What Is Canned ham and How Can I Use It?
If canned ham has turned up in a recipe or caught your eye at the store, here's what you need to use it with confidence and how to choose it, cook it, store it, what to substitute, and 3 recipes to try it in.
Key Points
- Canned ham is cured, fully cooked ham sealed in a tin, often shelf-stable and ready to eat.
- Slice it cold, or score, glaze, and bake it like any cooked ham.
- Whole-muscle tins beat chopped-and-formed ones; once opened, use within three to five days.
What is canned ham?
Canned ham is cured, fully cooked ham sealed in a can, shelf-stable and ready to eat straight out of the tin.
The meat is pieced and pressed into shape, set in a little gelatin that forms during cooking, and processed so it keeps unopened for a year or more without refrigeration.
It is convenience ham: no bone or waste, and nothing to cook. Quality runs from solid single-muscle hams down to chopped-and-formed budget tins, so the label and brand matter.
Quick Uses
Slice it cold for sandwiches, or warm and glaze it like any cooked ham. Scored and brushed with a brown sugar or fruit glaze, a canned ham bakes into Glazed Baked Ham or a sweet-tangy Polynesian Ham Bake.
It also dices fast for skillet dishes. Hearty Canned Ham Breakfast Skillet fries it with potatoes and eggs, the cubes browning at the edges.
Buying and Storing
Check the label: a whole-muscle canned ham holds together and slices cleanly, while "chopped ham" or "ham and water product" is softer and wetter. Some cans are shelf-stable; others are labeled "keep refrigerated," so read before you store it.
An unopened shelf-stable can keeps for a year or more in the pantry; go by the date on the can. Once opened, treat it like fresh ham: wrap it well and use it within three to five days in the fridge.
For glazing and watching the salt, the parent ham page covers it.
Quick facts
- In Chinese
- 火腿罐头
- British (UK) term
- Canned ham
- en français
- jambon en conserve
- en español
- jamón enlatado
Recipes using canned ham
There are 3 recipes that contain this ingredient.
Polynesian Ham Bake
Retro tiki-style baked ham glazed with pineapple preserves and surrounded by peaches and bananas, all drizzled with a creamy coconut-chicken soup sauce for Sunday dinner showmanship.
Glazed Baked Ham
Microwave glazed baked ham with brown sugar, dry mustard, pineapple rings, and whole cloves. A retro holiday ham done in under 30 minutes of cook time.
Hearty Canned Ham Breakfast Skillet
One-skillet ham and egg breakfast with frozen potatoes, bell peppers, onion, hot sauce, and melted cheddar. Uses canned ham for a quick, hearty morning meal with no prep fuss.
