What Is Ground ham and How Can I Use It?
Ground ham rewards a little know-how: how to choose it, cook it, store it, and substitute in a pinch. Browse 5 recipes to cook with it.
Key Points
- Ground ham is cooked ham minced fine to bind into loaves, patties, spreads, and fillings.
- Its signature dish is ham loaf, often mixed with ground pork and a sweet glaze.
- Usually made at home from leftovers; pulse in short bursts for an even mince.
What is ground ham?
Ground ham is cooked ham put through a grinder or food processor into a fine, even mince. It is the form ham takes when you want it to bind into something like a loaf or patty, or to smooth into a spread or filling instead of a slice.
Most ground ham is homemade from leftovers. A holiday ham that has lost its looks still grinds beautifully, which is why it is a classic use-it-up move after a big roast.
How to Use It
The signature dish is ham loaf, ground ham bound with egg and crumbs and often mixed with ground pork, baked with a sweet glaze, the heart of Ham Loaf and Ham Loaf Van Allen. The grind lets the salty ham spread its flavor through the whole loaf.
It also makes spreads and fillings. Bound with mayonnaise or set in aspic it becomes a party dish like Ham Mousse in Sherry Aspic, and it fills croquettes and deviled eggs. Recipie for Leftover Ham shows the leftover-to-grind path.
Because the ham is already cooked and salty, season the surrounding mixture lightly and taste before adding salt.
Buying and Storing
You will rarely buy ground ham; you make it. Pulse cubes of cooked ham in a food processor in short bursts so you get an even mince rather than a paste, or run it through the coarse plate of a meat grinder.
Treat it like any cooked, perishable meat: keep it cold and use ground ham within three to four days, or freeze it for one to two months.
For ham basics and watching the salt, see the parent ham page.
Quick facts
- In Chinese
- 地面火腿
- British (UK) term
- Ground ham
- en français
- jambon haché
- en español
- jamón picado
Recipes using ground ham
There are 5 recipes that contain this ingredient.
Ham Loaf Van Allen
Ham loaf made with ground ham and pork, saltine crackers, eggs, and condensed tomato soup. A classic Midwestern meat loaf that divides into four freezer-friendly portions.
Meatballs in Chile Sauce
Mexican meatballs in chile sauce made with a three-meat blend of beef, pork, and ground ham, bound with milk-soaked corn tortillas and simmered in red chile sauce.
Recipie for Leftover Ham
Ham loaf made with ground ham and pork, glazed with a tangy currant jelly and mustard sauce. The best way to use leftover ham in a comforting retro meatloaf.
Ham Mousse in Sherry Aspic
Ham mousse in sherry aspic is a classic French charcuterie showpiece. Ground ham folded into whipped cream, set in a crystal-clear aspic with truffle and egg white garnishes.
Ham Loaf
Ham loaf blends ground ham and ground pork with milk-soaked breadcrumbs, then bakes under a brown sugar, vinegar, and mustard glaze. Pennsylvania Dutch supper that puts plain meatloaf to shame.
