Hamstrung
August 20, 2011 4:13 AM Subscribe
A friend asked me this morning:
Last weekend I bought a 1/2 ham w/ bone. My kids are sick to death of ham (and so am I), i froze fresh a large chunk. What can I do w rest of ham?
If I could freeze it, that would be awesome. Thinking about making some Mac & cheese (I can freeze that right?)...but still not super jazzed about that... I know I want to freeze the hambone for a soup when the weathers chillier.
If I could freeze it, that would be awesome. Thinking about making some Mac & cheese (I can freeze that right?)...but still not super jazzed about that... I know I want to freeze the hambone for a soup when the weathers chillier.
Best answer: make a soup and freeze potions
posted by evil_esto at 4:35 AM on August 20, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by evil_esto at 4:35 AM on August 20, 2011 [1 favorite]
Best answer: Ham & lentil soup is great. Make a massive pot, and freeze the leftovers in individual portions.
posted by handee at 5:22 AM on August 20, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by handee at 5:22 AM on August 20, 2011 [1 favorite]
Best answer: I had a lot of ham once. It was sliced though. I split it up into like five smaller portions, froze these portions, and used them to make ham and bean soup, collard greens, ham & noodle casserole, and fried ham with eggs in the morning. It worked out well. This would require you to spend some time doing some slicing and portioning with what's currently a large hunk, but would take some prep time off the other end.
posted by crackingdes at 5:47 AM on August 20, 2011
posted by crackingdes at 5:47 AM on August 20, 2011
We roasted slices of cooked ham on a campfire (on sticks) and it was unbelievably delicious.
posted by bonobothegreat at 5:51 AM on August 20, 2011
posted by bonobothegreat at 5:51 AM on August 20, 2011
Best answer: Make a huge pot of pea and ham soup. Freeze it in individual serves. Enjoy it all through winter.
posted by wwax at 5:59 AM on August 20, 2011
posted by wwax at 5:59 AM on August 20, 2011
Best answer: You can still freeze the cooked ham. No problem.
Usually I slice or shred it, and then use it little by little to add to quiche, omelettes, soups, mac and cheese, potato gratins, etc.
posted by Miko at 6:49 AM on August 20, 2011
Usually I slice or shred it, and then use it little by little to add to quiche, omelettes, soups, mac and cheese, potato gratins, etc.
posted by Miko at 6:49 AM on August 20, 2011
Inspired by a friend who's doing once-a-month-cooking this weekend, I'll suggest mini ham and egg cups and breakfast muffins.
I don't think I've ever posted one of my own recipes to AskMeFi, but I will now.
Knile's Rustic Chicken Leg Soup
Ingredients:
2 raw chicken leg quarters (~1 pound)
1/4 cup bacon/ham, more if you've got it to spare as in OP's case
1 huge leek
1 BIG carrot
1 medium yellow onion
1 Tbsp crushed garlic
2 C cheap white wine
1 C liquid chicken stock
Salt and pepper to taste
olive oil
1/2 C heavy cream (optional)
To Prep:
Separate legs into thighs & drumsticks, then remove skin and excess fat from parts and discard or upcycle it. Cut off, then chop up the white meat. Reserve bones, which definitely still have some tasty fatty bits left on them, yeah? Yeah, they do.
Chop your pig meat, dice your leek, dice your carrot, and dice your onion.
To Cook:
Cover bottom of a 2.5qt pot with olive oil. The inside, not the outside.
Toss in garlic & onion, then sprinkle liberally with black pepper.
Heat up until everything sizzles nicely and is browning.
Toss in chopped chicken and bacon/ham.
Cook until mostly done, moving stuff around as needed.
Lightly salt, adding another sprinkling of pepper for good measure
Throw chicken bones into the pot.
Dump in chicken stock and remaining veggies.
Glug the wine in. Pour yourself a serving. Or pull another bottle out of the fridge, then pour yourself "a seriving".
Throw in some water, juuuust enough to cover everything and thin out some of the stock.
Cover pot with lid, and bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer.
Let simmer for an hour or two. Revisit that wine.
Large chicken pieces will be all the way done now. Remove
them from pot and shred lots more meat into the soup. Discard bones &
other unwanted wonky poultry bits.
Add cream just before serving.
Eet smakelijk!
posted by knile at 8:01 AM on August 20, 2011 [1 favorite]
I don't think I've ever posted one of my own recipes to AskMeFi, but I will now.
