Deli Ham Bone turned into Cheap Bacon

Ham Bone Part 3 

Slicing the meat off in useful slices

Trust me, it really does get easier after a few times - and the money saving is sooo worth it...

Money Saving Idea - use ham slices for Breakfast BACON (see end photos)

 I do this straight after taking off outer rind shown in Part One.

You will need:

•  A cutting board, sharp knife – a paring knife is ideal.
•  Something put meat slices in.
• And a cup of coffee 

A Coffee is my necessary addition to any procedure – you please yourself J

Here we go...

1. Make a downward cut to the bone
 - do this on both sides.

*** Note - Always slice AWAY from your HAND *** 

You do not want to loose a finger in the process!

 2. Hold bone and slice across to the first downward slice.

  The slice should come away cleanly and easily.

** Note - Don't make the slices too thin or too thick - 

Medium slices are easier to achieve and more versatile.

 3. See, you get decent sized slices from this ham bone...

 4. Keep slicing across until you get down to the bone. 

Great - you are about half way done! 

Not as bad as you thought, right. Great job!

 5. Nice slices already and more to come yet. 

Now you can see why this worth it. 

Let's crack on and get the rest done, 

Sip of coffee and we're away again.

6. Now you will notice meat between the two bones - 

and there is a simple way to harvest it.

 7. Hold the bone firmly. 
Slice down the inside of one bone.

 8. Now slice down the inside of the second bone, 
run the knife across at the end to meet the first bone, 
then remove the slice.

 9. Your Ham bone should now look like this. 
Yay half way, already !

Now to tackle the other half. It's really a repeat of the first 4 steps...

 So...make a downward cut to the bone.

Make the first slice across - same procedure as before.

Sometimes the first slice goes al the way across.


This is all good as it results in a bigger slice.

Continue cutting off slices until you reach the bone.

Turn the bone over and repeat on the opposite side.

Continue until you have all the slices off the Ham Bone.

Getting that meat from between the bones.

Place the knife between the two bones, 
slice down the inner sides of both bones 
until you get most of the meat off. 

The stripped Ham Bone will look something like this. 

You may like to trim off some smaller bits as well 

- that is entirely up to you.

The stripped ham bone - with smaller bits trimmed off.

I use those smaller bits too so I take them off. 

Wrap the Ham Bone in plastic, store it in the freezer 

- there is still plenty of flavour in the bone. 

Use for stock, soups, casseroles for a bacon flavour.

Waste not ~ want not  J 

Storing the ham slices: 

depends on how you want to use them. 

PLASTIC CONTAINERS: get cheap ones from the $2 shop - I use them all the time.

 Slices - medium size: 
Use for sandwiches, salads, omelettes. 

I use these like best cured bacon! 

Its cooked, not raw! 
Just heat it through and it's good to go.

Remember these slices come from a $3.00 ham bone

 All these containers:

1 x container Fatty bits for dog food

2 x containers Medium slices - a variety of uses

1 x container of small bits
 - I use in sauces, add to fried onions

- anywhere I would use bacon bits. 
Works great in Macaroni Cheese!

non-stick PLASTIC WRAP: ( works with Baking Paper too!) 

This is what I do...Why? 

Not everyone wants breakfast at the same time. 

Not everyone wants a cooked breakfast. 

Divide Medium slices into 1 - 2 person Portions.

Have smaller portions in the freezer. 
For a leisurely breakfast on Days Off

1. Cut the wrap to size.
Lay the slices in a row on one side of wrap.

 2. Fold over the other side covering the pieces, 
tuck underneath.

3. Fold up the wrapped ham - it takes up less room. 

The wrap keeps the slices separate

 - easier at the other end when you go to use them!

4. A complete breakfast serve bacon bundle

Ready to go into the freezer.  Repeat for all.

Portions: 
I usually end up with this from a single Ham Bone. 

5 x breakfast bundles -  large 1-2 person serves

1 x Ham Bone

Not bad for $3.00 !!

 5. Storage in the freezer:
 Put them into one container. 

That way they don't ' get lost ' in the freezer and

everyone knows where to find them. 

A 400 ml container will hold all 5 bundles. 

The ham bone goes separate - easy to recognize.

HAM FOR BREAKFAST:
 why not, NO RIND = NO WASTE !!! 

6. Get the pan hot 
- remember this is Ham - it's already cooked

 It just needs heating through. 

Brown for a few minutes on both sides.
It smells absolutely delicious!

Place the browned ham slices to one side
Add the eggs.

Yeah, I know, a yolk broke
 - it happens my husband has to get over it. 

We don't waste eggs in our house
 - if the yolk breaks, tough - eat it!

Baked beans: - a must have with bacon and eggs - says my husband. 

Seems to be a Male thing because most guys love em.

I like baked beans, but not first thing in the morning! But that's me...

A cooked breakfast for around $2.00 = BRILLIANT VALUE!! 

