Also called Deviled Ham Salad, this sandwich spread recipe is made with ground or chopped leftover ham, sweet pickle relish and mayo.
JUMP TO RECIPEYou know what my favorite thing about baking a ham is? Using the leftovers! I love making a big ol' pot of Ham & Beans and making Ham Salad!
And I love it. Like, I love it, love it. As in, get up at midnight, go downstairs and eat it out of the container with a spoon, love it.
Here’s my recipe for Ham Salad… a.k.a. Deviled Ham Salad… a.k.a Pickle Wrap Spread or Dip.
I'd learned from readers that a lot of folks make Ham Salad out of bologna (and still call it Ham Salad) and it seems to almost have a cult-like following so one of these days, I think I'll have to try it.
I don't typically like sweet relish with the exception of two things: hot dogs and ham salad. I think it's probably because the sweet balances the salty meat and the acid from the vinegar balances the fat.
If you hate sweet pickle relish, by all means, leave it out!
NOTES ABOUT MAKING HAM SALAD
- I've only ever made this using leftover baked ham so I can’t advise if this will taste as yummilicious or have the same perfectly perfect texture if you use some other type of ham (deli, canned, etc.).
- I use my food processor to chop the ham but be very careful when doing so because one too many pulses and you could end up with pink mush. I cut the ham into cubes (about 1” in size) and pulse in the food processor only 3-5 times. I once thought I’d be clever and throw big chunks of ham, whole sweet pickles (not relish) and mayo in all at once and I ended up with a grody, shmooshy mess.
- You can also use a meat grinder if you happen to have one of those. If you do, just know I’m probably moving in with you when the zombie apocalypse hits because having your own personal meat grinder is some old-school awesomeness and probably means that you have other cool stuff like gas lamps and a lye soap.
Recipe for Deviled Ham Salad
Ham Salad
Ingredients
- 3 1/2 - 4 cups chopped ham
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 1/3 cup sweet pickle relish
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients and stir well. Add more mayo and/or relish to your liking.
- Serve as sandwich spread or with crackers. Store in refrigerator for up to one week.
Notes
I use my food processor to chop the ham but be very careful when doing so because one too many pulses and you could end up with pink mush. I cut the ham into cubes (about 1” in size) and pulse in the food processor only 3-5 times.
My mother made this all the time when she was having the "girls" over to play "Bunco". And yes she used a hand-crank type meat grinder!! Now you've gone and given me the "gotta have some" s!!! LOVE your page and I'm not even southern.
ReplyDeleteWe made it out of a huge chunk of bologna from the butcher. We used the hand meat grinder (I have one) and put hard boiled eggs with dill pickles and carrots for color. Yummmm.... I have never had "Ham" salad made out of ham!!
ReplyDeleteThat is how my Mom made it too...except no carrots.
DeleteMy grandmother made it with a big hunk of bologna, too. Best ham salad I ever had. I usually find ham salad made with chopped ham to be too salty.
DeleteMany moons ago when I worked at a restaurant we used the hot dogs that didn't sell that day and made this sandwich spread. tasted Great. the hot dogs were grilled.
Deletei put my cut up ham in the blender to chop it to the right consistency...works great!
ReplyDeleteWe like to use ham and bologna ... Grind alternating the ham and bologna, a couple hard boiled eggs, sweet pickle relish, Hellman's Mayo and Miracle Whip.... Mix all together.... YUMMY Great on Croissants.
ReplyDeleteOMG, don't ya just love "Ham & Pickle Spread"? This is the way my mom always made it, and it was the best tasting "Ham & Pickle Spread" EVER! She also added a tiny bit of raw grated onion to hers. Her 'Finger Sandwiches' were always a hit at every party. I like that we're now remembering, and making the things which we enjoyed when we were growing up, and loving them once again.
DeleteWhat a good idea..mixing bologna and ham....it would cut down on the salt if you felt just ham was to salty...
