ham! ham! ham!
February 28, 2018 1:24 PM Subscribe
As disgusting coastal elites, we've ordered a delicious city ham from Zingerman's spring sale! What are your favorite things to do to the ham? Recipes for tasty favorite side dishes that go with the ham?
We're adventurous eaters with no dietary restrictions, and reasonable skills/equipment in the kitchen. Plus points if you're suggesting a side dish that cooks by being popped into the oven alongside the ham.
We're adventurous eaters with no dietary restrictions, and reasonable skills/equipment in the kitchen. Plus points if you're suggesting a side dish that cooks by being popped into the oven alongside the ham.
No matter where I get the ham from, I always prefer to slather it in real maple syrup, or a combination of boiled cider and maple syrup, then lightly smoke it in my grill as it reheats. That gives the syrup time to glaze the ham with a delicious smoky-sweet flavor.
I always make boiled dinner with the hambone and meat scraps, though I use chicken stock instead of plain water. If you smoke the hambone before cooking with it, the boiled dinner will be even more delicious. My sister adds white beans to her boiled dinner.
I adore quality ham, so for me the best sides are the simplest: baked or au gratin potatoes, salad or green beans, good bread if you're making sandwiches with it, peach pie for dessert. Let the ham be the star.
posted by Lunaloon at 2:34 PM on February 28, 2018 [2 favorites]
I always make boiled dinner with the hambone and meat scraps, though I use chicken stock instead of plain water. If you smoke the hambone before cooking with it, the boiled dinner will be even more delicious. My sister adds white beans to her boiled dinner.
I adore quality ham, so for me the best sides are the simplest: baked or au gratin potatoes, salad or green beans, good bread if you're making sandwiches with it, peach pie for dessert. Let the ham be the star.
posted by Lunaloon at 2:34 PM on February 28, 2018 [2 favorites]
Mom had two really good uses for leftover Christmas baked ham.
Use the First: Ham Salad. Put ham through grinder with celery and sweet gherkins, add brown mustard and mayonnaise to taste, spread on bread or crackers.
Use the Second: Mashed Potato Patties. chop ham finely and mix into leftover mashed potatoes (the kind made with real boiled potatoes that still have potato chunks in them; I'm not sure this would work with whipped potatoes.) Throw in some Parmesan cheese if you like that sort of thing. Form into patties that fit comfortably in the palm of your hand and are thick enough that they won't fall apart during cooking. Put them back in the fridge for a while until they're solid again. Coat with egg wash and bread crumbs, and fry on both sides in some hot oil.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 2:43 PM on February 28, 2018 [3 favorites]
Use the First: Ham Salad. Put ham through grinder with celery and sweet gherkins, add brown mustard and mayonnaise to taste, spread on bread or crackers.
Use the Second: Mashed Potato Patties. chop ham finely and mix into leftover mashed potatoes (the kind made with real boiled potatoes that still have potato chunks in them; I'm not sure this would work with whipped potatoes.) Throw in some Parmesan cheese if you like that sort of thing. Form into patties that fit comfortably in the palm of your hand and are thick enough that they won't fall apart during cooking. Put them back in the fridge for a while until they're solid again. Coat with egg wash and bread crumbs, and fry on both sides in some hot oil.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 2:43 PM on February 28, 2018 [3 favorites]
Best answer: Definitely make sure to have some tangy good quality mustard on the side.
posted by pseudostrabismus at 2:46 PM on February 28, 2018
posted by pseudostrabismus at 2:46 PM on February 28, 2018
Fresh grilled pineapple. Scalloped potatoes (and I think the boxed ones are better than homemade, just used cream and your favorite cheese)
posted by beccaj at 3:49 PM on February 28, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by beccaj at 3:49 PM on February 28, 2018 [2 favorites]
With the leftover hambone/ham meat, don't neglect to make a ham stock. White beans cooked in a pot of ham stock, with chopped onion added near the end, is greater than the sum of its parts.
posted by mudpuppie at 4:04 PM on February 28, 2018
posted by mudpuppie at 4:04 PM on February 28, 2018
For using up ham leftovers, assuming you have any, MFK Fisher wrote about a casserole that sounded delicious, but have never tried - sauteed mushrooms, cooked, buttered noodles, and diced ham. She didn't provide a recipe, but if I did this, I'd probably put it in around 400 degrees, and bake until the top layer of noodles turned crispy.
posted by dancing_angel at 4:20 PM on February 28, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by dancing_angel at 4:20 PM on February 28, 2018 [1 favorite]
Best answer: We cooked that exact ham for xmas dinner (my kids worked for Zings warehouse over the holidays). They recommended just warming it up - I served it with scalloped potatoes, sweet and sour red cabbage and green beans cooked with garlic, olive oil and lemon juice. We ate leftover ham in a bean soup, in killer sandwiches on Zingerman's rye bread, in omelets... be aware it's a very strongly flavored ham - savory more than sweet.
