Day: September 11, 2017

Day 135: Vive La Pork

Day 135: Vive La Pork


I’m not a huge fan of ham salad. It always seems too pink and too mushy to be real food. Also, it looks like brains.

BUT, when you have 4+ pounds of frozen ham in a freezer that needs defrosting (and you’re all out of split peas), what do you make?

Ham Salad.

 

My good thing today was creating a batch that I like. I liked it so much, in fact, I ate about a cup right out of the container before I could even get it on the bread. It’s good on crackers. It’s good on sourdough, it’s good on wheat. It’s ridiculous on buttered toast, with a  fried egg.

Ham salad is officially vindicated.


Ingredients:

Day135_HamSalad_a_Ingredients

  • 6 cups (1 lb, 9 oz.) cooked, real ham (no deli meat)
  • 1 Tablespoon spicy brown mustard
  • 1 Tablespoon yellow mustard
  • 2/3 cup of GOOD mayonnaise*
  • 1/4 cup diced dill pickles
  • 1/4 teaspoon pepper
  • 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
  • 1 teaspoon thyme**
  • 1/4 teaspoon rosemary**
  • (salt as needed to correct flavor, but the ham is usually pretty salty on it’s own)

To correct the “mush” factor, I started by boiling the ham in just enough water to cover the meat half way up the pot. This made a drier ham with a corned beef texture and leaves you with great broth to cook rice or pasta in. It also makes going straight from the freezer super snappy.

Day135_HamSalad_b_Frozen

When the ham is heated through and your broth is bubbling,

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strain it out of the liquid and set it aside until it’s cooled.

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Shred it.

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Throw it in a bowl with the remaining ingredients.

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Stir until well combined, but don’t pulverize it. (I like a drier salad, so my mayo quantity is low. Feel free to add more to your liking!)

Day135_HamSalad_g_Mixed

Correct with salt and pepper as needed and chill.

Day135_HamSalad_h_Chill

 

I served this on sourdough with a side of greens, dried tart cherries, and a sharp Irish Cheddar.

 

Day135_HamSalad_j_Sourdough

Mmmmmmm……

…brains.


 

* The taste of the mayo really comes through in this salad, so be sure to use a  quality spread that you like the taste of on it’s own. It should have a fresh, eggy tang.

**I also tried Herbs de Provence in a batch and that was delicious. Not everyone likes all the herbs in this blend, so I opted for thyme and rosemary to please more palates. If I were making it just for me though, I’d omit the thyme and rosemary and go with 1 1/4 teaspoon Herbs de Provence, all the way.

***If the salad dries out in the fridge after a day or two, refresh it with a Tablespoon of fresh mayo and a 1/4-1/2 teaspoon of yellow mustard.