Knile's Rustic Chicken Leg Soup
Ingredients:
2 raw chicken leg quarters (~1 pound)
1/4 cup bacon/ham, more if you've got it to spare as in OP's case
1 huge leek
1 BIG carrot
1 medium yellow onion
1 Tbsp crushed garlic
2 C cheap white wine
1 C liquid chicken stock
Salt and pepper to taste
olive oil
1/2 C heavy cream (optional)
To Prep:
Separate legs into thighs & drumsticks, then remove skin and excess fat from parts and discard or upcycle it. Cut off, then chop up the white meat. Reserve bones, which definitely still have some tasty fatty bits left on them, yeah? Yeah, they do.
Chop your pig meat, dice your leek, dice your carrot, and dice your onion.
To Cook:
Cover bottom of a 2.5qt pot with olive oil. The inside, not the outside.
Toss in garlic & onion, then sprinkle liberally with black pepper.
Heat up until everything sizzles nicely and is browning.
Toss in chopped chicken and bacon/ham.
Cook until mostly done, moving stuff around as needed.
Lightly salt, adding another sprinkling of pepper for good measure
Throw chicken bones into the pot.
Dump in chicken stock and remaining veggies.
Glug the wine in. Pour yourself a serving. Or pull another bottle out of the fridge, then pour yourself "a seriving".
Throw in some water, juuuust enough to cover everything and thin out some of the stock.
Cover pot with lid, and bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer.
Let simmer for an hour or two. Revisit that wine.
Large chicken pieces will be all the way done now. Remove
them from pot and shred lots more meat into the soup. Discard bones &
other unwanted wonky poultry bits.
Add cream just before serving.
Eet smakelijk!
posted by knile at 8:01 AM on August 20, 2011 [1 favorite]
Red beans and rice! (New Orleans style.) If it's a honey baked ham, even better. Ask me if you want the easy recipe.
posted by artychoke at 8:02 AM on August 20, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by artychoke at 8:02 AM on August 20, 2011 [1 favorite]
Fried Rice
Tired of that nasty fried rice at restaurants? Try this.
Make a cup of dry, short grain rice into, you know, cooked rice, by whatever means you choose. Let it cool and pop it in the refrigerator. Also works well with leftover rice -- you need about 3 1/2 cups of cooked rice. You want it at room temperature before cooking, optimally.
Chop up about 3-4 oz ham into fairly small cubes (maybe the size of a pea or a little bigger). It's easiest to take a slice of the right thickness and cut into cubes. You should have about 1/2 cup.
1/2 cup of peas, lima beans, corn, carrots, or a mix, frozen is fine (slightly better than fresh, actually).
Slice a smallish scallion/green onion into rings out to the end of the tenderer green part.
Lightly beat two eggs.
Get your wok (or skillet/frying pan, more likely -- you probably want a 12" model, to give you space for all the stirring) hot, hotter than usual for frying. This is stir-frying. Add about a Tbs oil (corn or peanut preferred). Coat the pan. Add the egg. It should start setting up immediately. Tilt the pan and push the cooked egg away from the heat, letting the liquid egg run down and cook. We are talking seconds here, if the pan is hot enough. As soon as all the egg is set, scrape it out into a plate and break into bits. They should still be a little runny, since they will keep cooking. They should not be brown.
Wipe out the pan with a paper towel and put the pan back on the heat. Get it hot again, and add 2 Tbs oil. Add the rice, stir and toss for about 3 minutes. The grains should mostly separate and get coated in oil. The occasional clump is OK. If anything starts browning, reduce the heat. If things are sticking, add a bit more oil. Add about a tsp of salt and add the vegetables (frozen out of the freezer, they will thaw quickly) and the ham. Toss and stir over heat to combine, maybe 30-60 seconds. Remove from heat, add the eggs, stir gently to combine, sprinkle with the scallion. Serve.
It's OK as leftovers, but divine from the pan. Once you get the pattern down, you can pretty much have dinenr on the table in less than 30 minutes of walking in the door.
posted by GenjiandProust at 8:03 AM on August 20, 2011 [2 favorites]
Tired of that nasty fried rice at restaurants? Try this.
Make a cup of dry, short grain rice into, you know, cooked rice, by whatever means you choose. Let it cool and pop it in the refrigerator. Also works well with leftover rice -- you need about 3 1/2 cups of cooked rice. You want it at room temperature before cooking, optimally.
Chop up about 3-4 oz ham into fairly small cubes (maybe the size of a pea or a little bigger). It's easiest to take a slice of the right thickness and cut into cubes. You should have about 1/2 cup.
