Ham Loaf

I've been hamming it up!  Today was all about cooking with ham!

I also made Ham Salad, which will be in a future post, as a result of my "free" Thanksgiving 6 pound, fully cooked ham, that I've had stashed away in the freezer.

I doubled the recipe with the intent of having one for quick suppers during the upcoming week and the second to seal with my Foodsaver and freeze for a later time when I'm not in the mood or just too busy to cook. Believe it or not, that does happen!

I can only recall having Ham Loaf a few times growing up.  I guess because ham leftovers were few and far between at our house.  When we were lucky enough to have one, the entire family devoured it.
We devoured at our house growing up.  Mealtime was focused on eating and not leisurely dining with conversation as there was often work yet to be done before dark.  While this may be foreign to many folks, it is the way I grew up.

I've altered the recipe for the Ham Loaf to fit my low carb way of eating, but I've included the original ingredients beside each item for those of you who want to make the original version.

I just pulled this out of the oven and had to snitch a sample to see how it tasted (quality control you know).  It is yummy! I ate 1/2 the slice while taking the photos!

Ham Loaf

Ingredients:

2 pounds ground cooked ham
1 1/2 pounds ground pork
2 eggs
1 cup finely crushed pork rinds (or dried bread crumbs)
1 cup heavy cream (or evaporated milk)
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper

Topping:

1/2 cup Whey Low Gold (or 1 cup brown sugar)
1/2 cup Erythritol (omit if not doing low carb version)
1 tablespoon mustard powder
1/4 cup cider vinegar

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
In a large mixing bowl, combine all the ingredients, except the topping.
Mix everything together thoroughly.

Scrub those hands and use 'em!  It's much quicker and more thorough than a wooden spoon.

Form the meat mixture it into a loaf shape and place it into a lightly greased 9x13 baking dish. (Remember I doubled the recipe and made two, that's why I have two in my photos.)

Bake at 350 degrees for 90 minutes, or until done.  I cut mine in the middle to make sure and had to add another 15 minutes. You never can be too careful with pork.

While the loaf is baking, combine the brown sugar, mustard powder and vinegar.  Mix well and pour over the loaf, return it to the oven and bake an additional 15 minutes.

...and that's What's Cooking at Cathy's ~ Enjoy!