32 Ham Recipes to Master

By Food & Wine
Updated November 12, 2019
Christopher Hirsheimer
Soft scrambled eggs with ham and truffles. Apple-ham quiche. Giardiniera with ham and white beans. This roundup celebrates some of our best ham recipes, going beyond the typical glazed hams for the holidays—although we’ve included plenty of those, too. With over 30 to choose from, you’re bound to find a few new favorites to add to your rotation.
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Fideos with Shrimp, Ham and Clams

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Fideos are thin, often toasted noodles that are used in a paella-like Spanish dish called fideuá. Chris Ainsworth cooks his fideos over the grill with a saffron-scented ham-hock broth and head-on prawns, but the recipe is also good with standard shrimp.

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Honey-baked Ham

Abby Hocking / Food & Wine
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Honey-baked hams are impressive, and who doesn't love the leftovers? You can order a honey-baked ham, but we like to make our own DIY version. First it's basted with apple juice, then it's glazed with a sweet-spicy mix of brown sugar, honey, honey mustard, black pepper and cayenne. For a sweeter ham, omit the cayenne. For a more savory one, use Dijon mustard in place of the honey mustard and add a pinch more of both black pepper and cayenne.

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Honey-Bourbon-Glazed Ham

Petrina Tinslay
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The sweet, sticky glaze on this juicy ham is subtly spiced with fennel, coriander and star anise.

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Smoky Glazed Ham with Red Pepper Jelly

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Chef Jonathon Sawyer’s secret to a successful holiday feast is doing most of his preparation ahead of time, for what he calls “easy game-day execution.” He makes the sauce that becomes a sweet-sticky glaze and the spicy pepper jelly a few days in advance; then, on Christmas day, all he has to do is bake the ham.

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Dr Pepper-Glazed Ham with Prunes

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After the ham is cooked, Bruce Aidells reduces the pan juices and tosses in prunes to make a sauce. "Glazes flavor only the outside of the ham," he says. "But you can spoon pan sauces over every slice."

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Crispy Fresh Ham with Rum Sauce

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Fresh hams, or whole uncured pork legs or half legs, need to be special ordered from your butcher, but they are great for large parties and guarantee delicious leftovers. Linda Japngie slow-roasts them to crispy perfection.

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Smoked Ham with Apple-Riesling Sauce

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Marcia Kiesel loves the juicy ham from Karl Ehmer Quality Meats.

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Lemon-and-Pickled-Pepper-Glazed Ham

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Any pickled pepper will work in this recipe but Grace Parisi loves hot Peppadew peppers for their fruity flavor and sweet–and–sour brine. Since the heat level of pickled peppers can vary wildly, you might want to add them gradually while making the glaze.

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Chile-Brined Fresh Ham

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Butcher Ryan Farr likes to brine fresh ham in a chile-spiked liquid. The pork skin turns wonderfully crackly in the oven.

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Pomegranate-Jalapeño-Glazed Ham

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Chef Akasha Richmond prepares a sweet-and-spicy glaze for ham using house-made pomegranate-jalapeño jelly. An easier alternative: doctoring store-bought jalapeño jelly with pomegranate juice.

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Spiced Smoked Ham with Mango-Cranberry Chutney

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Choose a smoked ham with a substantial layer of exterior fat. Use only half of the spice rub if the fat layer is less than an eighth inch thick.

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Spicy Pineapple-Glazed Ham

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Pairing suggestion: Rosés or light reds like Beaujolais are a natural with ham: These wines have the fruit to balance the ham's saltiness and the tannins to cut its richness; plus, because they're lighter in body, they won't overwhelm the meat's relatively mild flavor. Beaujolais can also handle the flamboyant mix of sweet, hot and sharp tastes of the ham glaze here. Look for a bottling (preferably not a Nouveau) with the juiciness and substance to stand up to the jalapeño and mustard.

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Pea Porridge with Fresh Cheese and Ham

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Chefs Bowman Brown and Viet Pham make this creamy, tangy porridge from sweet peas and yogurt.

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Ham and Potato Chip Tortilla

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Adding jalapeño potato chips to a simple egg tortilla (a Spanish omelet) gives it a salty, spicy zing. Serve extra chips on the side.

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Ham, Leek and Gouda Soufflés

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Make-ahead Tip: The recipe can be prepared through Step 2 and refrigerated overnight. The soufflés can be assembled up to 1 hour ahead. The cooked soufflés can be reheated in the oven.

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Giardiniera with Ham and White Beans

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Grace Parisi quickly soaks baby cauliflower in vinegar and sugar, then combines it with snap peas, white beans, ham and sunflower seeds to create a unique main-course dish.