1/2 cup of peas, lima beans, corn, carrots, or a mix, frozen is fine (slightly better than fresh, actually).
Slice a smallish scallion/green onion into rings out to the end of the tenderer green part.
Lightly beat two eggs.
Get your wok (or skillet/frying pan, more likely -- you probably want a 12" model, to give you space for all the stirring) hot, hotter than usual for frying. This is stir-frying. Add about a Tbs oil (corn or peanut preferred). Coat the pan. Add the egg. It should start setting up immediately. Tilt the pan and push the cooked egg away from the heat, letting the liquid egg run down and cook. We are talking seconds here, if the pan is hot enough. As soon as all the egg is set, scrape it out into a plate and break into bits. They should still be a little runny, since they will keep cooking. They should not be brown.
Wipe out the pan with a paper towel and put the pan back on the heat. Get it hot again, and add 2 Tbs oil. Add the rice, stir and toss for about 3 minutes. The grains should mostly separate and get coated in oil. The occasional clump is OK. If anything starts browning, reduce the heat. If things are sticking, add a bit more oil. Add about a tsp of salt and add the vegetables (frozen out of the freezer, they will thaw quickly) and the ham. Toss and stir over heat to combine, maybe 30-60 seconds. Remove from heat, add the eggs, stir gently to combine, sprinkle with the scallion. Serve.
It's OK as leftovers, but divine from the pan. Once you get the pattern down, you can pretty much have dinenr on the table in less than 30 minutes of walking in the door.
posted by GenjiandProust at 8:03 AM on August 20, 2011 [2 favorites]
I second the fried rice recommendation.
My wife, she's Korean, makes this and I love the stuff.
posted by Awfki at 8:18 AM on August 20, 2011 [1 favorite]
My wife, she's Korean, makes this and I love the stuff.
posted by Awfki at 8:18 AM on August 20, 2011 [1 favorite]
There's an old definition of eternity your friend might now be in a position to appreciate: "two people and a ham."
posted by jamjam at 11:16 AM on August 20, 2011
posted by jamjam at 11:16 AM on August 20, 2011
Ham potato casserole! There are all sorts of recipes around for it, and we always put broccoli in, too. Mmmm.
posted by rosethorn at 2:27 PM on August 20, 2011
posted by rosethorn at 2:27 PM on August 20, 2011
1) Ham and lentil/pea soup, as already mentioned
2) Ham and cheese quiche / omelet
3) Ham and swiss croissant breakfast sandwiches
4) Cheesy potatoes with diced ham
5) Pasta carbonara
6) Homemade baked beans with diced ham (omg, so freaking delicious)
7) Ham and pineapple kebabs on the grill
8) Fried rice with diced ham
9) Hambone potato soup
10) Ham + figs + cream cheese
I would like some ham now. Yes, please!
posted by whimsicalnymph at 2:30 PM on August 20, 2011
2) Ham and cheese quiche / omelet
3) Ham and swiss croissant breakfast sandwiches
4) Cheesy potatoes with diced ham
5) Pasta carbonara
6) Homemade baked beans with diced ham (omg, so freaking delicious)
7) Ham and pineapple kebabs on the grill
8) Fried rice with diced ham
9) Hambone potato soup
10) Ham + figs + cream cheese
I would like some ham now. Yes, please!
posted by whimsicalnymph at 2:30 PM on August 20, 2011
I have also made cheese biscuits with ham and bleu cheese instead of the usual cheddar or whatever, but you have to be careful with the salt, since both ham and bleu tend to be salty. You could probably do ham and swiss, too.
posted by GenjiandProust at 5:55 PM on August 20, 2011
posted by GenjiandProust at 5:55 PM on August 20, 2011
Sauerkraut balls. My mom practically makes hers half ham, I swear. Food processor-pulse the ham to bits, mix with drained and slightly chopped sauerkraut, egg and flour to hold things together, plus a little onion. Form into smallish golf ball-sized balls, roll in breadcrumbs, fry, then bake til fully golden. Sprinkle a little more white vinegar on at the end. Yum!
posted by bitter-girl.com at 8:08 PM on August 20, 2011
posted by bitter-girl.com at 8:08 PM on August 20, 2011
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One english recipe of a Swedish version with anchovies
Can't seem to find anything but Finnish language recipes but this Swedish one is close enough except that you leave out the anchovies.
posted by infini at 4:30 AM on August 20, 2011 [1 favorite]