My go-to bean soup is made by roasting vegetables - onion, garlic, celery, carrot in some olive oil at 325 degrees for an hour or two. At the same time cooking white beans with garlic and a bay leaf and some chopped ham. Combine it all with a good slug of wine or vermouth and cook for another hour or two over low heat - could probably do in a slow cooker or instant pot but I don't have either of those. Serve with good bread and a hunk of cheese.
posted by leslies at 5:09 PM on February 28, 2018 [2 favorites]
My go-to bean soup is made by roasting vegetables - onion, garlic, celery, carrot in some olive oil at 325 degrees for an hour or two. At the same time cooking white beans with garlic and a bay leaf and some chopped ham. Combine it all with a good slug of wine or vermouth and cook for another hour or two over low heat - could probably do in a slow cooker or instant pot but I don't have either of those. Serve with good bread and a hunk of cheese.
posted by leslies at 5:09 PM on February 28, 2018 [2 favorites]
I used my leftover baked ham in sandwiches, on a croissant with swiss, baby spinach, sundried tomatoes, and mayo.
posted by capricorn at 5:57 PM on February 28, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by capricorn at 5:57 PM on February 28, 2018 [1 favorite]
I've always just braised my hams in the oven with ginger ale at about 350*F. I usually throw some carrots in the bottom of the roasting pan to go along with. Totally nom.
Get those nice little rolls to make sandwiches with for later on, green beans sautéed with butter and garlic, definitely mashed potatoes (or scalloped - yes, the boxed ones are awesome). However, if you're really up for it, the Trader Joe's version of green bean casserole is pretty tasty. It's on their can of their crunchy onions (porcini mushrooms, their mushroom soup in a box, gruyere cheese and the crunchies!).
Guess I know what I will be doing for Easter.
posted by dancinglamb at 10:30 PM on February 28, 2018
Get those nice little rolls to make sandwiches with for later on, green beans sautéed with butter and garlic, definitely mashed potatoes (or scalloped - yes, the boxed ones are awesome). However, if you're really up for it, the Trader Joe's version of green bean casserole is pretty tasty. It's on their can of their crunchy onions (porcini mushrooms, their mushroom soup in a box, gruyere cheese and the crunchies!).
Guess I know what I will be doing for Easter.
posted by dancinglamb at 10:30 PM on February 28, 2018
Best answer: Good ham is so delicious that I'd just stock up on condiments - good mustards, including some sweet-hot, maybe some horseradish, homemade mayonnaise, which is not difficult. Grilled pineapple sounds perfect. Baked sweet potatoes. Scalloped or au gratin white potatoes, probably a salad of arugula and other greens with a vinaigrette. Asparagus goes well with ham. A selection of tasty pickles. Maybe a cheese plate with swiss or gruyere, muenster or havarti. Ham is sweet, salty, smoky and rich, so you want some contrast like arugula, some supporting players like potatoes, and some tart or acid like pickles or pineapple. Cheeses with depth and creaminess are an indulgence, and if you serve cheese, serve some bread, too.
Then you have leftover ham. My Mom always made potatoes au gratin with leftover ham layered in with the potatoes, onions, and gruyere. Add milk/ cream/ sour cream, bake. the cheesy baked top layer is quite delicious.
The ham bone and any leftover bits of fat and gristle make a delicious broth that can be added to bean- or potato-based soups or onion, mushroom and cheese risotto. I have some ham and broth in the freezer because the last time I cooked a small ham, I couldn't stop snacking on it.
I pair ham with medium-dry champagne because it seems to overpower most other wines, and ham is celebratory and so are bubbles.
posted by theora55 at 9:08 AM on March 1, 2018
Then you have leftover ham. My Mom always made potatoes au gratin with leftover ham layered in with the potatoes, onions, and gruyere. Add milk/ cream/ sour cream, bake. the cheesy baked top layer is quite delicious.
The ham bone and any leftover bits of fat and gristle make a delicious broth that can be added to bean- or potato-based soups or onion, mushroom and cheese risotto. I have some ham and broth in the freezer because the last time I cooked a small ham, I couldn't stop snacking on it.
I pair ham with medium-dry champagne because it seems to overpower most other wines, and ham is celebratory and so are bubbles.
posted by theora55 at 9:08 AM on March 1, 2018
Even without a bone, Cook's Country Lentil Soup with Ham.
posted by SemiSalt at 9:48 AM on March 1, 2018
posted by SemiSalt at 9:48 AM on March 1, 2018
Our standard Easter dinner is ham, assorted mustards, cheesy potato casserole (funeral potatoes), asparagus with hollandaise sauce and carrot cake for dessert.
posted by sarajane at 12:06 PM on March 1, 2018
posted by sarajane at 12:06 PM on March 1, 2018
Make sure to leave enough for steamed hams.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 1:06 PM on March 1, 2018
posted by The Underpants Monster at 1:06 PM on March 1, 2018
You can make a great grilled ham and cheese that smells and tastes like it ought to be an expensive lunch restaurant item with the addition of a good chutney.
posted by koucha at 7:17 AM on March 2, 2018
posted by koucha at 7:17 AM on March 2, 2018
Response by poster: Hey folks! Thanks for all your suggestions. It's definitely a strongly-flavored and savory ham, like leslies says.
We ended up having it with with mac and cheese, Brussels sprouts, and Smitten Kitchen's brown butter rice krispy treats. There were leftovers for days, and when we ran out of the original fixings, we had it with spicy Polish mustard. I'm getting hungry just thinking about it again.
posted by joyceanmachine at 8:58 AM on April 6, 2018 [1 favorite]
We ended up having it with with mac and cheese, Brussels sprouts, and Smitten Kitchen's brown butter rice krispy treats. There were leftovers for days, and when we ran out of the original fixings, we had it with spicy Polish mustard. I'm getting hungry just thinking about it again.
posted by joyceanmachine at 8:58 AM on April 6, 2018 [1 favorite]
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