Ways to use a Ham! - Sisters with Stuff

Slicing and Dicing

During the holidays you can find great sales on ham. What to do with a whole ham if you have a small family? I want to share a few ways to use a ham and make it work for several family meals! For my family of three, the entire ham is way too big for us to use at once or even within the first week.

Buying the smaller boneless ham is much more expensive. Remember, the more handling, processing, packaging the product has, the higher the price. I’ve found several ways to get the most out of the ham and stretch our dollar further. My number one rule is to never pay more than 99 cents per pound. I buy at least two hams or more if my freezer has space. I always get the whole vs. the sliced. Not only is it cheaper but with the intact ham, I have more options. Just before Christmas this year I found whole hams for $0.88 per pound. Given the price of meat these days and the issues in the supply chain, there was no way I could pass up this sale.

When you get home don’t freeze the ham right away. Set aside a couple of hours to work on the ham cutting, slicing, chopping, storing and cooking. The nice thing about ham is that it is well preserved so you have a week or so to find an opportunity to prepare it.

Trim the meat off the bone in the largest sections possible. From here you really have to decide how you would like to use it. Typically people like ham at breakfast so you would slice it about 1/4 in thick. It’s nice if you have a meat slicer. I also cube a portion of the meat to put in my son’s lunch the following week. You can slice it thin for sandwiches or leave a large chunk to bake for a meal. At my house we use slices for ham and cheese panini’s or just grilled ham and cheese. The possibilities are endless.

Package in freezer-safe storage bags or vacuum seal. This is where it’s great for a small family. I store the ham in small portions just enough for 1 or 2 meals. This prevents us from either getting sick of it or letting the ham go bad in the refrigerator. Ham freezes really well but do your best to squeeze out any excess air.

My next favorite part is the bone. If I don’t have time or ingredients I throw the bone in the freezer. The variety of dishes you can do with a ham bone in a crockpot are pretty much endless. I made a ham and potato soup, first cooking the ham bone with a bay leaf for 8-10 hours, cleaning off the bone, and scraping out the marrow. Then I added onions, garlic carrots, and potatoes until cooked. I typically freeze 3 or 4 containers that I can throw in a pot to thaw out any time. Probably the most popular way to use the bone is a Crock Pot Split Pea Soup.

I also tried a ham chili of sorts just using ingredients I had on hand. I threw in onions, garlic, some dried beans and some dehydrated corn, stewed tomatoes, and chili spices.

After you’ve done all that you will be left with quite a bit of fat. I know this sounds pretty gross but the fat is super flavorful and can be used in place of oils and butters when rendered. Rendering the fat was the longest part of the process but not difficult.

Chop the fat into small pieces (1/4″). The smaller the better. You essentially want to slowly melt it down. In small batches in a saucepan, set the fat on low heat. This is the part that requires patience. Slowly, melt down the fat into liquid, stirring occasionally. After each batch is melted down and the remnants are crispy, strain into a container. Make sure to press the leftover pieces to squeeze out as much fat as possible. This is where cutting them small really helps.

Cool the meat remnants and use them in and on food. At my house my husband loves the crunchy goodness so I packaged them up into small portions in zipper bags so he can just pull one out of the freezer and heat it up with his food. He eats them on mashed potatoes and veggies but you can use them just like bacon bits. On a salad or in a casserole. Store the rendered fat in fridge or freeze if you aren’t using it within a week. You can break off pieces of fat for cooking whenever you need. They melt right up in the pan and really add flavor to your dish.

Another favorite is fried rice. I don’t even use a recipe. I cut up an onion and some carrots. Saute them until they are soft. I throw in frozen peas and let those cook until soft. I try to cook a pot of rice ahead of time, it works better when the rice is cool. Add in as much rice as you want and put in pieces of diced ham. I flavor it with sesame oil and soy sauce. You could even scramble an egg or 2 at the end and voila, you’ve got delicious fried rice.

These are just a few ways to make multiple meals out of a ham that typically costs less than $10 making entire meals $5.00 or less for your family. I literally threw away nothing from the ham and my family will be eating it for months. Next time you find a sale on ham clear out that freezer and stock up! What are some ham recipes that are your family favorites?

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