If you enjoy vintage recipes like tuna noodle casserole and Salisbury steak, you may be up for trying one or two regional classics. Particularly, if you have a proclivity to choose ham as the protein of choice for all your holiday meals, old-fashioned ham balls are a Midwestern dish you need to try. Also commonly known as Iowa ham balls, these tender meatballs are revered for their sweet and salty glaze and homestyle ingredients including fully-cooked, ground ham.
If you’re known to make mistakes when deciphering how much boneless ham to allot each dinner guest at communal gatherings, this longtime recipe can accommodate all of your meaty leftovers. Sure enough, when you find yourself with leftover honey mustard-glazed ham, you can use it to make these savory ham balls. The best part about making ham balls is their versatility. If you’re fresh out of leftover ham, you can also make these tasty balls by purchasing a small, fully-cooked ham steak at your nearest supermarket.
To make these delicious snacks, start by grinding a pound of fully-cooked ham. You can either do this with a meat grinder or a food processor. You can also ask the butcher at your neighborhood grocery store to do it for you. Then, combine the processed ham with either ground beef or ground pork. Once you incorporate some buttermilk, eggs, spices, and ground cracker crumbs, you’re ready to form your ham balls and bake them for 40 to 50 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
There’s more than one way to make extra flavorful ham balls
When compiling the ingredients you need to make these one-of-a-kind meatballs, feel free to tailor the recipe to your own personal taste buds. For example, the cracker crumbs in traditional ham ball recipes can be either savory or sweet. While some recipes suggest graham cracker crumbs for an added dose of sweetness, other recipes favor saltine crackers or a more buttery variety like Ritz. For an even milder option, you can also use panko.
When seasoning your batch of ham balls, use a few versatile spices such as thyme, parsley, or oregano. You can even incorporate warming spices like ground ginger and clove. Since ham is on the saltier side, don’t be afraid to play around with different seasonings until you find the right combination. The final element of this regional dish is the sweet and salty glaze that’s generously poured over before baking. While the most common variations include ingredients like canned and condensed tomato soup, ketchup, and pineapple juice, you can also make a delicious glaze with only brown sugar, apple cider vinegar, and dry mustard.
However you decide to prepare this Midwestern dish, ham balls serve as a tasty dinner option, especially when served over mashed potatoes or rice. Alternatively, you can serve ham balls at your next family potluck with a few more eccentric vintage appetizers like party cheese balls and Jello salad.
