Old-Fashioned Ham Balls
The name might not be glamorous, but these ham balls are pure comfort: tender, salty-and-sweet, tangy, and incredibly satisfying.
They aren’t the prettiest meatballs—brown crust outside and a pinkish interior thanks to the ham—but appearance doesn’t matter once you taste them. These ham balls come from an old Taste of Home recipe and have become a family favorite for good reason.
I still remember the first time I ate them. It was Easter 1997. I arrived at my father and stepmother’s for dinner, seven months pregnant and suffering from severe morning sickness. Food had been unappealing for weeks. After a few polite bites of this dish, though, I fell in love. The sticky brown sugar-mustard glaze, the salty aroma of ham, the deep brown crust—everything about them was irresistible. One bite turned into several, and I devoured the first real meal I’d enjoyed in weeks.
Over the years, ham balls became the highlight of our Easter gatherings. Eventually we stopped serving a full ham and went straight to a big batch of ham balls. Today we often make a triple batch—enough for Easter Sunday and several meals afterward.
Leftover ham balls are endlessly versatile: piled into soft rolls with bread-and-butter pickles and a smear of mustard, served alongside baked beans, or tossed with steamed or fried rice and a drizzle of sweet chili sauce. They’re just as delicious straight from the pan at midnight—just remember to wash your hands first so you can lick the glaze off your fingers without worry.
Tools that make this recipe easier
- Medium cookie scoop/disher for evenly sized ham balls
- Food processor (or grinder) to finely chop the ham
- Large mixing bowl
- Two 9″ x 13″ baking pans
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Taste of Home Old-Fashioned Ham Balls
Rebecca Lindamood
Ingredients
For the ham balls:
- 2 pounds ground pork
- 2 pounds leftover ham, finely chopped or ground
- 4 large eggs
- 1 1/2 cups milk
- 1 1/3 cups crushed shredded wheat cereal (or similar binder)
For the glaze:
- 3 1/2 cups brown sugar, lightly packed
- 1 1/2 cups water
- 1 cup apple cider vinegar
- 2 teaspoons ground mustard powder (or 1 tablespoon prepared British-style mustard)
Instructions
- Grind or finely chop the leftover ham using a meat grinder, food processor, or a sharp knife until it resembles ground meat.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
- Coat two 9″ x 13″ baking dishes with nonstick cooking spray.
- In a large bowl, combine ground pork, ground ham, eggs, milk, and crushed cereal. Mix with your hands until evenly combined.
- Form the mixture into 2-inch meatballs. (Use a medium cookie scoop or disher for consistent sizes.)
- Arrange the ham balls in the prepared pans.
- Make the glaze: in a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium-high heat, combine brown sugar, water, apple cider vinegar, and mustard. Bring to a boil, whisking until the sugar dissolves.
- Reduce the heat and simmer the glaze for about 4 minutes without covering.
- Pour the hot glaze evenly over the ham balls in the two pans.
- Bake uncovered for about 70 minutes, or until the glaze has thickened to a syrupy consistency and the ham balls are browned.
Notes
Nutritional information is an estimate. Calculate based on the exact ingredients you use if needed.
Did you make this recipe?
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This post was originally published April 26, 2011.