Leftover ham mixed with pickle relish and dried onion flakes come together in a nice and easy spread that gets slathered atop a soft white bun, for one of my favorite lunches of all time.
I can’t be all elegant and fancy all of the time. It’s just not in my nature.
You’ll find me in my Vans slip-ons more often than strappy heels.
I prefer to hole up at a cabin in the mountains or sit on the beach with friends and family rather than shopping at the hippest boutiques.
And I’m totally into eating good old-fashioned favorites instead of upscale molecular cuisine.
Who wants to eat molecules anyway? Oh wait, I guess we all do. But, you know what I mean.
I often find myself harkening back to my roots, to my childhood faves. And this recipe is one of the recipes I love just as much today as I did back then.
I’m a fan of any sandwich that has a ‘salad’ at the end of it’s title and always have been. Egg salad. Crab salad. Shrimp salad. Chicken salad. A sandwich filling with a bit of mayo—but not too much—mixed in with a few additional ingredients then sandwiched between two slices of bread delivers me straight to my comfort zone.
And my comfort zone lives with potato chips and pickle chips. It’s home all the way.
About the Recipe
This recipe takes advantage of that extra ham that always seems to linger after the family dinner, whether it’s Easter, Thanksgiving, Christmas or just any old Sunday. Choose a good ham for this recipe—I like to use the leftovers from a bone-in smoked ham—because there isn’t going to be much else to cover up if you use a crappy one. My mom always tells me to look for a ham that is lower in the water content. You don’t want a soupy sandwich.
You could ask your butcher to grind the ham but I use my food processor. I cut the ham into chunks, place it in the processor bowl with the big blade and pulse a few times. Don’t pulse too much or you’ll end up with a paste. Then everything else goes in the bowl, a few more pulses and you’re done.
My recipe uses just a few tablespoons of mayonnaise. I prefer it on the drier side. If you prefer, add more mayo—or even Miracle Whip for a sweeter taste—to your liking.
You can use sweet or spicy pickle relish, whatever you prefer. This pickle relish is my new favorite.
The secret ingredient in this recipe is dried onion flakes. I’ve tried it with fresh minced onion, with green onion and red and none of them measure up to the subtleness of the dried onion.
If you make this recipe, please let me know! Leave a comment below or take a photo and tag me on Instagram or Twitter with #foodiecrusheats.
Ham Salad Sandwiches
Ingredients
- 4 cups ground ham about 2 pounds
- 3 tablespoons mayonnaise
- 2 tablespoons pickle relish
- 1 1/2 teaspoons dried onion flakes
- 8 potato or dinner rolls
- mayonnaise
- pickle slices
- potato chips
- lettuce leaves
Instructions
-
Mix the ham mayonnaise, pickle relish and dried onion flakes in a large bowl. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour for flavors to meld.
-
To assemble sandwiches, split the rolls in half then spread each side with mayonnaise. Top the bottom half with ham salad, pickle chips, potato chips and lettuce leaves and serve.
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Lisa says
I make mine with green bell pepper and the tops of green onions, mix with mayo! To die for!!!
Ali | Gimme Some Oven says
Another gorgeous sandwich! Much better than a molecule. :)
Connie says
I use half ham and half big baloney, and some sweet gerkiins that I’ve chopped in my food processor. No onions, but a mix of mayo and light Miracle Whip. Good Stuff!
heidi says
Oh, I like the bologna idea! That’s another one of my childhood faves. I’d pull a slice from the fridge and peel it into a spiral shape and eat it one little bite at a time. Oh, the foodie memories!
Karista says
Heidi these are genius! I love retro food and these look ten times better than the ham salad my Mom used to make. :) As always, delicious!
Jenny Flake says
Great idea! My boys would absolutely loves those :D Yummy!!!
Jenny (VintageSugarcube) says
I grew up eating ham salad sammies in Ohio. One of the things I miss. You can’t buy ham salad in the delis in Cali. And I have never made it before. Your recipe looks fantastic. And those are the hippest looking sandwiches ever.
Karen @ On the Banks of Salt Creek says
I LOVE ham but I don’t think it freezes well so the leftovers are a little problematic. This solves that . Thanx for a great recipe.
Marissa | Pinch and Swirl says
This looks seriously awesome, Heidi. When I was little, I used to love sandwiches made with those little cans of deviled ham. Have you seen them? They actually had a devil on the label – I wonder if they still make it? **rambling** Anyway, I’d totally forgotten about it and I love that you’ve made something similar that doesn’t come from a can.
[email protected] Yellow Farmhouse says
They still sell those little cans of Deviled Ham here in Massachusetts!
Stephanie @ Girl Versus Dough says
Virtual high five for being on the same meat salad sandwich wavelength today! ;) I had a tuna salad sandwich for lunch and now I’m thinking I need one (or two?) of these ham salad sandwiches for dinner (with extra pickles and potato chips, please!).
Shinee says
Mmmmm love this salad and the sandwich! I bet you can totally convert this into dainty little appetizer bites too. :)
Mandy says
Wow, this here is what quick meals are all about. I substituted pickles for green apple slices and did away with the onions. I love the little sweet edge to it. And works great with tuna too. Thanks Heidi! :)
Haley @ Cheap Recipe Blog says
Thanks to you and your beautiful photos, I’m craving ham at 11:30 pm! These look so good. Remind me of something my mom makes. And there’s nothing wrong with not being fancy all the time!
Kelly says
Love pickles and chips on a sandwich. Your ham salad recipe sounds perfect- not to much mayo!
nicole ~ Cooking for Keeps says
You even manage to make a simple hand sandwich looks gorgeous! Love these, especially the chips, the perfect element of crunchy and salty!
[email protected] Yellow Farmhouse says
I simply ADORE ham salad sandwiches – and they are so much more delicious when prepared with ‘bone-in ham’. As you mentioned, food like this takes us back to our childhood. And, in my childhood, my mother used to set up her meat grinder by screwing it in underneath the kitchen counter. Then she’d let us kids turn the crank. You know – I think ham salad tastes best when ground in an old-fashioned meat grinder!
heidi says
I guess I need to buy a meat grinder. I agree, you get a better chunk that way for sure.
sue|theviewfromgreatisland says
You’ve made an upscale version of the sandwiches my mom made for us, ground ham, Miracle Whip, and relish, love this!
Kathleen says
I also chop pimento stuffed green olives into the ham spread
Ashley @ Foodie Crush says
Great idea!