While you can keep your leftover Easter ham in the fridge for up to a week, we know you’ll likely want to extend its shelf life.
Although there are plenty of great ways to use leftover ham, you might not want to be eating ham for the next few weeks straight! So, grab your trusty freezer bags or heavy-duty airtight Tupperware and let’s freeze the ham for other meals down the road!
Identify What You Are Freezing
The type of ham, and whether it is cooked or not, can determine the time it can safely spend in a freezer. If you have leftover uncured, uncooked ham from your Easter dinner preparations, you can freeze this for up to 6 months, while leftover cured, uncooked ham can be frozen for 3-4 months. If you have any leftover cooked ham from your dinner, you can freeze this for 1-2 months.
Prepping & Freezing the Ham
The trick to saving your ham in the freezer is to wrap it tightly in a freezer bag or wrap in butcher paper in an airtight container. If you know you will be using the ham within the month, an airtight container will do just fine, but if you are planning on freezing the meat for longer, we recommend a freezer bag to seal in the freshness. Bonus points if you have a vacuum sealer as this will be sure to remove the air from the packaging. Don’t forget to mark the bag or container with the date you froze it and the ‘use by’ date.
Tips and Tricks
One trick, straight from our household, is to dice and cube the leftover ham and portion it into 1lb packages before freezing it. Doing this work ahead of time will significantly cut down on your prep time for meals during the week. Our favourite ways to use leftover diced ham are in hash brown casseroles, on pizza, in omelets, or in a pasta dish.
Defrosting
To safely defrost your ham, we recommend moving your package from the freezer to the fridge and giving it a day or two to thaw. Or, if you need to defrost your ham quickly, you can put the package into a bath of cool water (not hot water! This will start to cook it).
Eating frozen ham a month or two after the ‘use by’ date likely won’t hurt you (but please use your judgment!), though it may become freezer burnt and dry out, which will affect the taste.
The best part about freezing leftover ham is that if you’ve followed the above freezing instructions and defrosted before the ‘use by’ date, the freezing process will not affect the taste of the meat.
Did you cook a delicious Easter Ham for your family this holiday? If you have a tried and true cooking recipe, share it with us in the comments!
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