This is the one we used if we just had leftover ham:

Ham Loaf or Ham Balls

1 lb. ground smoked ham
1 lb. pork sausage or ground pork
1 tablespoon prepared mustard
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup quick-cooking oats
3/4 cup evaporated milk
1 egg, beaten

Mix all ingredients and form into balls, place on baking sheets and bake at 350 for 40 minutes. Make a sauce out of 1/2 cup vinegar and 1/2 cup brown sugar and a can of crushed pineapple drained. Heat and stir untill the sugar dissolves and pour over the ham balls.

Annie

Yeah.....that's what I do too....I was looking for something else....
Oh well......

This really isn't a "Ham Ball" recipe, but there IS ham in it and they are wonderful. Not sure they will go with the rest of your menu, but maybe you want to keep it around for the future......

Sauerkraut Balls

3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 onion, finely chopped
1 cup finely chopped cooked ham
1 cup finely chopped corned beef
1/2 clove garlic, crushed
6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups sauerkraut, drained
and minced
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
1/2 cup beef broth

1 egg
2 cups milk
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
4 cups fine dry bread crumbs
1 quart oil for frying

In a large skillet, melt butter over medium-low heat.
Add onion and cook until softened. Stir in ham, corned
beef and garlic. Cook mixture, stirring constantly for 1 minute. Stir in 6 tablespoons flour and cook mixture over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, for 3 minutes.

Stir in sauerkraut, parsley, and broth; cook for 3 minutes or until thickened and paste-like. Spread mixture on a platter or cookie sheet and chill for at least 3 hours.

Heat oil in deep-fryer or electric frying pan to 375 degrees. In a bowl, whisk together the egg, milk and 2 1/2 cups flour. Shape the sauerkraut mixture by level teaspoons in to balls, dip them into the egg mixture and roll them in the bread crumbs.

Fry balls in batches for 2 to 3 minutes or until golden
brown. Transfer to paper towels to drain. Serve warm.

I know that recipe....and it's wonderful....but I use it for hors d'ouvres...
I guess I will go with same-ole, same-ole....sigh.....
LOL!!
Linda C

I make mine a bit differently. Since it's you I'll just give you the method and not worry bout figuring out amounts. Smiles.

Make fresh breadcrumbs in the food processor and set aside. Saute some onion, garlic and... red bell pepper. Cube the ham and grind it in the food processor. In a bowl mix the sauteed veggies with the ham. Add an egg, a spoon or two each of mayonaisse and mustard. You'll be happy if you don't skip the mayo unless you really really hate it, but it really does well cooked. Add fresh breadcrumbs to stiffen enough to form the balls. I just make them into balls or cones or flats and bake or fry, but you could coat with egg and more breadcrumbs if you wanted. I don't think it's needed, but.. your choice. They're sort of my version of ham salad made into balls with the sauteed veggies taking place of relish.

ha....I never thought to make ham salad into a something hot. I'll give that a try....but not this time...
B ut I think I will go with the old cooked forever version, with the brown sugar vinegar and mustard glaze...
My mIL would cook them for 2 hours at 300 basting and turning every 15 minutes...no wonder she had to cook them for 2 hours....she regularly cooled the oven down to about 200 degrees, then by the time it got back to temp, it was time to baste them again! LOL!
Linda c

Ham and cheese is a good combination. Maybe you could vary your regular recipe by working some cheese into it. Maybe a cheese sauce over it. Or vary the recipe in some other way.

Jim

I'm STILL not touching this subject.

Me too! LOL but I guess that it's a different time, place and sodium content!

I noticed it. You are displaying admirable restraint, Jessy.

Jim

Particularly since I am serving it with a noodle kugel.....

LindaC, I did notice the ham/kugel connection, LOL, and I was just waiting for Jessica to ask about Ham Balls.....

Annie

Jessie would have nothing to say about ham balls....she would never put them any where near her mouth.
I know Jessie....no treyf for her
Linda c

Well I did date a comedian once does that count?

How well did you know him?

Well enough to eat his....appetizers.

With kugel?

Topped with brown sugar and vinegar sauce?

Alexa

mmrrffllrrlfff (trying to speak w/mouth full)

This was one of the dishes my mother would serve at her 'card club' luncheons. The recipe originally called for 1 Tbsp. of brown sugar so you may want to increase it, although I only use the teaspoon of it. The filling is softer than the ham balls in sauce.