DeleteThe meat grinder ( or an attachment on a Kitchenaid stand mixer) really enhances the texture of this. To make it devilled I add some Dijon mustard. That way I use less mayo and reduce the fat as well. I love your site. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteI'm a southern gal also, and i love me some ham salad with onions, eggs, and sweet pickle relish. Your blog is awesome, can i adopt you as a sister (i don't have any) I have to be careful reading your blog at work, i get to laughing out loud so much i can't hardly answer the phone.
ReplyDeleteTry chopping a stalk of celery in with the hard boiled eggs and other ingredients. Yummy.
ReplyDeleteOne of the best ham salad sandwiches I ever had was at a baby shower. I asked the hostess for the recipe, and she was very embarrassed & asked me not to tell anyone...that it was made with shredded SPAM! Had boiled egg, both dill & sweet relish, mayo & miracle whip. I've never made it, but it was SO yummy!!!
ReplyDeleteThats how my sister made hers. With SPAM. It was so good!
DeleteMy mom always used Spam and it was fantastic.
DeleteOK I confess. I have a meat grinder, gas lamp and a small bar of lye soap. AND I love ham salad. If you beat the zombies, come on in!
ReplyDeleteHa! I'm there!
DeleteMy mom made this all my life, and I'm now 66 and still make it for my family. I like it better with bologna, but ham is great too. She used an old fashioned salad master and I could hardly wait for her to finish. It's so much better than store-bought.
ReplyDeleteWe made it with bologna also. Love it !!!
DeleteThis is also good with left over roast beef. Was raised on a farn, Mom made both ham and beef.
ReplyDeleteMy dad in law had a few diners in New England. He would always sell out of this. Ground baked ham,spam,mayo, relish. Hey if it tastes good. .eat it!
ReplyDeleteMade this today with leftover ham from our holiday dinner and LOVE it! I've used my meat grinder in the past and it was so much hard work I swore I'd never do it again. Today I used my food processor to pulse and it's absolutely the BEST!! Thanks for the perfect ham salad recipe! YUM
ReplyDeleteI have made this salad for several years, using the same ingredients you do. But, I grind a small piece of ham and I also add a small package of small cubed ham. This gives it a great texture . Really do love this stuff. I am really enjoying your site. Keep up the good work.
ReplyDeleteMy KitchenAid stand mixer has a grinder attachment, and I use that to grind up meat for salads (ham, beef, and chicken salads). It gives the meat a great texture. One of the best presents Dear Hubby ever got me!
ReplyDeleteMy Okie born friend adds a couple of hands full of goobers. She wouldn't eat it without them. I like it exactly how you make it - with lots of crisp lettuce between between the two slices of bread. Mmmmmm... I guess I'm going to have to go make some, now.
ReplyDeleteWhat's a goober? I only know of the candy...
DeleteNot from the south, but I have seen boiled peanuts (ugh) referred to as "goober peas" Is it that?
DeleteHam or Spam with chopped green pepper and mayo .
ReplyDeleteCould you make this with leftover turkey (in a meat grinder)?
ReplyDeleteI've done this and also done it with left over roast. That's a good sandwich filler too.
DeleteWhen I was young I worked in a a deli and we made this all the time. We made Ham salad using only ham and then also sold a sandwich spread which had bologna,and ends from things like olive loaf, chopped ham, pimento loaf,etc. My mom bought it all the time and I too would just dip into the container with a spoon. Haven't had it in ages and now will have to make some with my leftover ham! Thanks for the memories!
ReplyDeleteI've only ever had "ham" salad using bologna. It's about the only way I'll eat bologna but oh so good chopped as you do the ham then mixed with cut up hard boiled eggs, sweet pickle relish and a dressing of mayo, yellow mustard, red wine vinegar and sugar. So good.
ReplyDeleteMy husband and I just had this for dinner. We used honey mustard and a little less mayonnaise. Hubby went back for seconds, so I know he loved it.
ReplyDeleteHave a meat grinder on my KitchenAid. (no good in an apocalypse!) I use dill relish. Just a personal preference. Thanks for the great recipes! Going to check out your cookbook.
