It's Just Life

  • Home
  • About
  • Comments for a Cause
  • Tea and Teapots
  • Books
  • Travel
  • Writing
  • Recipes
  • Products
January 3, 2019

Ham Balls – A Midwestern Favorite

20 Comments/ 290/ 0

My first experience with ham balls was actually back in 1994 in New Concord, Ohio.  It came in the form of a ham loaf instead of balls and was a post funeral dish that a friend of my mom brought over after my Daddy’s funeral.  We all raved about the luscious ham loaf and asked for the recipe.  That and a former boyfriend’s mother’s Hot Chicken Salad Casserole are the foods that I remember from that difficult time.  Food has a way of reminding me of events and times.

Living in Freeport, Illinois and attending Trinity UMC was another reminder of the great dish as they had an annual Ham Ball Supper to raise funds for different projects.  Oh the memories of those dinners and those amazing ham balls.  Yum.

Fast forward to our time living in Mason City, Iowa and I was reintroduced to the lovely concoction as it was a staple in the area.  Local grocery stores carried the ham ball mixture all ready to cook up and I frequently bought it.  My North Iowa Blogger friend Val who is also a pig farmer had a wonderful recipe that we always begged her to bring to our get togethers.  You can check out her recipe here.

I decided to ring in the new year with a nice pan of ham balls this year.  Not traditional at all but judging from all of the comments on my pictures of them on social media folks are right on board with me on making ham balls.  I took my recipe from the Trinity UMC cookbook and give credit to the best ham ball maker I knew – Mildred McCulloch.  I did not alter her recipe at all so full credit goes to this pillar of the church.  I suspect she might be rolling ham balls in heaven now.

Enjoy the recipe and let me know if you have a memory of having ham balls for dinner.

All comments this month mean a 50 cent donation to the  Dementia Society of America as part of Comments for a Cause.

Ham Balls
Print Recipe
A delightful mix of pork and ham that can be made into loaves or balls -- sweet sauce completes the dish to enhance the flavor. Sure to be a favorite.
  • CourseMain Dish
  • CuisineAmerican
Servings Prep Time
30 ham balls 20 minutes
Cook Time
1 hour
Servings Prep Time
30 ham balls 20 minutes
Cook Time
1 hour
Ham Balls
Print Recipe
A delightful mix of pork and ham that can be made into loaves or balls -- sweet sauce completes the dish to enhance the flavor. Sure to be a favorite.
  • CourseMain Dish
  • CuisineAmerican
Servings Prep Time
30 ham balls 20 minutes
Cook Time
1 hour
Servings Prep Time
30 ham balls 20 minutes
Cook Time
1 hour
Ingredients
Ham Balls
  • 1 1/2 pounds ground pork
  • 1 pound ground ham Use food processor or have butcher grind at store
  • 2 cups cracker crumbs I used a combination of saltine and panko crumbs
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 cup milk
Sauce
  • 1 1/2 cups brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 1/2 cup vinegar
  • 1 tsp dry mustard
Servings: ham balls
Instructions
  1. Mix sauce ingredients and cook for 3 minutes.
  2. Mix crackers with meat. Add milk and eggs. Mix well.
  3. Form into 30 small balls and put into pan with sauce.
  4. Bake in 325 degree oven for 1 hour, basting the ham balls every 20 minutes with the sauce.
  5. Can also be made into 10 small loaves and baked at 325 degrees for 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
Share this Recipe
Powered byWP Ultimate Recipe

Share:
Tags:
ham balls ham loaves Midwestern food Midwestern recipe recipe
← Previous Wordless Wednesday – Beach Style
Next → Are There Ghosts in St. Augustine? You Decide.

Related Articles

  • Slow Cooker Corned Beef and Cabbage

  • One of the Best Things About Vacation is the…

  • National Dry Bean Day – Let’s Celebrate!

  • The King’s Kitchen- A Restaurant with Heart

  • Mini Quiches

20 Comments

Leave a comment
  1. judithhb
    January 03, 2019 at 06:08 am

    Ive never heard of hamballs, but I’m going to try making some; maybe not thirty but a few. Thanks for the recipe.

    Reply
    1. Beth Ann Chiles
      January 03, 2019 at 07:50 am

      They are so good –I am sure you can halve the recipe. They do freeze really well so if you have a freezer to pop them into that is a nice thing for later.

      Reply
      1. judithhb
        January 04, 2019 at 04:58 am

        Thanks Beth Ann. I will buy the ingredients and make them in the next couple of days.

        Reply
        1. Beth Ann Chiles
          January 04, 2019 at 08:04 am

          Let me know how they turn out for you!

          Reply
  2. Mama's Empty Nest
    January 03, 2019 at 06:52 am

    Here in western PA, ham loaf and ham balls are served at most folks’ tables, so I’ve always loved them. I make ham loaf often but for some reason don’t make ham balls as much. But this recipe sounds so good, I’m going to use it instead of the one I have. 🙂

    Reply
    1. Beth Ann Chiles
      January 03, 2019 at 07:49 am

      This is really a great recipe and even doubled….I might have gone a bit overboard in my enthusiasm of having ham balls. 🙂

      Reply
  3. Mama's Empty Nest
    January 03, 2019 at 06:53 am

    I forgot to say in my last comment that here we can actually buy already ground ham in packages in the meat department of our grocery stores, so it’s not something we have to have the butcher prepare for us. 🙂

    Reply
    1. Beth Ann Chiles
      January 03, 2019 at 07:49 am

      Well you obviously live in the right place!!

