heat-and-serve dishes as well as desserts. Sides include sweet potato soufflé, broccoli and rice casserole, macaroni and cheese, cinnamon apples, cranberries, turkey gravy and more. Desserts include pumpkin and pecan pies, red velvet cake, rum cakes in different flavors and more. 
Fall and winter holidays are the biggest time of the year for HoneyBaked’s juicy, sweet spiral hams and turkey breasts with Easter running a close second, Pierce said. He expects to sell 3,000-4,000 professionally cooked and glazed, spiral-cut hams over this holiday season.
“One of the key things that makes the HoneyBaked Ham so special is that everything we sell is fully cooked,” Pierce said. “With the ham, you set it out and let it come to room temperature, and then you can begin eating it. The other products, like the whole turkey, you just have to heat and serve.”
Turkeys come smoked, roasted or Cajun-seasoned. You can get whole turkeys or breasts, a nice complement to the ham headliner. The secret to the ham’s success resides in how it’s made, Pierce said.
“It is slow-smoked for 20 to 24 hours with a custom blend of hardwood chips,” he explained. “There’s no water in it. It is glazed in house by our master glazers. We take great pride in our hams and the memories families build around them.”
From the farmers who provide the hams to how the hams are transported and handled at locations, HoneyBaked has strict guidelines and procedures that must be followed to meet HoneyBaked standards. 
Even the way the ham is wrapped in foil is designed to have real a “wow” factor, Pierce said.
“When people see their spiral hams with the sweet, crunchy glaze, I want to hear them say, ‘Wow! I can’t wait to dive into that ham,’” he said. 
Pierce runs a deli-style, dine-in restaurant year-round with a selection of sandwiches and a variety of entrées, appetizers, sides and desserts. The restaurant is open seven days a week, offering catering and delivery services.
“We are trying to help busy families during their hectic work and school week,” Pierce said. “We have a Dinners To-Go option for a complete, fresh dinner that requires no cooking and even less cleanup. Our meals are nutritious. Our meats are not processed. The same quality that goes into our HoneyBaked Hams goes into the rest of our menu.”
Thanks to a Business-to-Business discount, HoneyBaked Ham products can be used for fundraisers, employee gifting or company parties. 
“We have great fundraisers for any organization,” Pierce said. “Just give us a call.” 
Employers can buy discounted hams for employees or clients, while employees can take advantage of the discount through the Employee Purchase Program. 
“HoneyBaked Hams have been around for more than 50 years,” Pierce said. “We are the original creators of the spiral-sliced ham. Everyone else is an imitation.” 
While HoneyBaked Hams are a great holiday tradition, they are available year-round for any occasion. 
“We are a family-oriented organization,” Pierce said. “Whatever the celebration is, we help make those celebrations special.”
HoneyBaked Ham in Corpus Christi is located at 1502 Airline Drive. Call (361) 991-4424 to reserve your holiday treat. Hours are 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Monday-Friday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Sunday with extended hours soon to be posted for the holidays. Check out the website at honeybaked.com for a menu and more.