You can usually buy a ham around Thanksgiving and Christmas. Generally speaking, they're precooked and (often) spiral sliced, so you basically just have to reheat, if you so choose, and cut pieces of ham off.
:powerlevel:I have worked in a grocery store years ago and have some meat knowledge
A spiral sliced ham is different than a black forest ham though. If Phil bought a spiral cut ham, that would be a normal thing people do. Buying a whole deli black forest ham is not normal.
Phil said the ham was overly salty. Deli hams and turkeys are packed in brine to preserve them.
A spiral cut ham would have cooking suggestions on the packaging. A deli ham would not since it is mainly for just slicing for lunch meat and is precooked.
Phil said the ham was enough for several meals and would last the whole week. It's possible he just bought a chunk of ham, but he specifically referenced the lack of cooking directions on the package. A hunk of ham would have been bagged in a deli bag and would just have the contents and price and a bar code.
You can buy a whole deli ham, but it is a very uncommon thing. Even then the meat is still priced by the pound and would be much more expensive than buying a ham you cook yourself. They are typically ordered 2 per case and run about $100. So a single ham would be $50 before the store markup.
Phil also said he looked for a honey glazed ham and couldn't find one. E got a black forest ham because he thought it was cooked in caramel or something when in reality it just has caramel color added which means it is brown. It has nothing to do with sweetness.
Every grocery store makes sure to stock up on hams and turkeys for Christmas. This leads to the rare occurrences I have seen people buy whole deli hams.
If you wait until the last minute to buy a Christmas ham the store could be out. I've seen dudes frantically looking for a ham or turkey the day before and not finding one. Their only option is to go somewhere else if anyplace else is open or to buy a deli ham.
If we look at how Phil procrastinated on his cereal DSP Tries it, his end of year podcast, and top ten games of the year I would safely bet he also put off shopping for his ham until the last minute. He then couldn't find a normal ham and didn't want to go to Wal-Mart because he is too classy. Instead he bought an entire slab of uncut lunchmeat for Christmas dinner and tried to cook it in the oven.
