Got leftover ham from your Easter brunch? Or maybe Christmas dinner? Whatever the occasion is if you are overwhelmed with ham you might want to consider freezing it.
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The great thing about a ham is that it can feed an army. If you don't have an army you might find yourself overwhelmed with leftovers. No problem.
Freeze it!
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🙋 Does Ham Freeze Well?
Yes you can. In fact I have had some pretty good results with freezing ham. It takes to freezing well. The re-thawed ham I have had has not lost much if any quality.
🧊 How to Freeze
Before you freeze it you want to chill the ham in the fridge first. You don't want to throw warm ham into the freezer - that will heat up the content of your freezer. I normally would chill the ham in the fridge after serving and later that evening or the next day do the freezing. I'm usually too tired after cooking a big meal to deal with that night. The sooner you can freeze the better. I would definitely so do within 3 days.
To prevent any problems with freezer burn, I recommend wrapping the ham in heavy duty aluminum foil and then placing it in a gallon sized or quart size sealable plastic bag. Write the day you froze the ham on the outside of the bag.
I also think it's a good idea to portion out the ham into individual servings using sandwich or quart size bags. That way you can pull some out for a sandwich without having to defrost half a ham. Or you can portion out just enough to add to your favorite soup.
Vacuum sealing is another great option. Keep the ham flat in the bag and remove as much air as you can. Keeping it as flat as you can will help make it easier to store in your freezer, especially a drawer style freezer or a chest freezer.
If you are looking for a more sustainable option, consider using a reusable silicone bag to store your leftover ham in the freezer. This half gallon size from Stasher would be a fabulous choice.
📅 How Long Does It Last?
As for how long the ham lasts in the freezer, I would say after 6 months, you would notice a decrease in the quality of the ham, so I would try to use it before then.
🍖 Can You Freeze a Ham Bone?
Yes, you can freeze the bone as well. Maybe you want to make some soup but you are't ready yet. Treat the bone the same way and freeze it for later use. You will likely need the largest bag you can get to freeze the bone. Vacuum sealing works really well here.
I threw the bone into a batch of split peas. This bone added so much wonderful flavor to the soup. It also had some ham stick stuck to it. So I pulled that all off the bone when I pulled the bone from the soup when it was done.
🐖 More Ham Posts
Here are some more blog posts any ham lover will want to read.
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