Deviled Ham, and a Word on Ham Bones

Eternity is a ham and two people. –Dorothy Parker

By the same token, I assume I’m not the only one with leftover ham?

Honestly, I don’t understand people who cook a turkey at Christmas. Didn’t they just do that a month ago? How can they possibly want turkey AGAIN? To each his own, I guess. But to be clear, where Christmas is concerned we are not standing rib roast people, nor rack of lamb people; we are not even Christmas goose with red currant jelly people. We are proudly Christmas ham people. I know we’re not alone, and also I know full well that a fair number of you–just like me–got up this morning and thought: what in the heck am I going to do with all this leftover ham???

Deviled Ham

I know you know how to make soup or greens, etc., with ham. But after a month of heavy food, party food, and other various leftovers, I want something else. Deviled Ham is a delicious, old-fashioned, answer made drastically easier by the invention of the food processor. Just toss a hunk or two of your ham in with a few other things, and voilà! You have something that will have your family happily eating celery.

Actually, while most Deviled Ham at my house is eaten plain on celery or crackers, it’s useful in plenty of other ways, too:

It makes a great ham melt. Put Deviled Ham on a toasted English muffin and top with your choice of cheese. Run under the broiler.

Stuff a chicken breast with Deviled Ham and top the chicken with a slice of Swiss: voilà! Chicken Cordon Bleu.

Add some Deviled Ham to scrambled eggs or dollop some on an omelet before folding.

Whisk a half cup or so of Deviled Ham into the custard when making a quiche.

Use extra cream cheese, add some cheddar, roll into a ball. Roll the ball in chopped nuts and chopped parsley. Ham cheese ball is a major treat at New Year’s, or any time.

Add a cup of Deviled Ham and a cup of shredded cheese to a muffin batter or biscuit dough and be a hero.

Stuff a couple of tablespoons of Deviled Ham into a baked potato.

This sort of ham spread can also be customized to suit your tastes. Think about adding pineapple to tempt children, or making old fashioned ham salad with chopped boiled egg and pickles

Ham Bones for Ham Stock

I wanted to chat for a second about ham bones because it’s finally occurred to me that I’ve been doing ham bones the hard way for years. I’ve been wrapping the ham bone, sticking it in the freezer, and trying to find the right pot to accommodate it when I want to add it to soup or beans. There is an easier way. The answer is to make ham stock instead of cooking soup or whatever with the ham bone in it. Duh.

Simply put the ham bone and any ham scraps–skin, fatty bits, gristly bits–in a stock pot, cover with cold water, add a glug of vinegar, and bring to a boil. As soon as the stock boils, turn the eye to low and allow to simmer for several hours. You can even pick any meat off the bones and freeze for adding to soups, beans, etc. Or you can add it back into your stock. In either case, let the stock cool and package in cups, pints, or quarts for your freezer. You can skim fat off before you package up your stock, or before you use it, or never. Your choice.

One nice thing is that I get enough stock to use for at least two pots of soup or beans instead of just one. Another is that using a bone requires that the dish you’re cooking cook for hours to extract maximum ham flavor. This way, your ham flavor is available immediately, no long simmering required.

Happy New Year!