Ham steak makes for a delicious meal, whether you are hosting people at a party or you are preparing dinner for your family. Once you master the way to cook it right, you will be on your way to flavor-filled Sunday dinners that will have the guests impressed with every variation.
Here are ham steak recipe variations through which you can get the most out of your steak. You can pan-fry it, or you can grill it. Either way, you are sure to enjoy the results.
How to Cook Ham Steak – The Easiest Way
If you are dealing with ham that has not undergone curing, the best option would be to pan-fry it. Also, the time taken to cook a ham depends on its thickness.
As such, if you cut your ham into small pieces, you will finish cooking in less time than if you had cut it into thick slices. The time stated in the recipe refers to cuts that are half an inch thick. As such, be sure to adjust the expected cooking times based on your sizes.
For ham steak seasoning, you can go with whatever you like most. Sometimes, I use a combo of chili powder, cayenne pepper, black pepper, and dried oregano. At other times, I prefer to do it the simple way by relying on the marinade for flavors. Either way, the meal comes out great each time.
Ingredients
- A pound of ham steak
- A teaspoon of cooking oil
- Pepper
- Salt
- Glaze
For the maple glaze, you will require:
- Quarter a cup of maple syrup
- A teaspoon of apple cider vinegar
- A tablespoon of mustard
For the marmalade glaze, you will need:
- 1/3 cup of orange marmalade
- Two tablespoons of dry mustard
- Two tablespoons of melted butter
- A tablespoon of orange juice
For the barbecue glaze, the ingredients required are:
- Quarter a cup of brown sugar
- Two thirds a cup of ketchup
- Half a cup of cider vinegar
- Two teaspoons of paprika
Interesting facts
Ham steaks, when cooked right, result in delicious meals. You would think that they are full of calories and fat owing to how good they taste but this is not the case. Studies show that three ounces of cured ham steak have about three grams of fat and 105 calories.
And that’s not all.
They also have lots of protein, and you take in about sixteen grams of protein with every three ounces of ham steak. With all these nutritional benefits, one would wonder why we do not indulge in this meal more often. The answer lies in the sodium levels.
Unfortunately, ham contains about a thousand milligrams of sodium in every serving. However, there are brands out there with less than this amount. It also depends on the preparation method in play. But one thing is for sure; that number is pretty high.
That’s why we save it for special dinners and parties.
A healthy adult can indulge now and then without any significant problems. However, anyone battling with high blood pressure or heart disease should stay away from these steaks, no matter how good they look. That said, here is a way to reduce the sodium that you consume in these foods.
Preparation
The first thing you should do before cooking the steak should be to trim away the fat and the skin. This step helps in dealing with part of the problem. From here, place the steak on a shallow dish and cover it with an inch of water. You can now set the bowl in the fridge and let it sit for about six hours.
I prefer to do it overnight as this gives me better results. The essence of the water bath is to get rid of some of the sodium. The nutritional value of the meal increases and I get to protect my health. If you are in a hurry, you can skip this step, but I would not advise you to do so.
Tips
When it comes to the oil, you can use any kind. Though I prefer to use canola or olive oil, people who have tried this recipe have had equally amazing results with vegetable oil and other brands. It depends on what you have available as well as what you like best so be sure to experiment a little in this regard.
As for the seasoning, it is up to you. Some people like lots of pepper, as do I in this recipe, while others prefer for the seasoning to be minimal. You can go with what works for you as it will not affect the result.
Amazing Recipes With Ham Steak
Fried Ham Steak
If you prefer frying your meat, this option will work well for you, and you will love how delicious the meal will be. You should note though that pan-frying uses less oil and is a much healthier option than deep frying, hence my preferred choice in preparation.
Directions
Start by greasing a large frying pan with some cooking oil. You don’t need much oil in this step as it is not for frying the meat but rather, it is a means to prevent the steak from sticking to the surface. You can use any cooking oil for this purpose, or if you would like, you can also use butter to do so.
Other ways you can achieve the greasing are by applying oil to the pan using a paper towel immersed in oil as well as spraying the pan with some oil. The essence of this step is to create a barrier between the meat and the frying pan, and a slight amount of grease should work.
