Q: I have a question about holiday leftovers. I know dozens of ways to use turkey, but what about ham?
My husband picked one up on a truly amazing post-Christmas sale, but I don't really use ham outside of the occasional sandwich and I'm at a loss. Help?
Sent by Marie
Editor: Marie, we're in the middle of Soup Week, so we're definitely going to say soup! Try this one, for starters:
• White Bean and Ham Soup at Simply Recipes
And for more ideas, check out this previous post:
• What Are Good Recipes to Use Up Smoked Ham?
Readers, any ideas?
Related: Help Me Cure a Ham from Scratch!
(Image: Neiman Marcus)

Comments (26)
Mac and cheese, eggs, biscuits-ham freezes very well so the possibilities are endless.
Jambalaya - this is one of those great "use what you've got" recipes. I use the one found in the Dinosaur BBQ cookbook but any would do.
Whenever I have left over ham I always make biscuits out of it. You can add it plus some cheese to your favorite biscuit recipe and cook them up. If you don't want to eat them right away you can freeze them after. Serious Eats has a recipe I'm particularly fond of for this that also uses left over mashed potatoes as a base though I would suggest if you go that rout not to form them but to make drop biscuits instead (way less mess). After that i do what rosebud says and freeze the other leftovers. I'll roughly chop whatever else is left and freeze it in 1 cup portions to pop into things.
Sometimes I buy a ham just to make soup. I'm not a big fan of beans so I use it for vegetable soup. I start by using the ham hock and some of the meat around the bone to make stock (simmer for a couple of hours, then refrigerate overnight and skim off the fat). (Skip this step if the ham is very salty and just use regular stock.) Then the next day I add vegetables and ham chunks and simmer for an hour or two until everything is tender. I like to use tomatoes and other vegetables to make a minestrone-style soup. (Pasta is also a good addition but it should be added at the end and can be left out if you want to freeze the soup.)
Leftover ham is always used for split-pea soup in our house - yum!
I make a delicious ham and sugar snap pea risotto -- it's one of my favorite recipes. You can check it out on my blog: http://freshandfoodie.com/2010/11/15/ham-and-sugar-snap-pea-risotto/
Definitely soup! I say chop up and freeze in portions for omelettes, frittatas, soups, hashes, etc...
Ham and hominy , Omelettes with ham and gruyere or cheddar, in stuffed peppers, Hoppin John cooked with ham, ham and cheese quiche....
Scalloped Potatoes with Ham!! I use Cooking Lights recipe which is actually pretty good. Quiche/frittata with spinach/red pepper/ham, etc. Fried up along side pancakes, eggs, waffles or polenta.
red beans and rice! red kidney beans, celery, onion, ham...simmer for hours, serve over rice. delicious, easy, freezes well. the ham adds a great flavor to the beans
Yellow split pea soup is a family favourite. This Easter monday ham and cheese back has been on my "I want to cook this" list since last Easter (I never seem to have leftover ham). And this Weeknight Ragu is really versatile, so you can modify it to use cooked ham instead of ground pork easily (although you may want to test for saltyness before salting the dish since you're using smoked ham).
omelets with ham, mushrooms, onion and cheddar are always big hit here.
Also, just heating some ham cut up with onions, salt, garlic salt and pepper, then boiling egg noodles and throwing them into the pan with the ham for a minute makes a great, easy, cheap "farm meal" that my parents used to feed me as a kid. Probably with leftover holiday ham.
I second split pea soup, yum!
If you ever make your own fried rice, it's a great addition. Quiche or a souffle would be good, too. Or sub it for pancetta in pasta dishes.
This pumpkin & black bean soup has become one of my favorite soups, and it calls for ham:
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Pumpkin-Black-Bean-Soup/Detail.aspx
Grind up the ham and add some mayo, pickle relish, Tabasco and maybe some onion for the best chopped ham spread on whole wheat bread. Also grind it up and make a ham loaf out of it--better than meat loaf any day.
Mac + cheese with smoked gouda. Soooooo good! Risotto w/peas. Frittata w/Swiss and asparagus. Lentil soup w/carrots and Swiss chard. Killer grilled cheese.
@ccp mbd said it: Ham Salad or Ham Spread. Easy to make, delicious to eat. If you have the freezer space: slice, dice, or grind up measured amounts of ham and then freeze it for later use. And put that ham bone in a pot of pinto beans!
Fried rice or quiche. Or just sandwiches!
My husbands favorite thing about me fixing a ham is the split pea soup I make with the leftovers. The recipe is amazing. I use the ham bone to flavor the soup instead of a ham hock. I also skip the Truffled Potatoe Chips.
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/emeril-lagasse/ham-and-split-pea-soup-recipe/index.html
Ham noodles! Like chicken n' dumplings, Cracker Barrel-style, only with ham.
Boil hambone for half an hour. Remove from pot; pick off any ham. Cut up additional leftover ham to taste. Add all ham to pot. (Optional: throw in an onion, a couple carrots, and a celery rib.) Add noodles (http://www.copykat.com/2009/02/03/cracker-barrel-old-country-store-dumplings/ , minus the sauce, is similar to the recipe I use); cook about half an hour, till noodles are done. Will be thick and stewy, not brothy. Season with pepper. Add salt, cautiously, only after tasting. Fight with your sister over the leftovers.
I served ham for Christmas just so we could have ham noodles on Boxing Day.
Ham pot pie-ham omelettes-egg, ham, and cheese scramble-chowders can be topped with some sauteed ham-and please, please, dont throw out the ham bone!
Beyond the typical sandwiches, I use leftover hams for mostly for ham and bean soup, and ham and potato casserole. Love the casserole!
I also keep some chopped up to be able to throw in salads, omelets, scrambled eggs, or other things like that.
I freeze my ham in sandwich baggies, cut up into cubes.
Frequently, I'll throw a frozen baggie in when starting a batch of beans, along with the onion and seasonings for the beans.
I used most of mine up in Fritatta, black eyed peas, and Piragis (Latvian recipe from one of my fave bloggers: http://agoodappetite.blogspot.com/2010/02/piragi-latvian-ham-rolls.html). The piragis were a blast to make with my 5 year old. I also had plans for a pizza to use the very last bits of ham, but didn't get to it in time!
My go to recipe is this ham stock one: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Ham-Stock-230791
It doesn't matter that is says ham hocks or shanks, cut up ham works just as well.
I recently made a ham Sheppard's pie that turned out well. I substituted diced ham for the ground lamb and made a gravy by boiling 2cs of the above stock recipe with cheese rind until there was 1c, then thickening with cornstarch.