One Of The Worst Costco Deli Items Is This Rubbery Kirkland Meat

As a top destination for affordable groceries, Costco surely moves a lot of one affordable meal staple: deli meats. Tossing a few slices in between some bread with cheese and a leafy green can create lots of prepared meals for not too much money. But deli meats are a widely varied product, and not all of Costco's offerings are made equal.

When we sampled an array of products from this chain, we found seven Costco deli items that are absolute must-haves and four you should skip. One of the worst options was the Kirkland Signature extra-lean uncured ham, sold in a pre-sliced two-pack totaling 48 ounces of meat.

When our reviewer tried this Costco ham, she wasn't a big fan of its bland taste. In a simple ham sandwich with Dijon mustard on a baguette, Kirkland's extra-lean uncured ham was noticeably weak, and a distinctly rubbery texture made for a distracting mouthfeel. Plus, while not everyone prefers their deli meats thinly sliced, folks who do will be disappointed by these thick slices of ham. In true Costco fashion, however, at least the price can't be beat — this product costs a little over $11 for 3 pounds of ham.

Costco's uncured extra-lean deli ham shares one thing in common with the store's spiral-sliced ham, one of the unhealthiest store-bought sliced ham brands on the market: It's very salty. Each slice of the deli meat contains 12% of an adult's daily recommended sodium intake, which can quickly add up in even one sandwich.

This ham's high sodium content is likely due in part to its advertised low-fat content — to put it bluntly, the flavor has to come from somewhere. Even though our reviewer found it unappetizing, this Costco ham does have its avowed fans, some of whom seek it out specifically for being low-fat. So, even though we didn't like it, this product certainly has a market.

All food preferences are subjective, and this seems especially true of Costco deli meats. While many online comments suggest that you may want to avoid Costco's Kirkland sliced turkey because of its slimy texture, we actually liked the same product when we tried it. If you're on the fence about Kirkland Signature's extra-lean uncured ham, hopefully it's among the store's free samples that day so you can judge for yourself.