ReplyDeleteAll of you are people from my own heart. A Thanksgiving was not complete until my grandmother mounted her meat grinder on the table's edge and we ground up the left-over turkey to make turkey salad. It really is the most unique texture. I use my Ninja blender to recreate the texture of turkey, chicken, and now ham and it satisfies my memories of my grandmother. I never had Ham Salad until today (yummy) but we used a similar recipe for Spam Salad made with dill pickle relish.
ReplyDeleteI haven't ever had ham leftovers until today when I baked an extra ham! LOL! First thing I made was this! Dill pickle is my preference, with a bit of sweet onion! YUMMO!
ReplyDeleteGrind up the bologna with some onion. Add 1/2 dill relish and 1/2 sweet. Mix together with mayo to the consistency of your taste. It is the best. Try it!!
ReplyDeleteNot too sweet. I have tried it each way.
My brother-in-law always refers to these "funeral sandwiches" as 'hammy sammies'! Glad to find a recipe that tells me exact proportions! Thank you!
ReplyDeletetry adding boiled eggs and dill pickles in place of sweet relish. Can also use Spam in place of ham.
ReplyDeleteMother would get out the grinder, clamp it to the counter and grind up a chunk of bologna, pickles, a chunk of cheese, add Miracle Whip, and make a pile of sandwiches. Off we would go on a picnic or to the drive-in picture show. :)
ReplyDeleteMy mom made this alot we used chopped ham,bologna the pimientos in lil jars,sweet relish ,miracle whip mixed all together and omg she had 6 kids and we would race to be the one to get the last bite lol,we loved it.
ReplyDeleteThis is the simple ham salad recipe I was looking for! I used one of those small canned hams you get at the drug store...it was just what I wanted. Put it on the tiny party size potato rolls for a get together tonight of my old singing group. It was a big hit! Thanks!
ReplyDeleteThis is one of the few recipes I leave as is when I make it. I don't like ham, at all, but I love this ham salad! We used to buy sandwich spread from Wegmans (it had Bologna and other leftover deli bits in it) but this is just as good, and the best way to use leftover ham. The ham is salty, but that makes the sweet relish absolutely perfect with it. Fresh homemade bread and this ham salad is amazing. Thanks for posting!
ReplyDeleteI made ham salad today and it is to runny. Looking for help on here. Can I add a couple eggs to help? Or should I go buy more ham? HELP
ReplyDeleteChopped boiled eggs would be perfect!
DeleteI have a horrible addiction to this stuff. Our grocery store sells it in the deli. They just call it sandwich spread. Cheap thrill. My best friend won't eat it until peanuts are stirred into it. I like mine traditionally, thank you.
ReplyDeleteI wasn't sure about this because I'm not a big fan of relish and my hubby is not a big fan of mayo, but we had some leftover ham-not enough for a meal. I made this and made some game day sandwiches for us to see how it would be. Oh my goodness - the game is in second quarter and those sandwiches are gone - we loved them. Great recipe and idea. I'll be making sure there are leftovers for this after every ham dinner!
ReplyDeleteI have an old iron meat grinder that clamps onto my countertop. It was Mother's. It makes the best ham and chicken salad. With the manual operation, I've never had the meat turn into mush. Sometimes newer can't beat older.
ReplyDeleteI inherited the same tool. Such happy memories of being in the kitchen with Mom. I'm going to break it out for some post-Easter ham salad! (Although she always made hers with bologna for the most part!)
DeleteI only saw one comment about adding cheese. My recipe calls for ham, cheddar cheese, sweet relish (I only use homemade zucchini relish) and Hellmans mayo. This stuff is lethal. YUMM!
ReplyDeleteMy mom made this for sandwiches served in the wheat field at harvest. As kids we would fight over who got to turn the grinder. She used bologna, cheddar cheese, pimientos, sweet pickles and Miracle Whip! Best sandwich ever!
ReplyDeleteMy Vitamix grinds meat if you drop slowly into the blender from top
ReplyDelete