a ham product and method for production thereof described herein separate bone - in hams into smaller pieces . accordingly , pieces of bone - in ham , even those spirally - sliced , will be available to consumers in smaller portions . unlike conventional methods , however , the ham product provides three or four pieces of essentially equal size that each have a nearly equal meat - to - bone ratio . furthermore , when a spiral cut ham is separated into pieces , each piece includes a portion of the femur and retains attachment of the slices to the femur so that the slices stay intact during handling and packaging and so that the pieces retain the natural shape and easy handling desired by consumers .