Make the most of your Christmas ham!

Christmas is that special time of the year when you go the extra mile to make dinner that tiny bit more delicious than normal and while dealing with a big Christmas ham and recipes you might not normally use can seem daunting, it doesn’t have to be.
 
To help you out, specifically with the Christmas Ham, Freedom Farms has put together some tips for what to do with the Ham before, during and after the Christmas festivities:
 
Before:
Be a conscious shopper. Freedom Farm’s premium Christmas hams not only look fantastic and taste incredible, but they have been raised as happy piggies without those sad crates, cages or pens – so rest assured you’re having an ethical Christmas too.
Once you’ve got your Freedom Farms Ham home, store it in the coldest part of the fridge, usually at the back, keep it in its wrapping and it will keep fresh until the best before date shown on the wee white label.
 
During:
Time to organise your glaze and sides. Why not try one of Freedom Farms tasty glazes, perfect for Freedom Farms extra special hams. Cloves, pineapple rings, honey, soy, oranges and cherries are traditional glaze ingredients, try adding sriracha, ginger or jalepeno to add a bit of zing this year. For the sides roasted potatoes, a big green salad and mustard are the perfect partners.
 
After:
Christmas day has come and gone and now you have the ‘gruelling task’ of making your way through the Christmas leftovers, but first make sure you store it correctly. Cover the ham loosely with tin foil, a clean damp tea towel or a ham bag
(or even a pillow case works well) and store in the coolest part of your fridge. If using a ham bag or tea towel, soak it in water with a couple of tablespoons of vinegar. Squeeze out the excess liquid and wrap the ham loosely. Repeat soaking process every 2-3 days. 
 
Then you can make your way through the leftovers with some of these ideas:
 
Ham Sandwiches – Nothing says Boxing Day like ham sandwiches. Whack two pieces of bread together with some big thick pieces of ham, mustard and lettuce and Bob’s your uncle.
 
Ham Penne Pasta - After the stress of Christmas, you might as well keep dinners as low stress as possible for as long as possible. Penne Pasta is so easy, just boil a pot of water, cook the Pene and once cooked add pesto, ham and cherry tomatoes for a delicious easy meal.
 
Frittata – Sautee some onion, green capsicum and garlic in butter. Set aside and add parsley and tomatoes. Combine 5 x eggs, 1 cup of cheese, ground salt and pepper, and left over ham chopped up into small chunks. Mix everything together and cook in a pan in the oven at 180 degrees for 25-30 minutes.
 
Ham Eggs Benedict – Bring the café to your house or bach this Christmas. Poach a couple of eggs and place on a toasted English muffin with spinach and ham and store bought hollandaise.
 
For that extra touch of quality, be sure to check out Freedom Farms chicken, bacon, eggs, sausages, fresh pork cuts and extra treats to jazz up your leftovers. All farmed the Freedom way. No exceptions.
 
Freedom Farms are available at leading food stores and supermarkets across New Zealand. Freedom Farms small loin ham is exclusive to Farro Fresh stores in Auckland and at Moore Wilson in Wellington for this summer only. 


 
www.freedomfarms.co.nz