What Is Ham broth and How Can I Use It?
Ham broth rewards a little know-how: how to choose it, cook it, store it, and substitute in a pinch. Browse 1 recipe to cook with it.
Key Points
- Ham broth is the smoky, salty liquid from simmering a leftover ham bone or smoked hock.
- It is the classic base for split pea soup, bean soups, and a pot of smoky greens.
- Watch the salt: the bone seasons the pot, so add salt last, if at all.
- Salting early then reducing can turn a soup inedible; stretch a salty batch with water.
- Closest swap is chicken stock simmered with a smoked hock, bacon, or turkey wing.
What is ham broth?
Ham broth is the savory liquid you get from simmering a leftover ham bone or smoked hock in water with a few vegetables. It comes out smoky and salty with a faint cured sweetness, carrying that pork flavor straight into whatever you cook next.
It is less a from-scratch project than a way to use up a bone that still has meat clinging to it. After a holiday ham, that bone is the prize. A couple of hours in a pot turns it into a base with far more character than plain stock.
The one thing to watch is salt, which cured ham brings in spades. Everything below comes back to that.
How to Use It
Ham broth was made for beans and greens. It is the classic base for split pea soup and navy bean soup, and for a pot of collards or kale that needs backbone. The pork salt and smoke season the pot for you.
That makes it the natural liquid for a hearty bowl like Easy Ham, Bean & Tomato Soup, where the broth pulls the beans and tomato into one savory whole. Use it in place of water when you cook dried beans or lentils, or to moisten a pan of cornbread dressing.
Cooking & Pairing
Taste before you season anything. A ham bone can push a broth past salty on its own, so hold off on salt until the very end, if you add any at all.
Lean on black pepper and bay instead, with a splash of vinegar at the finish to cut the richness and wake up the pork flavor.
It pairs naturally with beans, potatoes, cabbage, and smoky greens. The common mistake is salting the dish early out of habit.
By the time the broth reduces, that early salt has nowhere to go, and a good pot of soup turns inedible. If a batch comes out too salty anyway, stretch it with water or unsalted stock and add more beans or potatoes to soak it up.
Substitutes
No other liquid quite copies the smoke-and-salt of a real ham bone. The closest swap is chicken stock with a smoked hock, a chunk of bacon, or a smoked turkey wing simmered in it.
A spoonful of smoked paprika or a drop of liquid smoke in plain stock fakes the smoke but not the body. For a vegetarian version, smoked salt and a sheet of kombu give you savory depth without the pork.
Buying & Storage
You usually do not buy ham broth; you make it from a bone you already have. A meaty bone or a couple of smoked hocks give the richest result, so save them in the freezer until you have enough to fill a pot.
Because it is salty, ham broth keeps a little longer than most. It holds four to five days in the fridge and freezes for months.
The fat sets in a firm cap on top when chilled. That cap protects the broth and lifts off easily if you want to skim it before using.
Quick facts
- In Chinese
- 火腿高汤
- British (UK) term
- Ham broth
- en français
- bouillon de jambon
- en español
- caldo de jamón
Recipes using ham broth
There are 1 recipe that contain this ingredient.
Easy Ham, Bean & Tomato Soup
Easy ham, bean and tomato soup turns leftover holiday ham and a ham bone broth into a hearty navy bean soup with onions, celery, and tomato. A pantry-savvy meal.