Next, place the pan over medium heat.
The extent to which you heat the pan will depend on the medium you used as grease. If you used oil, you should place the pan over medium to high heat. Keep watch over the pan as the heat increases.
If you note that the oil is beginning to spit up, you should check on the temperature and lower it to a medium. If the heat is not too much, then it is highly likely that you used much more oil than is necessary and you should thus reduce the amount.
If you used butter in the greasing, you should use heat that is lower than a medium. Failure to do so will lead to browning and burning of the butter, and this will undo the greasing process. Once you have added the steak to the pan, you can proceed to increase the heat to an appropriate level.
The next step involves drying the ham steak.
You will notice that ham steaks contain lots of moisture. If you have ever cooked a ham steak and it did not brown to the extent that you wanted, the chances are high that it had a lot of water content. If you want your steak to brown to an appealing hue, you should work on reducing its water content.
Start by dabbing the steak with some paper towels to get rid of the water. Doing this continuously before placing it on heat will enable you to get better results from the cooking. In the preparation process, you may find that you skipped this step and went straight to the cooking or that you did not dry the steak enough.
In such a case, it would not be uncommon to see liquid at the bottom of the pan. There is a way around this. Tilt the pan and pour some of the fluid out as the cooking continues. As you do this, be sure to pay attention to the steak such that it does not fall out. Trust me; it can happen!
Now comes the easy part: cooking the steak.
Place the steak on the pan and let one side cook for about five minutes. If you feel that a side has not achieved the hue that you want, you can allow it to cook for more time as there is no hurry. Given that the pan is pre-heated, you should have no trouble achieving the color in five to ten minutes, even if you initially had to reduce the heat owing to butter greasing.
Once you see the results that you want, you can now flip the steak to the other side using a fork or a pair of tongs. Let this side cook for about five minutes and check if it is ready when the time is up. Once the steak is ready, you can now apply a glaze on it. Keep cooking the meat until the glaze cooks through or it thickens to your desired state.
You can serve the steak once it is ready by placing it on plates while it is still hot. If you do not intend to finish the entire meal in one seating, you can save the remainder for a later date. It should be fresh in the fresh for about two to three days, and you can take it out, heat it and enjoy it during that time.
If you wish to enjoy it after three days, it is best to make a fresh ham steak at the time. Be sure to keep this in mind as you work on the number of ingredients that you will need for this meal.
The equipment necessary in pan-frying a ham steak are:
- A frying pan
- A stove
- Paper towels
- Fork or a pair of tongs
Grilled ham steak
If you prefer something a little crispier than what you would get from pan-frying a ham steak, try out the grilling method. It’s also quite simple, and you won’t use much oil to achieve it, making it a healthy option.
As is the case with pan-frying, you will need to grease your grill before turning on the heat. You can do this by brushing the rack with a paper towel soaked in oil. It will create the barrier you need between the meat and the grill, and it will also make it easy for you to flip the steak while it is cooking.
If you happen to forget this critical step before heating the grill, you can quickly run an oiled paper towel over the surface, and it will do the trick. However, it is always best to start by greasing to prevent burning and other challenges that result from failure to do so.
Pre-heating is an important step when it comes to cooking because it enables food to cook at a fast rate. In the case of ham steak, it allows you to achieve a lovely brown hue. It is thus vital that you get the grill ready before you start working on the ham steak.
Turn the grill on so that it can heat up.
If you don’t have an outdoor grill or the weather conditions are getting in the way, you can use a griddle pan in its stead. The results will be just as good.
You can now work on dabbing the ham steak dry with paper towels — the more liquid that the steak has when cooking, the longer time it takes to be ready as the water has to cook off first before the meat can begin to brown. You can use as many paper towels as you need to get rid of the excess water on the surface of the steak before proceeding with the cooking.
You can now place the steaks on the grill and allow them to cook. When grilling, it is essential to ensure that each piece has adequate space between it and the next. Let the meat cook on one side for about five minutes. You will notice that some of the pieces will start to change color at this point. However, they will not cook entirely while on one side.