* eggs x 2 ( $3.50 ÷ 12 = 30)   0.60 ¢

* baked beans x 3 tbl ($2.09 420g can) = 0.50¢

* ham x 1 bundle ($3.00 ÷ 5 = 60)  0.60 ¢

Rose's Awesome Ham Bone Soup - Serves 4 Costs $6

Ham, sooo nice to eat and generally loved by the whole family. But for a family - too expensive, right? Wrong! That picture is of a Ham Bone. This can be purchased for $3 – $5 from the Deli section of most supermarkets. There is a lot of meat on the ham bone and this can be utilized in a variety of ways.
 I purchased this for $3.00 from the Deli of my local Countdown supermarket.
That $3 ham bone can be used in a variety of ways to create delicious family meals for well under $10.00

OUTER FAT LAYER = 
PET FOOD -  Add rice and mixed veges for a healthy meal your dog will love! 
SLICED MEAT OFF HAM BONE = 
BACON for a Full Breakfast for as little as  $2.00 per breakfast!
HAM SLICES for salads, omelettes, sandwiches - anywhere you would use regular Deli Ham Slices.

ALL THIS FROM A DELI HAM BONE !!!

       Rose’s Awesome Pea & Ham Bone Soup  

Serves 4   Cooking Time 2-3 hours     Cost: $9

WHOLE Ham Bone – simply use in this recipe as you would a bacon hock. You will get the same delicious meal for half the cost.

-   
  

Ingredients:  

• 1 ham bone ( $3.00) 
• 1 packet of Kings Pea & Ham soup mix ($3.00 - approximately) 
• Vegetables -  use whatever you have at home - older veges work well and saves throwing them out. 
• I use 1 lg onion, 2 diced carrots, cabbage chunks ( cut a wedge and cut into 3-4 pieces) *** If you need to buy veges for this make sure you check out the 'cheap reduced to clear items' first - great for soup!***  ( cost of veges is minimal but for sake of this $10.00 recipe will say about $2-3
• Boiling water ( 9 cups or 2 lts approximate - you need enough water to cover ham bone and veges.

Method: Easy Peasy = 5 stars all the way!  Stove top or can be done in slow cooker

  

1.           Boil jug/kettle so it is boiling while you chop vegetables. 

2.           Take wrapper off ham bone. Remove outer fatty skin - can be done prior to cooking or after once it has softened - place along with vegetables into a very large soup pot

3.           Pour contents of Kings soup packet into a large glass jug

4.           Add about 1 Lt (2 cups) boiling water to the soup mix and stir well

5.           Pour the soup mix over the Ham Bone and vegetables

6.           Add the rest of the boiling water and cook on high till boiling

7.           Reduce heat to low, cover, and cook slowly for 2-3 hours, stirring occasionally.

8.           Use tongs to check when ham bone is ready. There are usually two long bones and they lift out easily when done. Turn off heat.

9.           Scoop ham out, chop or shred into smaller pieces and place back onto soup. Stir well as as split peas tend to be at the bottom. 

Serves 4 people easily and tastes even better the next day for lunch – if there is any left over.

Freezes extremely well for that microwave ' meal in a hurry' - simply re-heat and serve!

$3 Ham Bone - Rind into Pet Food

Ham Bone Trilogy 

 1) Ham & Bacon rinds - Convert it into yummy Pet Food. 

1.     Turn it into delicious dog food. Your dog will love you!

2.     Packed with flavour, dice rinds into bite size pieces

3.     Mix in with left overs or cook it up with rice and diced veges for a cheap tasty meal your dog will adore!  

4.     You get a large pot of tasty bacony, vege & rice dog food for little more than the cost of the rice. Fantastic value from a bit of nothing!

 Getting the most out of food means minimum waste!

 Ham/Bacon rind Dog Food…  

Cooking Time: 10 minutes  Cost $2.00 (approx)  for veges and rice.

t  METHOD ~
1.     Roughly dice up the outer Ham Rind
2.     Cook 2 cups raw rice till tender– any variety
3.     Place 1 cup of mixed veges into a microwave jug and add enough boiling water to cover and cook without lid for 5 minutes. Drain
4.     Strain rice, and stir in diced ham rind and mixed veges
5.     Leave to cool and use as required.
6.     Freezes well so can be divided into portions and kept in freezer. Defrost each portion the overnight and give to your dog. Easy!

2) Stripping Outer Layer off Ham Bone - where do I start?

As you can see from these pictures - there is a great deal of Quality Ham Meat on a $3 Ham Bone!

It is easy to see by the colour and texture which is fatty layer. It comes away from the meat in big chunks. Trim it all off until you are left with a trimmed Meaty Ham Bone.

1. Start by slicing down through the fat layer like in the photo - Do this all the way around. Don't worry about the bone impeding - just slice around as best you can - it doesn't have to be pretty.

2. Slice across towards the first downward slice.

Repeat all the way around until fat is removed.

Removing the thin layer of fat.

 Dice up pieces of outer layer and place into small containers to be made into pet food whenever you are ready to do it. Don't forget - Write a Description on the container! It freezes well for long term storage too.

This is the same Ham Bone with the Outer layer of Rind removed - Now you can carve it into usable pieces or leave it whole for a delicious Ham Bone Soup