HARVEST HAM BALLS

1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup soft bread crumbs
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp. brown sugar
Dash ground cloves
1 lb. ground cooked ham (about 2 cups)
8 canned peach halves, drained
1 Tbsp. melted butter or margarine
Paprika
Green celery tops or parsley

Combine egg, crumbs, milk, sugar, cloves and ham. Shape into 8 balls. Place peach halves, hollow sides up, in greased baking dish. Nest a ham ball in each peach half. Brush top of ham mixture with melted butter and sprinkle lightly with paprika. Bake in 350 degree oven for 25 minutes. Garnish with celery.

That sounds good!
I was buying the ground ham etc today and the butcher said are you going to mix it with a bit of mustard, onion and some grahamcracker crumbs?....I said...no oat meal
Anyone know a recipe for ham balls with grahamcrackers?
Linda C

None of these are T&T but you asked for it! The last 3 are for "ham loaf" but I bet you cold massage the mixture into balls if you wanted to ;-) and the last one is from a cook in Iowa!

*******************************************************

Ham Balls

"Mix ground smoked ham, sausage and beef together with milk, eggs and graham cracker crumbs for a new spin on meatballs. Form into balls and bake in a tangy sauce of tomato, vinegar, brown sugar and mustard powder."
Ingredients:
1 1/4 pounds ground smoked ham
1 pound ground pork
1 pound lean ground beef
1 cup milk
2 eggs 1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1 (10.75 ounce) can tomato soup
1/4 cup cider vinegar
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon mustard powder

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. In a large bowl, combine the ham, pork OR sausage, and the ground beef. Stir in the milk, eggs and graham cracker crumbs and mix well. Form into large balls about 2 inches in diameter and place them in a 9x13 inch baking dish.
3. In a separate medium bowl, combine the soup, vinegar, brown sugar and mustard powder. Mix well and pour over the meatballs.
4. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour or until internal meat temperature reaches 160 degrees F (70 degrees C).

*********************************************************
Ham Loaf
I know a lot of people eat ham on New Year's day because they are all turkeyed out. It's also great for leftover Easter Ham. Here are some great recipes for your leftover ham.
Preheat oven to 350F

Ingredients:
1-1/2 lbs. ground cooked ham
1 lb. lean ground pork
3/4 cup crushed graham crackers
1/2 cup low-fat (1%) milk
1/4 cup shredded carrot
1/4 cup finely chopped yellow onion
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 large egg white, lightly beaten
1/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup ketchup
1/2 tsp. onion powder
2 tbsp. vinegar
Directions:
In a large bowl, mix the ground ham, pork, graham crackers, milk, carrot, onion, pepper, egg and egg white.

In a shallow baking pan, shape the meat mixture into a loaf. Smooth the top. Bake for 1 hour, drain off fat

Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine the ketchup, brown sugar, vinegar and onion powder. Spoon half of the mixture over the meat after the first hour. Bake for 15 - 30 minutes more.

Serve with the remaining ketchup mixture

Makes 8 servings

By Darlene in Mississauga

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Ham Loaf II
Ingredients
2 lbs. ground beef
2 lbs. ground ham
2 eggs
2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1 1/2 cups milk
Directions
Mix all together and shape into a loaf or 2 loaves. Place in a greased roaster.

Sauce:
1 can tomato soup
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1/4 cup vinegar
Sauce Directions
Mix and pour over the meat before baking. Bake approximately 1 hour at 350 degrees F.

By Robin from Washington, IA

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Ham Loaf III
Ingredients
2 1/2 lb. ground ham
3 lb. ground beef
3 eggs
3 cups graham crackers, crushed
2 cups milk
Sauce:
2 cans tomato soup
1 3/4 cups brown sugar
1/2 cup vinegar
2 tsp. dry mustard
Directions
Mix ingredients for loaf together. Mix ingredients of sauce together. Pour sauce over loaf. Bake for 1 hour at 350 degrees F. Freezes well, even with sauce on top.