      Reply
  4. Tracy
    January 03, 2019 at 07:05 am

    The sauce part of the recipe forgot the can of tomato soup!

    Reply
    1. Beth Ann Chiles
      January 03, 2019 at 07:48 am

      But it is even better without the tomato soup in my humble opinion. The ham balls get all nice and cartelized if you bake them long enough. Delicious! thanks for stopping by!

      Reply
  5. Jill Jeffrey
    January 03, 2019 at 08:17 am

    Can’t wait to try your recipe!

    Reply
    1. Beth Ann Chiles
      January 04, 2019 at 08:08 am

      I hope you love it as much as we do. Chris ate the last ones yesterday for lunch when I was gone and I was so sad. Never mind that I have 3 containers of them in the freezer…

      Reply
  6. Minnesota Prairie Roots
    January 03, 2019 at 12:16 pm

    I’ve never eaten, or seen, a ham ball. And I live in Minnesota. I’m not a big fan of meatballs. But I’d try a ham ball, given your convincing post about their excellence.

    Reply
    1. Beth Ann Chiles
      January 04, 2019 at 08:07 am

      I can not believe you have never had a ham ball, Audrey. If we were closer I would give you a container for sure. Maybe I can get some dry ice and ship some to you. 🙂 They are simply delicious. Hands down.

      Reply
      1. Minnesota Prairie Roots
        January 04, 2019 at 12:51 pm

        I know, unbelievable that I’ve never had a ham ball or even heard of them. Maybe we just call them meatballs here.

        Reply
        1. Beth Ann Chiles
          January 04, 2019 at 12:54 pm

          Jeni says they aren’t a thing in Minnesota. So much better than plain ole’ meatballs. I wouldn’t give you a bum steer. Hahaha!

          Reply
  7. Jeni 💫Eats (@JeniEats)
    January 03, 2019 at 06:53 pm

    These look so delicious and bring back good memories.

    Reply
    1. Beth Ann Chiles
      January 04, 2019 at 08:05 am

      We shared a lot of great things over ham balls, didn’t we???

      Reply
  8. Val - Corn, Beans, Pigs & Kids
    January 04, 2019 at 05:06 pm

    Gotta love some ham balls! Thanks for linking my recipe too 😉

    Reply
    1. Beth Ann Chiles
      January 05, 2019 at 07:20 am

      I agree! And your recipe is a great one. It’s fun to see how the recipes differ just a little bit. Happy New Year!

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

  • Subscribe To Rss Feed
  • 2,256 Followers
  • 2,272 Fans
  • Followers
  • Subscribers
  • Subscribers
  • Follow It's Just Life

Comments For A Cause

  • Comments for a Cause – Finding Balance

  • Comments for a Cause Keeps on Booking

  • Comments for a Cause – Reaching Out through El Centro

  • Comments for a Cause – It’s All About Women

  • Comments for a Cause – Weirdo Style

  • Ringing in 2023 with Comments for a Cause

  • Comments for a Cause – Conservation at Work

  • Comments for a Cause – A Hand Up. Not a Hand Out

  • Comments for a Cause- Operation KeepSafe® 

  • Comments for a Cause – September 2022

  • Comments for a Cause – More Literacy, Please!

  • Comments for a Cause – July 2022 Edition

  • Comments for a Cause- Giving to Uvalde

  • It’s May – Time for Comments for a Cause

  • Comments for a Cause – Reece’s Rainbow

Check Out My Past Posts

June 2023
S M T W T F S
 123
45678910
11121314151617
18192021222324
252627282930  
« May    

Text

Follow

Pinterest

Visit Beth Ann's profile on Pinterest.

Beth's bookshelf: read

The Art of Social Media: Power Tips for Power Users
5 of 5 stars
The Art of Social Media: Power Tips for Power Users
by Guy Kawasaki
As always Guy Kawasaki has a great book with great information about all things social media. I highlighted tons of places in this book and it is definitely one that I will come back to time and time again to help me in all of the socia...
Old Girls in Low Cotton
3 of 5 stars
Old Girls in Low Cotton
by Helen Childress
This short book was one that looked like it would be a fun read. I honestly did not enjoy it all that much---it was a lot of characters bickering and while some of the writing was witty and funny it was not that kind of book that made m...
The Good Girl
5 of 5 stars
The Good Girl
by Mary Kubica
I loved this book! It had my interest from the very first page and was my "airplane" book on a recent trip. Author Mary Kubica created believable and interesting characters that the reader learned to identify with and care about. Mi...
All the Light We Cannot See
4 of 5 stars
All the Light We Cannot See
by Anthony Doerr
This is quite a book! I had it recommended to me by several people and while I thought it might be a little dark and depressing it made me have a better understanding of what life in this time period was like. The strength of the huma...
An Abundance of Katherines
5 of 5 stars
An Abundance of Katherines
by John Green
Another great book by John Green. I have become a huge fan of John Green since my reading of A Fault in our Stars and this book was another that did not disappoint me at all. It was a story of a child prodigy, a lot of anagrams, and a b...

goodreads.com

Professional Reader
Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Copyright © 2015 It's Just Life, All Rights Reserved.

  • Media Kit, Advertising and Disclosure