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[jdmessner]

Has anyone ever had or made ham loaf? The area where I’ve lived for the last 11 years is known for pork production. I was at a planning meeting last night for a community dinner. They decided to serve ham loaf. Folks couldn’t believe I had never heard of it or tried it (talk about being an outsider and feeling public humiliation and shame)!

Am I the only one who has never experienced this legendary covered dish staple?

It does sound good, apparently it has ground ham and ground pork mixed with eggs, bread crumbs, and a tomato and vinegar sauce.  I will let you know how it turns out. I’m looking forward to giving it a go!

[Bentley]

To me, it is the same as Spam, so I say yes I have.  Your community might tell me I am wrong!

Spiced Pork And Meat

[Bentley]

After thinking on this, most curious...Is their ham already cooked then ground?  If so, then no, I have not had this dish!  I have had chucked ham casseroles, but probably not this!

[Bobitis]

I've never heard of ham loaf. Nor can I imagine the bother. Why grind up a beautiful ham so ya can make a loaf out of it?
I looked at a few recipes and none of them pulled my trigger. Pretty much a ground ham/sausage mix with egg and bread crumbs. Who knew?

[KeithG]

Yep, ham that is ground and mixed in a loaf form.  Even our local butcher shop that raises their own pork and smokes their own hams makes it once and a while.  Pretty tasty with a nice spicy mustard sauce.

[David]

Here is an recipe for you  my family really likes this.

1 lb. of smoked ham
1 lb. of fresh pork
2 eggs
3/4 cups bread crumbs
3/4 cup milk
2 Tablespoons of catsup
salt and pepper for your taste
form into loaf and bake at 325 until done ,  around 1 hr and 15 min.

Use to bake this in a pan in the oven,  but sine I got my smoker I cook it on a wire rack and right on the grate,  we like it better on the smoker

[Darwin]

Ham Loaf is a new one for me.  It looks like another creation of frugal cooks.  Sounds good to me and worth a try. 
Thanks for pointing this one out.

[Bentley]

I will ask again, is the ham cooked then ground, or ground and then used raw?  Same question for the sausage?

[pmillen]

What's the advantage to making it?  Is it better than ham?  Or is it an attempt at making the ham serve more people, like adding beans to chili?

[hughver]

I'm not sure about ham and pork, but a slice or two of ham on a hamburger makes for a great burger.

[Kristin Meredith]

If you use cooked ham, I could see it as a way to stretch the use of the leftover ham because you could always grind up the scraps and bits and pieces of the ham after having a ham dinner.

[Darwin]

I will ask again, is the ham cooked then ground, or ground and then used raw?  Same question for the sausage?

The first few recipes that Google showed me says to use smoked or fully cooked ham and ground pork, beef or turkey.  Honestly I can't ever remember seeing raw ham in a grocery store, but that don't mean it's not there.  I take this as a way to use up leftovers and stretch a bit of ground meat to feed a few more people.

[hughver]

I will ask again, is the ham cooked then ground, or ground and then used raw?  Same question for the sausage?

According to an article that I read, unless the recipe specifies Fresh Ham it's assumed to be processed (cured/cooked).

[David]

When I make this I use ham that you see in the meat case at any grocery store.  On the ground pork I have been buying pork steak and grinding it.

[jdmessner]

I am not sure of the process, but I am curious to see how it all plays out. The dinner is next week and hopefully I will be privileged enough to observe the ritual of ham loaf preparation!

On another side note, I found out an interesting bit of family history. Yesterday I attended a high school grad party for my niece. I was talking with my uncle and asked him if he ever heard of ham loaf. He said of course he had. As a kid they would get three meals out of a ham. My grandma would cook a ham for Sunday dinner and then use the bone for soup. Any leftover ham would then be used for ham loaf. He said they would mix it with ground beef or pork depending on what other leftovers they had on hand. He said his job was to put the meat through the grinder. I don't ever remember my mom ever making or serving anything like this.

Hopefully a shred of credibility can be restored when I tell folks there is at least a history of ham loaf in my family (even if it didn't get passed down to me)!