What Is Deli ham and How Can I Use It?
If deli 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 10 recipes to try it in.
Key Points
- Deli ham is mild, fully cooked city ham sliced thin and ready to eat from the package.
- It is built for sandwiches, but also rolls, bakes, and dices into other dishes.
- Plain "ham" beats wetter "ham and water product"; sliced ham keeps three to five days.
What is deli ham?
Deli ham is cured, fully cooked ham sliced thin for sandwiches, the kind you buy at the deli counter or prepackaged by the pound. It is wet-cured city ham at its most convenient: mild, tender, ready to eat straight from the package with no cooking at all.
Most of it comes from the same cooked leg as a holiday ham, just pressed or molded and machine-sliced. Quality runs from premium carved ham down to pieced-and-formed "ham and water product," which is wetter and blander.
Quick Uses
Deli ham lives in the sandwich. Stack it cold on a sub or a hero, or grill it into something melty like Grilled Hawaiian Sandwiches and Grilled Turkey & Ham Sandwiches.
It also rolls and bakes well. Wrap it around a filling for Easy Party Ranch Ham Rolls, tuck it into a Ham Stromboli, or layer it into Baked Green Eggs & Ham for breakfast.
Buying and Storing
Buy it freshly sliced for the best texture, and ask for it sliced thin for sandwiches or thicker for dicing. Plain "ham" beats "ham and water product," which is pumped with brine and tastes washed out.
Deli ham dries out fast once sliced. Keep it tightly wrapped in the coldest part of the fridge and use it within three to five days.
For the difference between city and country ham, glazing, and the bone for soup, see the parent ham page.
Quick facts
- In Chinese
- 熟食火腿
- British (UK) term
- Deli ham
- en français
- jambon de charcuterie
- en español
- deli jamón
Recipes using deli ham
There are 10 recipes that contain this ingredient.
Grilled Hawaiian Sandwiches
A tropical touch to a typical grilled cheese. A perfect quick fix for a week night meal.
Easy Party Ranch Ham Rolls
Ranch flavoured cream cheese cheese rolled with ham in a flour tortilla. A favourite party appetizer that's very easy to prepare in a short amount of time.
Baked Green Eggs & Ham
Creative presentation and tastes so good! We like to make these for a St. Patrick's Day breakfast to add a bit of Irish green to the plate.
English Muffin with Ham, Tomatoes, & Pesto
English muffin with ham, tomato, and basil pesto baked under a garlic cream cheese topping. An open-face brunch bite with crisped edges and a fresh homemade pesto drizzle.
Breakfast Loaf
A hollowed-out French bread loaf stuffed with layers of scrambled eggs, deli ham, Monterey Jack, cheddar, red peppers, and tomato slices, then baked until melty. A showstopping brunch centerpiece.
Hot & Hearty Heroes
Giant stuffed hero sandwich baked in homemade dough with layers of ham, salami, Swiss, cheddar, sauteed peppers and onions, and Dijon mustard. A party-sized hot sub that feeds a crowd.
Grilled Turkey & Ham Sandwiches
This is a very yummy sandwiches, you can use your leftover turkey or you can just do it as a deliciouos sandwiches.
Ham Stromboli
Easy ham stromboli with deli ham, pepperoni, mozzarella, and Italian seasoning rolled in refrigerated pizza dough. A quick weeknight dinner or game day snack baked golden in under 20 minutes.
