These 53 Recipes Have Us Getting Creative With The Leftover Ham This Year (2024)

FAQs

What to do with an already cooked ham? ›

A fully cooked, ready-to-eat ham (also referred to as a "city ham") can be sliced and served cold or at room temperature—there's no need to reheat it. A spiral-cut ham is delicious this way, whether eaten by the slice, tucked into biscuits, or in a grilled cheese sandwich.

Large pieces of ham can be wrapped in foil and plastic wrap and stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up 2 weeks. Slice and use in our ultimate ham and cheese toasties or cut up chunks for fried rice or toss through a pasta salads and you've got the holiday season sorted.

Here's the good news: You can absolutely freeze cooked ham. In fact, many hams are cured and/or smoked, which were old-school (and still beloved) ways to preserve food for later use. Ham can be stored in the freezer for up to four months, according to USDA food safety guidelines.

If you plan to consume your cooked leftover ham in 3-5 days, refrigerating might be the best option, according to USDA. To store your ham properly, it's best to use vacuum-sealed bags or airtight containers to prevent moisture loss and bacteria growth.

Information. Spiral-cut hams and leftovers from consumer-cooked hams may be stored in the refrigerator three to five days or frozen one to two months. Keep your refrigerator at 40 °F or less and your freezer at or near 0 °F.

An uncooked, cut country ham can be refrigerated for two to three months or frozen for one month. A cooked Country Ham should be refrigerated for seven days and or frozen for one month. Freezer storage time is for quality only. Frozen hams remain safe indefinitely.

If your ham starts to take on a green or grey hue, or even gets black or brown in a few areas, throw it away. If it doesn't smell good, throw it away. Ham should have a salty or smokey aroma, almost sweet. If there is a sour smell or something smells off, don't take the chance of a food-borne illness.

How Long Does Ham Keep In The Fridge? If you have a whole ham, it can last in the fridge for up to seventy-five days. If you have a half ham, it will last for about sixty days. Ham that has been precooked or spiral cut will last for about one week.

Is Ham Bad for Dogs? Ham is not toxic to dogs, but it's also not a healthy treat for them. So if your pup eats a little piece that fell to the floor, they should be totally fine. But feeding ham to your dog as a regular snack can cause some long-term health issues.

Packaged lunch meats (including ham) can be stored in the refrigerator for two weeks before opening. After opening a package of lunch meats or buying sliced lunch meats at a deli, you can refrigerate them for three to five days. These meats can also be frozen for up to one to two months for the best quality.

Is it OK to freeze ham twice? ›

Can You Refreeze Ham? The admonitions about refreezing anything are not about food safety. As long as you have kept the meat (or anything) at a safe temperature when it was thawed (i.e. in the refrigerator), you aren't risking anything.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, ham is good for three to five days in the refrigerator after it is cooked.

Honey Baked Hams® can be frozen up to 6 weeks for future use. To freeze a ham upon receipt, leave it in the foil and insulated bag it arrived in, and place in the coldest part of your freezer. To serve after freezing, remove from the insulated bag and place in refrigerator for 24-36 hours to thaw before serving.

No. Both whole or half, cooked, vacuum-packaged hams packaged in federally inspected plants and canned hams can be eaten cold, right out of the package. However, if you want to reheat these cooked hams, set the oven no lower than 325 °F and heat to an internal temperature of 140 °F as measured with a food thermometer.

Arrange slices in a single layer on a greased baking pan. Add a couple of tablespoons of broth or water and cover with foil. Bake for about 10 minutes or until heated through, turning slices once.

For a precooked ham, reheat for about 18 minutes per pound to hit 140°F. In general, we prefer bone-in ham, which is more flavorful and less expensive per pound than boneless ham. Plus, you can freeze the ham bone to make stock or toss it into a pot of beans or braised greens.