Creative Leftover Ham Recipes

What to do with leftover ham?
By: Chef Cristian Feher
www.tampabaychef.com

You can BBQ it, boil it, broil it, bake it, sautee it, deep-fry it, stir-fry it, stew it, braise it, sauce it, sear it... But unlike Bubba Gump, I'm talking about ham! American's consume more ham than any other nation on Earth (I just made that up - but it's probably true). 

When it comes to your Easter dinner, ham will most likely take the center stage. If you're like me, you tend to buy way more ham than you need, and that spells "leftovers". Below are three recipes that I love to make with leftover ham. (You may have seen me make these dishes on Fox 13's Good Day Tampa Bay show)

Hawaiian Corn Muffins

These little muffins are a great breakfast snack made with brown sugar, crushed pineapples, and leftover diced ham. You can make this even easier by using self-rising corn bread mix. 

 




Ingredients:
- 2 cups self-rising corn bread mix
- 1 cup diced ham
- 1 cup crushed pineapple (drained)
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1 cup 2% milk
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 egg
- Cooking spray

Instructions:

1. Mix all ingredients together with a whisk inside a large bowl. 

2. Pre-heat oven to 425. 

3. Spray your muffin pan with cooking spray so that the muffins won't stick.

4. Scoop muffin mixture into each hole in the muffin pan and bake for 15 to 20 minutes (until a toothpick comes out clean).


Deviled Ham

Deviled ham spread has been one of my favorite treats since I was a child. My grandmother used to mix spaghetti with a tin of Underwood deviled ham, butter and parmesan cheese - delicious! It's a dish I still enjoy today. This mixture of spiced ham has many uses, you can make sandwiches, canapes, mix it with hot pasta, and like you may have seen on the Good Day show this morning, you can devil eggs with it! A dash of Chalula hot sauce makes this recipe outstanding!

For this recipe you will need a food processor.

Ingredients:
- 2 cup diced ham
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 1 tsp of smoked paprika (or more to taste)
- 1/4 cup fresh parsley
- 2 cloves of garlic, peeled
- Chalula hot sauce (optional - to taste)

Instructions:

1. Put all ingredients into a food processor and process until you get a fine paste. Enjoy!

Gluten-Free Ham and Peas in Cream Sauce

This is one of my go-to gluten-free dishes when I have leftover ham and cream sauce laying around (which for a chef happens quite often!). I sometimes make large batches of gluten-free cream sauce and freeze it in small containers so it's always available when a recipe calls for it.


Ingredients:
- 1 cup of diced ham
- Enough brown rice pasta for 2 people
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 1 cup water
- 1/3 cup diced onion
- 2 garlic cloves
- fresh basil
- salt and pepper
- White rice flour
- Parmesan Cheese
- 1/2 cup frozen peas
- Olive oil

Instructions:

1. Cook brown rice pasta as per package instructions and keep it on stand-by. 

2. In a sauce pot, start to cook the ham, onions and garlic in a little olive oil. Keep this mixture moving so that the garlic doesn't burn. Cook for about 7 minutes.

3. Add the cream and water. Season with salt and pepper. Remember that the difference between bland cream sauce and good cream sauce is usually a little more salt. 

4. Bring the sauce to a simmer. In a small bowl, about 1/2 cup of white rice flour with a little cold water (this is called a slurry). Whisk this slurry a bit at a time into the simmering sauce (don't stop whisking) until desired thickness is reached. Season again with salt and pepper if needed and cook at a low simmer for 5 more minutes.

5. Add the peas to the sauce. 

6. Serve over brown rice pasta with shredded Parmesan cheese. Enjoy!