Wondering what to do with ham bone? This guide covers how to pick it, cook it, store it, and swap it, plus 35 recipes to put it to work.

What is ham bone?

A ham bone is the leftover bone from a bone-in ham, the prize hiding inside the holiday roast.

After the meat is carved off, the bone still holds marrow and scraps of clinging ham, plus a layer of fat and gelatin that dissolves into the liquid and turns a plain pot of beans into something with backbone.

It is the original use-it-up ingredient. One bone seasons a whole pot of soup, which is why cooks freeze it after Easter or Christmas instead of tossing it.

The parent ham page covers buying a bone-in ham in the first place. This page is about what to do with the bone once the ham is gone.

How to Use a Ham Bone

The job is simple. Simmer it low and slow so it gives up its salt, smoke, and gelatin.

Drop the whole bone into the pot with your beans or split peas, cover it with water, then hold it at a bare simmer for two to three hours.

Dried beans and a ham bone are the classic pairing because they cook on the same clock, the bone flavoring the liquid while the beans soften. That is the move behind 5 Bean Soup and Anderson's Split Pea Soup.

It is just as good in lentils and potatoes. Prize Winning Ham & Lentil Soup and German Potato Soup both lean on a bone for their depth.

When the bone has given everything it has, fish it out and let it cool. Pick off any tender meat clinging to it and stir that back into the pot.

If your goal is the liquid itself rather than a finished soup, simmer the bone in plain water to make ham broth, then strain and use it as a base later.

Pairing and Mistakes to Avoid

A ham bone leans salty and smoky, so it loves beans, lentils, split peas, hearty greens like collards or kale, plus cabbage and potatoes. A bay leaf with an onion and a couple of carrots rounds out almost any pot.

The big mistake is salting early. The bone keeps releasing salt the whole time it simmers, and the liquid reduces and concentrates as it goes. Wait until the bone comes out, then taste and adjust.

Do not boil it hard. A rolling boil makes the broth cloudy and greasy; a lazy simmer pulls clean flavor and leaves the fat easy to skim off the top.

Substitutes

No ham bone saved? A ham hock is the closest stand-in, sometimes better, since it carries more meat and skin along with the bone. A smoked ham shank or smoked turkey leg gives the same salty, smoky base.

For a quick fix, a cup of diced smoked ham plus a spoonful of smoked paprika delivers much of the flavor without the long simmer, though you miss the body the gelatin would have added.

Buying and Storing

You usually get a ham bone for free, as the leftover from a bone-in ham. If you want one on purpose, a butcher will often sell meaty ham bones cheaply, and more meat clinging to the bone means more flavor in the pot.

Pick one with a fresh, smoky smell, never a sour one.

Refrigerate a used bone and use it within three to four days. It freezes beautifully for two to three months, so bag it right after the holiday and pull it out the next time you make soup.

Quick facts

In Chinese

火腿骨

British (UK) term

Ham bone

en français

os de jambon

en español

hueso de jamón

Recipes using ham bone

There are 35 recipes that contain this ingredient.

All 35 recipes