Gammon is one of the few meats that Master Frugal enjoys so we generally have it at least once a week. This means that meals that use up leftover gammon are regular additions to our meal plan.
I always cook my gammon in the slow cooker – sometimes just in a little water, sometimes in Dr Pepper and sometimes in diet coke but however I cook it, it’s always a family favourite. I always have enough leftover gammon for at least one or two other meals but I try to vary them as much as I can so it doesn’t feel like we’re constantly eating gammon. 😉
Here’s a few of the things I make….
Pasta Salad
The first thing I do when I’m slicing up a gammon joint is to put some aside for my lunch the next day! I pop it into an airtight container or bag to stop it from drying out and when I’m ready to make my packed lunch I just add it to pasta with some leftover vegetables (usually brocolli) and maybe a tin of sweetcorn, some red onion and some sun dried tomatoes depending on what I have in. Some pesto or a little mayo is great to stir through it but more often than not I just don’t bother.
Homemade Quiche or Slimming World Quiche
Quiche is a great way to use up leftover gammon, especially when you’re down to the last little bits and I love that you can just add in any thing else you fancy from left over veggies to things in your fridge that need using up. You can either try the crustless slimming world or fritatta version or you could add a pastry crust and make a more traditional quiche. You could even make little mini omelettes which are fantastic for snacks on the go.
Cheese, Chilli and Ham Muffins
Who says muffins have to be sweet? These amazing chilli, cheese and ham muffins are so tasty and are great for lunches although my favourite way to eat them is on a cold day dipping them in some lovely homemade soup.
Omelettes, Quesadillas and toasties
I bought a waffle maker last year with some vouchers I had and instantly realised that if I only used it for the sweet waffles you associate with a waffle maker then it would be a huge waste of money. I use it for all sorts as you can see here but you don’t need a fancy pants waffle maker to make an omelette, a toastie or some quesadillas and leftover gammon would be a perfect addition to any one of those.
Vegetable and Ham Fritters
I make vegetable fritters for the kids sometimes and chopped up leftover gammon goes lovely in in them. It’s also great sliced finely on top of them.
Mixed with cous cous or rice with vegetables
I love cous cous so I often just make a bowl of cous cous, flavouring it with some vegetable boullion and maybe some chilli and a squeeze of lime and then just add the chopped leftover gammon to it. It’s simple and takes about five minutes from start to finish so it’s a super easy weekend lunch idea. I added a couple of spoonfuls of honey and mustard low fat salad dressing to this one along with the ham and some leftover red onion and it was amazing!
Soup
Leftover gammon and the cooking liquid from the joint is perfect for soup. I love pea and ham soup but I also think that pulled gammon is a lovely topping for most soups so I try and pull a little of the gammon off the joint while it’s still warm (just using a fork) to keep for this if I have soup in mind.
A traditional (but not boring) sandwich
A sandwich is probably the most traditional of ways to use up your gammon leftovers but that doesn’t mean it has to be boring! We like ours sliced thinly and served in a lovely brioche bun with some mustard on.
Spaghetti Carbonara
I love spaghetti carbonara, made the traditional way with egg yolks rather than the creamy sauce and leftover gammon is idea to use in that instead of pancetta.
Macaroni cheese
Mac and cheese has long since been a huge family favourite! Whenever I ask the kids to choose a meal, this is always what they say so I’ve tried to change it up a bit over the years by adding things like brocolli, sun dried tomatoes (that was NOT a success) and yes, you guessed it, leftover gammon!
Pizza
Homemade pizza is amazing – super simple, super cheap and super super tasty! Leftover gammon is a great addition to any pizza. Our recipe is here and is so well used that I could tell you it off by heart, as could either of the kids! Homemade calzones are lovely too and a bit of a twist on a normal pizza.
And to make my little list up to 15 ideas, my last two suggestions would be sliced gammon with bubble and squeak and sliced gammon with egg and chips.
Do you have any I haven’t thought of?
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