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Growing up there were certain dishes my Dad made that no matter how hard my Mom tried, she just couldn’t make as good as him. His City Chicken was the best I have ever EVER had in my life. If you’re not from Pittsburgh it’s a ‘mock’ drumstick consisting of cubes of meat (usually pork and veal), breaded, which have been placed on a wooden and then fried then put in a roaster to steam. I can’t tell you how many times I purposely came home from college on the weekend just for that dish. It’s still one dish that I can’t make. It’s so simple that I just can’t do it. One day though. Another dish is his ham salad sandwich spread. 4 simple ingredients that literally rocked like no one’s business. Growing up we had a very famous deli here, Isaly’s, that was known for their chipped chopped ham. That was the key to ham bbq sammiches. The other was their Ham Salad. While I never liked chipped chopped ham (still don’t), I used to love their ham salad. That was until my Dad made it using up some leftover ham we had one Easter. Now the fact that we had leftover anything in our house considering we had 8 people living there 4 of which were GINORMOUS non-stop eating machine brothers was a pure miracle. Come to think of it I think that’s the year he made 2-25 pound hams. Anywho we had an abundance to say the least of ham. And that’s where I learned how to ‘repurpose’ leftovers into amazing ‘new’ dishes. Since we were really poor, buying pre-made stuff, even ham salad was a luxury so we learned to make stuff on our own and honestly it blew away anything you could buy in the stores.
Now I know what you’re thinking.. “TKW, this has mayo in it! And you abhor mayo! What gives?” First off this doesn’t have real mayo in it. My Dad tried it with mayo and it was DISGUSTING (and rightly so cause mayo is icky) but the taste was just nasty. Then he tried the ‘competitor’ – the whipped salad dressing/spread. THAT was it. Now while I won’t actively seek this stuff out to eat I will tolerate it in certain foods and honestly it’s what this recipe needs for that zippy tang.
Fast forward a bajillion years from my childhood to last week (yes a bajillion cause I’m that old) and I found myself with leftover Christmas ham. I already shared with you my most favorite chowder recipe using the ham (which has gone VIRAL!), however one can only have so much of this chowder (or in my case only as much as my poor freezer will hold) so I needed to come up with some different recipes other than ham steaks again and again and again. Then I remembered this recipe and instantly got such a huge smile on my face. While I had none of the stuff on hand I specifically went to the store just to buy the 2 ingredients and while some may call it wasting gas, I call it tummy satisfaction!
There is just something homey and simple about this dish. Now it could be the fact that it literally uses only 3-4 ingredients or the fact that it is very inexpensive to make and it makes a bunch. This isn’t fancy schmancy or hoity toity but what it is is real, down to earth, unpretentious and for me, home. It carries memories of my childhood sitting on the kitchen table watching my Dad in his white t-shirt and dickies pants cranking the hand meat grinder telling me stories of when he was a kid. Laughing until we cried and then being the first allowed to ‘sneak’ a taste. God I miss those days and would give up everything I have just to have one more day in the kitchen with him and Mom. However even though they’ve both been gone for many, many years they are always with me in the kitchen kind of keeping me in line or in a way, guiding my mixing hand.
Now I don’t have a hand meat grinder but if you do, feel free to use that. I let some of my modern amenities help me out here and just used my food processor to pulse the meat and gherkins down to the right size (pay attention to the pictures – that’s the size you want, you don’t want a puree). This came together in what, 5 minutes after I put it in the food processor and then you can either eat it then or chill it (that’s how I prefer it).
Now I’m sure if you’ve had this you’ve had it with eggs, onions or real mayo in it (gag) but this is what I know and what I like. Give it a shot and yes, the ketchup adds that certain je ne sais quoi needed to round out the flavor. Just be easy with it as you don’t want a lot.
To serve this we opted for crackers or simple white bread. Now if you did want to get fancy schmancy with it, you could easily put this on toasted rye crostini and top each with a half of baby sweet gherkin.
PrintDad’s Down Home Ham Salad Sandwich Spread
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Ingredients
- 2 cups cubed ham
- 1 cup cubed ring bologna (Optional) – this was put in if we had extra money
- 1 cup sweet gherkins
- 1 1/3 cup whipped salad dressing (not mayo) *See note
- 1 tablespoon ketchup
Instructions
- Place the cubed ham (and bologna) in a food processor and pulse just until you get smaller pieces.
- Add in the gherkins and pulse until the pieces are about the size of rice. You don’t want it pureed; you want small pieces.
- Scrape into a bowl.
- Add in the whipped salad dressing (I used Miracle Whip) and ketchup and mix to combine. If adding in the ring bologna increase the dressing to 1 1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoon
- Store in an air tight container in the fridge.
I know what you mean about wanting a parent in the kitchen, my mom. You brought tears to my eyes. While cooking I am always thinking “I wish she could be here.”
I made a different recipe before seeing yours. I used real mayonnaise. I had homemade dill pickles that are a little too vinegary for my taste but they did give that tangy taste to the ham salad.
