Old Fashioned Ham Ball Recipe - Great Leftover Ham Recipe (2024)

Old Fashioned Ham Balls.

Could there possibly be a less appealing sounding name for a dish?*

*Perhaps. But it would have to be exceptionally gross… Maybe “Repurposed Egg Salad” or “Blood Sausage”. You get the idea

Old Fashioned Ham Ball Recipe - Great Leftover Ham Recipe (1)

Let’s be honest, they’re also not the purtiest meatball on the block. They’re brown on the outside, but they’re a pinky colour on the inside. Not bad when you remember the presence of ham, but a bit disconcerting for the inside of your average meatball.

Here’s the thing of it, though; These ham balls from an ancient Taste of Home (Yes, again with the Taste of Home. I’m feeling nostalgic.) are one of the best things I’ve ever eaten in all of my life. Allow me to paint a picture.

The year is nineteen-ninety seven. I arrive at the home of my father and step-mother for Easter dinner with husband in tow. We are expecting our first child. I am quite firmly in mega-morning sickness mode.

No food has sounded, smelled or looked anywhere near good to me for about two and a half months. And I do mean nothing. I’ve choked back sleeve upon sleeve of saltine crackers, sipped tentatively at ice water and seltzer and forced myself to take in enough calories to keep myself going and keep baby growing.

I visit a bit, putz around in the kitchen with Val a bit, and ask what’s fer grub while secretly steeling myself to eat a few courtesy bites before excusing myself from the table. Val pauses, hand on covered casserole pan and says, “These are ham balls!”

If you think you know what’s coming next you just might be wrong.

What I heard was, “These are ham…” and then I blanked out. I could smell the salty ham and see the sticky brown sugar mustard glaze and deep brown crust. It smelled perfect. It looked amazing.

Old Fashioned Ham Ball Recipe - Great Leftover Ham Recipe (2)

All I wanted at that one moment was to stick my face into the casserole and not come up for air until I had licked that pot clean. Not for the first time, and certainly not for the last, I looked to Val with an awestruck expression.

I’m not sure what I said to her, but the result was her handing me one glorious sticky ham ball skewered on a fork. I nibbled once, twice then made like the Tootsie Roll Owl and on three gobbled the whole thing down.

It was the first real food I had managed to eat in weeks and I made up for lost time. The Evil Genius ate his meagre portion (from which I stole while he wasn’t looking.) Whether anyone got a proper serving after I had my fill, I don’t recall. Quite frankly, I didn’t care. I was a monster.

Old Fashioned Ham Ball Recipe - Great Leftover Ham Recipe (3)

Over the years, we looked forward to ham balls at Easter so much that we eventually skipped the actual ham supper and went straight to ham balls. Nowadays, a triple batch of these sweet, salty, savoury, sour, sticky ham meatballs is eaten on Easter Sunday and for a couple of meals thereafter.

Ham ball sandwiches on soft bread with bread and butter pickles, a bit of mustard and a side of baked beans is good enough to make my husband weepy. Ham balls on steamed or fried rice with sweet garlic chili sauce is a fast and well-loved dinner.

Old Fashioned Ham Ball Recipe - Great Leftover Ham Recipe (4)

Old Fashioned Ham Ball recipe leftover and worked into the world’s fastest stir-fry? Hello, lover. You’ll definitely want to try our Sweet and Sour Ham Ball Stir-Fry.

Old Fashioned Ham Balls snuck from the bowl when all the kids are asleep? Well, that’s the best of them all. A word to the wise: Make sure you wash your hands before you sneak the sticky little ham balls. You will most certainly want to lick that glaze from your fingers and I’d hate for you to be unprepared.Who’s looking out for you? Me. That’s who.

Use this to make Old Fashioned Ham Ball Recipe:

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Taste of Home Old Fashioned Ham Balls

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Rebecca Lindamood

Sticky, sweet-and-sour, savoury ham meatballs in a brown sugar and mustard glaze. Use up your leftover ham, or make like us and skip the ham dinner going straight to these.

Ingredients

Ingredients for ham balls:

  • 2 pounds ground pork
  • 2 pounds leftover ham
  • 4 large eggs
  • 1 1/2 cups milk
  • 1 1/3 cups crushed shredded wheat cereal You can use a food processor or a zipper top bag and a mallet for the job!

Ingredients for the glaze:

  • 3 1/2 cups brown sugar lightly packed
  • 1 1/2 cups water
  • 1 cup apple cider vinegar Don’t use white vinegar here. It lacks oomph!
  • 2 teaspoons ground mustard powder Or 1 tablespoon prepared British-style mustard, like Coleman’s.

Instructions

  • Use the coarse setting on your meat grinder to grind your ham. (If you do not have a meat grinder, use your food processor to pulse until it is finely chopped like hamburger or chop very finely with a large, sharp knife.)

  • Preheat the oven to 350°F.

  • Evenly coat two 9″x13″ baking dishes with non-stick cooking spray.

  • Combine all the ham ball ingredients in a large mixing bowl and mix together with your hands until all ingredients are evenly distributed.

  • Roll the meat into 2-inch balls. (I use a medium sized disher to get evenly sized meatballs so they cook at the same rate.)

  • Arrange the ham balls in the pans. Set aside.

  • Add all the glaze ingredients to a medium-sized, heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium-high heat and bring to a boil, whisking just until the sugar is fully melted.

  • Reduce heat and simmer for 4 minutes. Do not cover the pan while simmering.

  • Pour the glaze over the ham balls, dividing evenly between the two pans.

