Whether it is among the Amish, Mennonites, or non-Amish ham seems to make an appearance at the major holidays (except Thanksgiving). Easter seems to bring out whole hams served glazed and sliced whereas Christmas seems to bring out the variations from croquettes to casseroles to meatballs. And that is what I have for you today: a delicious recipe for ham meatballs from a Mennonite cook in Iowa. Check out this amazing recipe for Delicious Amish Ham Meatballs. Reader Barbara tested and this is what she had to say:
The sauce is amazing! I however would prefer to put a little bit of onion or onion powder and garlic powder in the meatball mix. The meatballs as made cooked perfectly in the time given. Mr keeps asking what we could serve these with for dinner?! Rice and cooked carrots he suggested. He really likes this taste. This is excellent as written and will make again!
🙋 FAQ
The ground beef in the recipe keeps the meatballs from being too "hammy", but if you really love your ham then, yes, feel free to omit the ground beef completely and go with 100 percent ham meatballs. The recipe will work just fine with just ham, you would want to add one more pound of ground ham to keep the rest of the recipe proportions the same.
The sauce is what really makes these meatballs come to life. I'd leave the sauce recipe alone. I mean, you could add a tablespoon of molasses to it just to add some extra flavor but, really, this works just perfectly the way it is. If you are one of these people that has to have some heat in everything you eat, you could add a splash of hot sauce, Tobasco, or a pinch of cayenne pepper to the sauce. But, again, I'm sold on just the way it is.
You can use a ham steak, or just sliced deli ham, obviously the less processed ham you buy the better your meatballs will turn out.
You can use a delicious brown sugar-cured ham and that would add a hint of sweet to the meat.
Cube your ham with a knife, get it into manageable square-shaped pieces.
Use a food processor or meat grinder to grind the ham, or have your butcher do it for you!
The hamburger in this recipe balances the taste, takes a little bit of the edge off the ham. If you are making this for company some guests might not want all-overpowering ham taste, so adding ground beef to this makes for a nice balance.
Use a large bowl to do your mixing of the meat. The meatballs are simple with the bread crumbs adding some nice texture. My grandma always added Parmesan cheese to her meatball mixes, so feel free to mix in about ¼ cup of that if you want. You should get a nice, moist meat mixture if you follow this recipe. Use an ice cream or cookie scoop or your hands to roll into balls. If you have any leftover ground ham, save it for a ham loaf!
Divide the meatballs between two roasters or 9 X 13 glass baking dishes sprayed with cooking spray glass baking dishes. This is also something you could make in an electric slow-cooker or Crock-Pot.
This is a large recipe, so feel free to halve it or adjust it proportionally and accordingly. And you could make larger 2-inch meatballs like in the photo or smaller Swedish meatball-type sizes
The sauce is what really makes this. The sauce, which you want to pour over the meatballs, before baking, is what really makes this. Don't heat the sauce on high, a medium-high heat is all you want to use, just until it starts to boil and the brown sugar begins to melt. Some people like to swap out the hamburger for ground venison, ground pork, sausage or even chicken, and either of those meats will blend well with the ham. Panko - which you can find in most grocery stores - or crackers crumbs are perfect texturizers in this recipe. Graham cracker crumbs can also be used for texture and a hint of sweet if you don't have regular crackers.
The meatballs pair well with some colorful corn, buttered bread and a green salad. But rice would also be a nice addition and, well, you could go full-on Italian and served with pasta!
🧆 Delicious Amish Ham Meatballs
- 3 pounds ground ham steak
- 1 pound ground beef
- 4 eggs
- 1 ¼ cup milk
- 1 ½ cup panko bread crumbs
Sauce:
- 3 ½ cups dark brown sugar
- 1 ¼ cup ketchup
- ¼ cup water
- 1 cup apple cider vinegar
- 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 2 teaspoons dry mustard powder
📋 Instructions
- Heat oven to 350. Lightly grease 2-9×13 inch baking dishes with cooking spray.
- Cut ham steak into cubes and place in a food processor with the steel blade. Pulse until you have chopped the ham like the ground beef. You may need to grind the ham in 2 batches.
- In a large mixing bowl combine the ham, beef, eggs, milk and panko. Mix until well combine
- Using a small cookie scoop or your hands shape the mixture into 2 inch balls. Divide the meatballs between the 2 baking dishes.
- In a medium saucepan whisk together the brown sugar, ketchup, water, apple cider vinegar, Worcestershire, and ground mustard. Over medium high heat bring the glaze to a boil, whisk until the brown sugar has melted. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer for 4 minutes or until the glaze has thicken.
- Evenly pour the glaze over the meatballs. Bake for 75-85 minutes until the meatballs are browned.
🧆 More Amish Meatball Recipes
Grandma Mary's Easy Italian Meatballs
🖨️ Full Recipe
Delicious Amish Ham Meatballs
Ingredients
- 3 pounds ground ham steak
- 1 pound ground beef
- 4 eggs
- 1 ¼ cup milk
- 1 ½ cup panko or bread crumbs
Sauce
- 3 1/ 2 cups dark brown sugar
- 1 ¼ cup ketchup
- ¼ cup water
- 1 cup apple cider vinegar
- 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 2 teaspoons dry mustard powder
Instructions
- Heat oven to 350.
- Lightly grease 2-9×13 inch baking dishes with cooking sp ned.
- Cut ham steak into cubes and place in a food processor with the steel bla browned.
- Pulse until you have chopped the ham like the ground beef. Y
- ou may need to grind the ham in 2 batches.
- In a large mixing bowl combine the ham, beef, eggs, milk and panko. Mix until well combined
- Using a small cookie scoop or your hands shape the mixture into 2 inch balls.
- Divide the meatballs between the 2 baking dishes.
- In a medium saucepan whisk together the brown sugar, ketchup, water, apple cider vinegar, Worcestershire, and ground mustard.
- Over medium high heat bring the glaze to a boil, whisk until the brown sugar has melted.
- Reduce the heat to medium and simmer for 4 minutes or until the glaze has thickend.
- Evenly pour the glaze over the meatballs. Bake for 75-85 min until until the meatballs are browned.
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Cyndy Peterson
I tried this recipe st Christmas. It went over good. They were very good tasting. I will be making them again. Thank you so much for your recipe!
janie davis
I want to make this for Christmas Eve. Can you tell me what "bake for 78-85 PR means please.
Kevin Williams
Sorry, Janie, a typo...75 - 85 minutes, I corrected it in the recipe, thanks for telling me and enjoy the recipe!