The JeniEats Brief Guide To Ham: Cooking It + Ideas For Leftovers

One thing that’s not a mystery: How much I love ham.

Growing-up, I looked forward to our family’s Easter dinner because of ham. Partly because of that cheesy potato hot dish topped with crushed corn flakes, but mostly because of ham. The leftovers were the best.

The good thing about preparing a ham is that it’s really, really easy. It’s already cooked, so all you have to do is heat it through and add some sauce. Our family was divided over raisin sauce. Half loved it and the other half hated it, reaching for the mustard instead. My favorite glaze combines the best of both worlds: Sweet fruit jam and mustard.

Ham ramblings aside, here’s a guide to all of my recipes that include ham. You’ll find my first adventure cooking a giant ham to ideas for using up your leftovers.

How I Baked A Cheap Ass Ham

Once upon a time I wrote a silly post about baking a giant ham. Topping it with a jam-mustard glaze is a breeze. Read more here. 

Funeral Sandwiches / Quick Glazed Ham & Cheese Buns

These little sandwiches go by many names, including Funeral Sandwiches and Football Sandwiches. Essentially, they are ham and cheese sandwiches made on King’s Hawaiian Rolls that you glaze with a brown sugar, mustard, onion sauce before baking. They will taste extra special made with your leftover Easter ham! Find the recipe here. 

Iowan Ham Balls

Iowa introduced me to ham balls. Every butcher and grocery store, in North Iowa, at least, sold ham ball mix. It’s typically a combination of half ground pork and half ground ham.

My friend Val served me my favorite version. She makes hers with 100% ground ham and graham cracker crumbs. If you have a lot of leftover ham, you could grind it in a food processor like Val does. Here’s where to find our Art & Craft Of Making Iowan Ham Balls tutorial + Val’s special Ham Ball recipe .

Ham Balls Glazed With Sweet & Spicy Cranberry Sauce

Here’s my take on ham balls. Of course, the glaze is spicy. Find the recipe here.

My Grandmother’s Cheesy Ham & Sour Cream Casserole

Once I found a bunch of my Grandmothers’ recipes in old church cookbooks. Some of the retro recipes were hits while others left us scratching our heads. This simple ham and sour cream casserole calls for an obscene amount of cheese. We adjusted it slightly to our sensibilities. How bad can cheese, sour cream, ham, and noodles taste? Well, not that bad. We had no problem polishing off the leftovers. Read more here.

Vermonter Sandwiches

I first learned about these sandwiches in Ellen Stimson‘s memoir The Mud Season. She chronicles her move from St. Louis to rural Vermont and describes making these delicious grilled sandwiches. They’re filled with ham, cheese, and apple slices soaked in maple syrup. Make them yourself at home. 

Feel free to leave a comment suggesting your favorite way to use leftover ham or method of cooking it.