Flip the pieces over to the other side using a grilling fork or a pair of tongs. I insist on the tools that one can use because I have seen someone attempt to turn the steak over with bare hands. The results were not pretty. Be warned, the pieces are hot, and you can get burned from attempting to do this without a barrier.
Let the other side cook for about five minutes. As the five minutes draw to an end, you can apply glaze to the pieces if you wish to have some on the meat.
You can keep flipping the pieces from one side to the other as you apply glaze and wait for it to cook through. The steak should eventually turn brown, and you should see some grill marks on both sides to let you know that they are ready for serving.
You can now place your steak on a plate and enjoy.
You can get better results from the glaze by brushing some of it on the pieces right before you start eating the meat. Any remainder can keep in the fridge for two to three days. After this period, you should throw out any remains as they will be unsafe for consumption.
The tools required in grilling are:
- A grill
- A pair of tongs or a fork
- Paper towels
The other option in cooking ham steaks is baking them. It pretty much follows the procedures laid out in pan-frying and grilling ham steak.
The difference lies in the medium used as well as the time taken. If you choose to go down this route, be sure to set aside about twenty-five minutes to cooking. The results are also delicious. For baking, you would need the ingredients stated for the previous two variations, a baking tray, oven, paper towels and a fork/ pair of tongs.
The glaze
If you need ideas on sauces for ham steaks, I have got your back. Here are some of the simplest glazes that you can use to get more flavors out of your steak.
Maple
I’m thinking of something sweet and sticky and perfect for ham steak. Can you guess what kind of glaze that would be?
You are right if you’re considering a maple glaze.
This traditional combo is quite easy to make. Combine all the ingredients stated in the list in any order and mix them thoroughly in a small bowl. Once you achieve an even mixture, you have what you need for the glaze. The secret to the perfect maple glaze lies in finding real syrup that is of high quality. Settling for a low-quality brand means that you are giving up the flavor in the process.
Marmalade
This option is much more common in Easter hams. The directions involve mixing all the ingredients in a bowl until you achieve an even consistency. You can also make substitutions.
An example would be where you cannot get orange marmalade. In this case, you can use another fruit preserve. It does not matter what you use. Though the flavor will differ, the ham will be just as delicious as what you would get from orange marmalade. So go with whatever you can find.
Barbecue sauce
When grilling, this is my ideal go-to glaze, owing to its smoky nature. Though you can always get some from the store, I prefer to make my own. Store-bought glaze tends to be too thick for my taste. However, you can dilute it to get the consistency that you want.
You can use water or apple cider vinegar for this. The other option, which I prefer, is making your own. Combine the ingredients in a small bowl and mix them until you get the texture that works for you.
You can also opt to go with honey glazed ham steak for that added sweetness.
For any of the glazes, you would require:
- A mixing bowl
- A pastry brush
- A fork or a spoon
Ham steak marinade
Here is a simple marinade recipe that you can use even for other dishes, achieving exemplary results with each try. The ingredients required are quite essential and you get lots of flavor in the process. You will need:
- Half a cup of pineapple juice
- A tablespoon of melted butter
A tablespoon of brown sugar- Two teaspoons of ground mustard
- An eighth of a teaspoon of garlic powder
- An eighth of a teaspoon of paprika
Directions
Mix all the ingredients in a large bowl until they combine evenly. Next, place the ham steak in a large resealable storage bag and pour in the marinade before sealing the bag. Let the ham steak sit in the bag for about two hours in the fridge. Any period shorter than this will not have much effect on the tenderness of the meat or the flavor.
It is best to go with an overnight stay, but after letting the steak sit in water overnight, you probably won’t want that idea too much. As you allow the steak time to sit in the marinade, be sure to keep turning the bag to ensure that the entire surface gets coated evenly.
These options are sure to guide you on your path to making an excellent ham steak. You can also use them for ham steak breakfast for those special occasions when the typical breakfast options do not cut it. Be sure to be creative in your method, and you will have lots of fun when making this delicacy. I hope you enjoyed this ham steak recipe. Thank you!