Hi Chris,
Hopefully, those are tears of love. To me, being in the kitchen is my way to “keep” my parents still with me. While they are still in my heart there’s just something about being in the kitchen that just makes it feel like there are there with me. See Dad tried the real mayo and it just didn’t have the right taste or zing. I do love this stuff though.
Best Kitchen Wishes!
This is the best and easiest ham salad I’ve ever made. I’ve made this for several people and they have liked it better than a nearby store in town that Is known for their ham salad. Thanks for sharing!
BTW – Isaly’s was the mainstay of the PGH way of life – I especially remember the ice cream in scoops like hands in prayer and the chipped ham for all those great sandwiches (including the warm ones from Isaly’s)!
Yeah sadly there aren’t any left in the area. They *might* be one left out in Elrama but that’s it.
Best Kitchen Wishes~
My God! I never thought to see all these recipes from my childhood in Pittsburgh – this is truely a walk down memory lane!!
I grew up in Clairton, in the South Hills, and my Mom was a widow and my Grandma lived with us. The fare was basically British since my Grandma was from Liverpool, but all these dishes were on the menu: Meatloaf with tomato sauce on top, Creamed Dried Beef (yes! we called it Sky Blue since the beef sometimes looked blue in the sauce), Ham and Cabbage (usually after the Christmas Ham using the big bone), homemade/homeground Ham Salad for sandwiches (using more of the ham after the holidays), Stuffed Peppers, Split pea soup, Stuffed cabbage, Pork chops and onions, Broad Bean soup, Scotch Broth, and something I don’t know the name for but it was made in a big iron skillet with fried bacon cut into bits, green peppers, onion and tomatoes that you cooked down to almost a paste and spread it on bread (Yum!). I guess we were all pretty poor in the 50s/60s and these dishes hit the spot really well. Since my mother worked and my Grandma also visited my cousins in Chicago, I began cooking at 12-13 so there was always something good on the table when Mom came home. Thanks so much for sharing these wonderful dishes and the memories that go along with them.. The Pgh area was absolutely full of ethnic food and we grew up with nut rolls from our eastern european neighbors, canneloni from the Italians, goulash from the Hungarians, stuffed everything from the Czechs, Pierogi from the Poles, etc., etc. (don’t remember any French influences, however – added later through French mother-in-laws!) Remember Hoagies? We still go for them every time we visit Pittsburgh!
It was wonderful reading this – again, thanks so much for these wonderful recipes!!
Hi Maurine!
I know exactly where Clariton is – I lived not too far from there years ago. All of those foods you mentioned – cream chipped beef, ham salad, meatloaf with tomato sauce, stuffed cabbage – those are what I grew up on and recipes on the website. Pierogies, halushki and lots of slovak food too.
Pittsburgh is an amazing city that is truly so diverse culturally. I’ve been fortunate to be exposed to so many types of foods, flavors here.
I’m so happy I could put a smile on your face!
Best Kitchen Wishes and Merry Christmas!
Ours had sharp cheddar cheese added &and no ketchup. It was always Miracle Whip, in anything that Mom made.
Hi Dee!
Yeah we couldn’t afford the cheese like that but when we did have cheese I’d always put a slice of it on my bread or crackers with it. Yeah the ketchup, is that extra little ‘oomph’ that gives the dish just that certain “Hey, what is that?” taste that makes this over the top.
Best Kitchen Wishes!
★★★★★
We had this often on the farm. Mom used an old hand grinder. I believe she used dill pickles, onions and probably mayo, but it could have been Miracle Whip (which I don’t like either). We’re having ham this week so I think I will try a bit of this, maybe with half sweet pickle and half dill. And lots of onion!
We also (well, probably mostly my Mom) would grind other “leftover” meats, like pork roast or beef roast; also adding the pickles onions and mayo. I think it made the leftovers go further and Dad could have sandwiches on the tractor! Great memories!
★★★★
Yeah my Dad left out the onions as one I wouldn’t eat it (cause as a child to me onions were from the devil.. kind of like cherries! LOL) and well it just didn’t need it. Yep, that’s exactly why we made it; to extend the leftovers so when my Dad would go to the mill he always had a few sandwiches in his lunch pale.
Best Kitchen Wishes!
★★★★★
Whoa…..I thought I was dreaming when I saw this today.
I really thought it was something only my grandmother made as I was growing up since no one else I have come across in life would touch this with a ten foot pole….;)
I love it. It is the best thing since white bread…wait, maybe they were invented together..;)
I too tried it once with mayo which I hate and yeah, it was disgusting…;) Also tried it for my husband with dill pickles which he loves. No and no so…..I will eat it all myself….;)
Never had it with bologna but since I don’t like bologna, I’m not missing anything…;)
Thanks for a trip down memory lane this morning. Haven’t had my ham salad for a few months so….gotta’ work on that soon.
Hugs…;)
Hey Sue 🙂
Yeah my whole family loves this stuff but no one makes it except me now that Daddy’s since passed. Mr. Fantabulous has yet to try this though it’s not to his own choice. I kinda sorta don’t tell him that it’s in the fridge. Call me selfish but this is something I kinda don’t want to share… even with him *wink*
Best Kitchen Wishes!
★★★★★