This Ham salad recipe is a bonus if you have leftover holiday ham, but it's so good you'll buy ham just for these little sliders! It's very simple to reinvent ham into a tasty sandwich filling or cracker spread in minutes! Your food processor makes it a snap!
Ham salad is not as common as chicken salad, and that's a shame because it's delicious no matter how you serve it. When the holidays are over, we get tired of plain ham sandwiches and ham and bean soup. This is a great way to make that leftover ham into something more interesting.
When we lived on the farm, I'd get out this old meat grinder when I wanted to make my ham salad recipe. It does a wonderful job, but it's a bit of a chore to take apart and clean. I have good memories of my mom using it. You can still buy manual meat grinders, but it will be years before they become old friends like this one.
That little bit of lavender showing by the crank is a piece of an old rubber glove I stuck in between it and the turn knob that holds it in place. It is so old and worn it needed a makeshift washer to keep it working!
You can still buy meat grinders like that, and if you ever wanted to make ham salad when the power went out or make some when you were camping, it would be just the thing for the job! I still have mine if the occasion ever arises! I'm too sentimental to get rid of it!
Thankfully, we have food processors that make this a ten-minute job or less, and everything can pop right in the dishwasher for a quick and easy clean-up! When you're done, you have enough filling for eight sandwiches, lots of sliders, or a bowlful to pile on hearty crackers!
Begin by cutting the ham into dice and pop it in a food processor with the blade attachment. Pulse just until it's coarsely chopped. Now, add the other ingredients.
I used chopped onion, celery, mayonnaise, yellow mustard, dill pickle slices (because I had some in the fridge), and some black pepper. My favorite for this ham salad recipe is actually bread and butter pickles.
When you've added those things, pulse it some more, but only enough to blend all the ingredients. You want the ham salad to retain some pleasing texture. Too much pulsing will make the mixture more pasty and not as tasty. If it seems a little dry, you can stir in some mayonnaise or even some pickle juice!
Make this ham salad any way you want! You can use green onion, red onion, or no onion! You can use dill pickles, sweet pickles, bread and butter pickles, pickle relish, or no pickles!
Customize this ham salad to your liking, and you'll pray for leftover ham! You can use yellow, brown, dijon, or no mustard. Some folks like to add hard-boiled egg or cheese! Throw in some olives or capers if you want.
I hope I'm making you hungry! Now, how do we want to eat this yummy ham salad? On slider buns with thinly sliced Swiss cheese and lettuce, between two slices of dark pumpernickel with some cheddar cheese, or piled on a crisp cracker like our favorite Milton's Multigrain Gourmet Crackers.
There are so many great things you can do with ham! One of our favorite recipes for ham is Grammy's Wonderful Ham Balls! Watch for more ham recipes in the days ahead. We love it! It's perfect for the holidays!
This is a classic ham salad you can make quickly and easily in your food processor. You can vary the ingredients to taste.
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Love, GB (Betty Streff)
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My grandmother made the best ham salad using a meat grinder just like yours. I still have it and use it to grind meat. I think it does a better job than a food processor (and is easier to clean). She would make it with Miracle Whip, homemade bread and butter pickles or pimiento stuffed olives (my favorite).
Oh my stars! As you know, I have and use a meat grinder and you're right on all counts! I love ham salad, bread-and-butter pickles and pimento-stuffed olives! I wish we lived next door! Thanks for taking time to pop by and say hello!! 😍