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Ham and Cheese on Rye Bread Salad

Stephanie Foley
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In this fun take on the sandwich classic, Grace Parisi creates a delectable ham salad mixed with crunchy rye bread croutons and bits of Gruyère cheese, tossed in a mustardy dressing with celery and chives. She sometimes likes to wrap the bread salad in Bibb lettuce leaves for an inside-out sandwich.

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Grilled Ham and Cheese with Strawberry-Red-Wine Jam

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The secret to Chris Kronner's delectable sandwiches is the jam spiked with Pinot Noir. Kronner got the idea when he was helping Elisabeth Prueitt test jam recipes while they drank wine.

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Serrano Ham and Arugula Salad with Pomegranate Salsa

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This vibrant dish, layered with arugula, bright white slices of ricotta salata and strips of salty serrano ham, is the sort of composed salad that Suzanne Goin uses to showcase seasonal ingredients. Another of her favorite winter salads is made with blood oranges, dates and Parmesan cheese.

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Ham, Soppressata and Two-Cheese Stromboli

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This hearty stromboli, stuffed with several kinds of Italian meats and cheeses, is easy to reheat—or enjoy cold—for a late-night snack.

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Scalloped Potatoes with Ham

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The combination of pecorino and Parmesan gives these potatoes a great cheesy depth.

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Ham and Sausage Strata

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The strata needs to be refrigerated for at least 4 hours or overnight before baking, so plan accordingly.

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Deviled Eggs With Country Ham

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Chef Ford Fry's deviled eggs get their terrific flavor from goat cheese, Dijon mustard and cornichons, plus a topping of country ham from Benton's in Madisonville, Tennessee.

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Slow Cooker Ham Hock and Chickpea Stew

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Marcia Kiesel credits split pea soup, one of her favorites, as the inspiration for this hearty stew. Like split peas, chickpeas need to simmer for a long time, making them great for a slow cooker.

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Grilled Apricots with Burrata, Country Ham and Arugula

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Depending on the season, Travis Lett also makes this salad with plums, peaches and pears.

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White-Bean-and-Ham Stew

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This hearty stew called garbure, from southwestern France, is loaded with vegetables, beans and meat, the exact ingredients depending on availability. Jacques Pépin's version includes ham hocks and cabbage and is topped with toasted bread smothered in melted Gruyère cheese. Traditionally, anyone eating the stew would add some red wine to the last few spoonfuls of broth and sip it straight from the bowl.

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Breakfast Biscuit Sandwiches

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A giant step up from a fast-food breakfast sandwich, this biscuit is topped with eggs, cheese and country ham, jam optional. These tender biscuits have a salty edge. If you prefer, decrease the amount of salt in the recipe to 1 1/2 tablespoons.

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Soft Scrambled Eggs with Ham and Truffles

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Light and fluffy, these eggs are gently seasoned and generously perfumed by fresh black truffles. For the perfect creamy, tender bite, pull the eggs off of the heat before they set; they will continue to cook after they leave the stove.

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Apple-Ham Quiche

Victor Protasio
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Thin apple and ham slices are rolled together and set in a tender, herby custard sprinkled with sharp white cheddar. For a quicker weeknight dinner, use a frozen 9-inch deep-dish pie shell, blind baked according to package instructions.

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Grilled Pineapples with Barbecue-Spiced Breadcrumbs and Country Ham

Victor Protasio
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Slow-grilling whole unpeeled pineapples concentrates their flavor and tenderizes the fruit, which pairs wonderfully with salty country ham and crispy panko seasoned with barbecue spices. Peel the fruit with a large serrated knife, and serve it hot, thinly sliced like ham.

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Ham Steaks in Madeira Sauce

Greg DuPree
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For this recipe, Julia Child was inspired by a dish called jambon à la morvandelle, the signature dish of Alexandre Dumaine, one of France’s most famous chefs in the 1930s, ’40s, and ’50s. “Although supermarket ham will do, real country ham will give you a dish more like Dumaine’s fabled creation,” wrote Child. Child called the dish—featuring ham steaks basted in a mushroom and Madeira sauce—one of her “fast entrées for fancy people.”

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Grilled Figs with Ham, Walnuts, and Mint Cream

Christopher Hirsheimer
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Frank Stitt, owner of Highlands Bar & Grill in Birmingham, Alabama, started his culinary education by working for the late great cookbook author Richard Olney in Provence, France. This appetizer—in which ripe figs are stuffed with walnuts, wrapped in ham and kissed with the heat of a grill—is a riff on devils on horseback inspired by Olney’s love of seasonal ingredients.

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