By Robin from Washington, Ia

The last two ham loaf recipes were from a woman who lives in my husband's hometown. What a coincidence! I never tasted ham balls until I got married and started visiting his relatives in Iowa. I've never made them either. But I remember thinking they were very tasty. I'm enjoying them again vicariously by reading this thread.

Washington, Iowa? Just down the road a piece from me....charming town....very itty bitty. I know someone who runs an art studio there....I need to visit.
You know me....I don't canned soups.....so I would have to me messing with the recipes to make them from tomato sauce...
I think I won't experiment for company....but I will try the graham cracker crumb st8iff in the future...
But with tomato soup, it strikes me as very sweet.....
( she says who is going to cook the ham balls in brown sugar and vinegar!)

Since they all have the same brown sugar/vinegar basis to the sauce I bet you could use your original sauce with graham cracker recipe....... Just a thought.

Alexa

But....wouldn't it be too sweet?...I mean sweet INSEDe the ham balls and sweet outside?

Yes, Linda, Washington, IA. My husband actually grew up in neighboring Kalona, but his family moved to Washington when he started high school. He eventually moved to Los Angeles, and that's where we met. But we visit his family fairly regularly.

Speaking of graham crackers, one of my mother's friends used to make parsnip patties (made with mashed parsnips) and would dredge them in graham cracker crumbs before frying.

Maybe make the sauce a little more vinegary to balance the sweet of the ham balls? Or a little more mustardy? I have never had a ham ball in my life, so I am totally WAG-ing on this one.

Alexa

"WAG-ing"??????

I can't even guess. Lou, do you know what that means? HELP!

Jim

Winging And Guessing...??

Thanks, Linda. Now I get it. You mean the way I do ALL of my cooking. LOL!

Jim

WAG-ing is Wild A$$ Guess - ing LOLOLOL!

Alexa

Same thing......
I just mixed them up....was going to freeze them and bake Tuesday morning.....but they are very soft...I am guessing the ham was fattier then I usually get....next time I will buy a piece of ham and ask to have it ground...
anyhow they were too soft to freeze in a pile and I don't have freezer room for that big tray.
So I am baking tonight....and then what?
Refrigerate them with the syrup and warm up? Only bake for 1 hour instead of the required 2 and then bake another hour or more to allow for the warm up, on Tuesday?
And the kugel? I was going to do it morning of.....but the way my week is shaping up....thinking I better bake it tomorrow and re heat in the micro on Tuesday....
Big dog is still here and won't be going home until tomorrow. Her mommy is on a plane flying to Mineapolis, to catch a plane to Kansas City, so they can drive to Des Moines...
I know...I am confused too!
Here's the recipe....sounds very blah....but I know from experience it's very good!

SWEDISH HAM BALLS
1 lb. ground ham
1/2 lb. ground pork
1/2 lb. ground beef
(lean and good quality)

1 C. oatmeal
1 C. milk
2 eggs
Mix well and make into small balls. Place in baking pan.

Mix: 1 C. brown sugar
1 tsp. dry mustard
1/2 C. vinegar
1/2 C. water

Pour over hamballs. Bake in slow oven. 325 degrees. Plan on two hours. They must be turned every half hour or so and the liquid should become syrupy and ham balls dark reddish brown. The secret is slow, long cooking. Cut down to 300 if they seem to brown.

Mildred Campbell

I have to believe that someone named Mildred Campbell would know how to make wonderful ham balls, which is a dish I've not had the good fortune to experience.

If you want to spiff them up a bit, why not throw in some celery seeds? But wait, that's the other thread, isn't it? The celery seeds go in the bloody marys (An item on your menu. Yes, I am paying attention.) If the bloody marys are served in ample quantity, everything else, indluding the ham balls, will be a great success. But I'm not telling you anything you didn't already know.

Jim

The ham balls have spent the 2 hours in the oven....and I ate one....delicious, just as I remembered....but I can't help thinking how much better they would be if that "stuff" they were cooking in also contained a boat load of cooked onions, caramelizing in the brown sugar and vinegar....and if the vinegar were balsamic...even cheap balsamic.....but then they wouldn't be Mildred's ham balls.
Yeah...Mildred knew ham balls and fruit soup and chicken fried steak....but she tended to omit onions as "too strong"....never put garlic in anything nor ever ate any until I married her son!
She was quite the lady.....I miss her! it will have been 10 years next month.
Linda C