Ham is a total win for any host: It easily feeds a crowd, and it can sit on the holiday table far longer than turkey or roast beef and still taste super-delicious. And while a whole ham can take center stage, quarter and half-cut hams can slip into a variety of dishes and turn them from standard to spectacular. Best of all? Ham is precooked, so there’s no stressing when it comes time to serve.
Get the best out of the season with these tips from us and our partners at Kentucky Legend. Read on for four seasonal meal ideas that are sure to wow.
Tree-Trimming Lunch
Decking the halls includes a lot of moving parts, so keeping it simple is a no-brainer: You don’t want to be busy in the kitchen and miss the magical moment when your tree is lit for the first time. At only 1½ to 2 pounds, presliced, juicy double-smoked quarter-sliced ham is the perfect amount for a holiday lunch. Consider the best ham sandwiches ever, slathered with herb-packed mayo and Dijon mustard. Or make golden-crusted, pickle-packed ham and Swiss cheese sammies. If you prefer to feed everyone in one fell-swoop, try sheet-pan Italian subs loaded with juicy ham, salami, mozzarella, and provolone all baked together—leaving you plenty of time to put the star on the top of the tree.
Christmas-Eve Dinner
This is the night to pull out all the stops. Kentucky Legend’s fully cooked boneless ham is double-smoked over hickory wood and slowly cured in its own natural juices, yielding super-succulent meat that stays tender and moist from the first Champagne toast to the last boozy coffee. Prepare the ham in a glorious, jewel-like glaze of apricot jam and bourbon or pineapple and brown sugar. Or for a guaranteed crowd-pleaser, use a classic glaze of brown sugar, Dijon mustard, apple-cider vinegar and cider. Don’t skimp on the decadent sides, like creamy mashed potatoes with crunchy panko topping and crispy Brussels sprouts with pecorino and Parmesan.
Christmas-Day Brunch
The gifts are opened, the coffee is brewing, and now it’s time for the best breakfast of the entire year. Break out the skillet and fry up some precooked, thick-cut ham steaks in a pat of butter until they’re perfectly golden. Serve them up alongside scrambled, fried, or poached eggs and slabs of hearty toast or freshly made biscuits hot from the oven. Go the extra mile and top the steaks with sauteed apples or pears, cranberry sauce or relish, or fresh pineapple or mango salsa. And whatever you do, don’t forget the Bloody Marys.
New Year’s Eve Cocktails
The charcuterie-board craze is here to stay, and a New Year’s Eve fête is the ideal time to build an epic beauty. To make an irresistible board that’s low on effort but big on appeal, you want to include a lot of variety. Kentucky Legend’s Petite Ham is small enough to take a featured spot while adding a little something unexpected. Surround it with a variety of cheeses—whole, cubed, and sliced—as well as fresh and dried fruit, nuts, olives, and presliced meats like prosciutto, salami, mortadella, speck, and soppressata. Set up a separate bowl of biscuits, crackers, and breadsticks and break out the bubbles.