  • Bake the ham balls, uncovered, for 70 minutes, or until the sauce has reduced to a syrupy consistency and the ham balls are browned.

Notes

These freeze well, so don’t worry about the high volume of the recipe. Not that you’ll have many left, that is… They’re just a bit too tasty.

Nutritional information is an estimate and provided to you as a courtesy. You should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe using your preferred nutrition calculator.

did you make this recipe?

Make sure to tag @foodiewithfam on Instagram and #hashtag it #foodiewithfamily so I can check it out!

Old Fashioned Ham Ball Recipe - Great Leftover Ham Recipe (6)

This post was originally published April 26, 2011.

Old Fashioned Ham Ball Recipe - Great Leftover Ham Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What are ham balls made of? ›

Ham balls are like meatballs but with a different mixture of ground meats: ground ham, ground beef, and ground pork. The main meat is ground ham. Since ham is a cured cut of pork with a smoky quality, it contains a different flavor than ground pork alone.

How do you reheat fully cooked ham balls? ›

How do you heat a fully cooked ham ball? The best way to reheat ham balls is to simply stick them back into the oven! Heat at 350°F until warmed through to the center.

What is ham loaf made of? ›

Ham loaf can be made with minced leftover ham or ham steak. It's often fortified with more ground pork for texture and moisture. The seasonings, much like a meatloaf, are largely up to you, but we love the play of tangy mustard and sweet pineapple against the salty ham.

What is ground ham? ›

Commercial Ground Ham sandwich spreads will usually be made from ham trimmings with the addition of meat from pork shoulder.

Is spiral ham real ham? ›

What Is a Spiral Ham? A spiral ham is, in a nutshell, a bone-in ham that's been sliced with a special spiral-slicing machine, which carves the meat into perfectly thin slices while allowing it to retain its show-stopping centerpiece shape for optimal presentation.

What is honeybaked ham made of? ›

A Honey Baked Ham is the best holiday ham you can buy. Our hams are smoked for up to 24 hours with our special blend of hardwood chips, then spiral-sliced to the bone for convenient easy serving, and hand-crafted with our sweet, crunchy glaze.

How do you make leftover ham moist? ›

Place in an oven-safe baking dish. Cover top of ham with loosely wrapped aluminum foil to keep moisture in. Bake at 275 degrees F at 10 minutes per pound–or until meat thermometer reads 135 – 140 degrees.

What liquid to reheat ham? ›

To reheat ham slices on the stove, add a few slices at a time to a skillet over medium-high heat. Add up to ½ cup of chicken broth to keep the meat moist or opt for a couple of tablespoons of butter or oil to give the ham a nice sear.

How do you keep leftover ham moist? ›

Mix together 4 cups of water and 2 tablespoons of white vinegar and wet the bag, make sure it is completely soaked through. Wring it out slightly so it's not dripping and place ham inside or wrap completely in the tea towel. Store in coolest part of fridge (usually at the bottom).

Is ham loaf the same as ground ham? ›

Ham loaf or hamloaf is a baked meat dish, similar to meatloaf, made of ground ham and ground pork and combined with other ingredients to form a loaf like shape. Distinct in color and taste from meatloaf, hamloaf is often baked with a sweet glaze, often consisting of brown sugar, molasses, pineapples, or cherries.

Where is hamloaf popular? ›

Examining Ham Loaf Origins

Many Amish and Pennsylvania Dutch restaurants and food-related businesses soon made the meat dish a popular staple for customers. Eventually, the tasty twist on meatloaf became popular elsewhere too, to the point that the dish is now considered very popular in Ohio.

Who invented the ham loaf? ›

It's thought that the ham loaf recipe originated in Germany and then came to the United States as an oft-made dish in Amish and Pennsylvania Dutch communities. It was a popular menu item at church suppers and lunch counters.

Why is ham called ham and not pork? ›

The modern word ham is derived from the Old English ham or hom meaning the hollow or bend of the knee, from a Germanic base where it meant 'crooked'. It began to refer to the cut of pork derived from the hind leg of a pig around the 15th century.

Are ham burgers made of ham? ›

First of all, typical hamburgers contain no ham. The patty is often made from ground beef. If you order a buffalo burger in the U.S., there's no buffalo in there, either. The patty is made from bison meat, which is generally considered healthier.

What is uncooked ham called? ›

But lately, I've been seeing more ham labeled “uncured” on grocer's shelves. What's going on? Uncured ham is also called fresh ham. It's the same cut as cured, but not embellished with any of the brine and smoke or other flavorings the more common city hams and gourmet country hams.

What are the white balls on deli ham? ›

Well, rest assured, those white spots are and there is absolutely nothing to be worried about. Here's why! Scientifically, these white spots are called Tyrosine or Tyrosine Crystals. It's one of the amino acids that are part of the protein chain and is therefore present in the meat of the Iberian pig.

Are Fareway ham balls precooked? ›

Ham balls. Ham balls come fully cooked, so all you need to do is warm through prior to serving.

What part of the pig is ham made from? ›

Ham. The back leg of the hog is where we get fresh, smoked, or cured hams. Serrano ham and prosciutto are made from hams that are cured, smoked, and then air-dried. Fresh hams are usually roasted, but they can be cut into ham steaks as well.

What is the green stuff on ham? ›

There are various pigments in meat compounds that can give it an iridescent or greenish cast when exposed to heat and processing. According to overseas food safety authorities, iridescence does not represent decreased quality or safety of the meat.

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