Sweet and Spicy Ham Balls
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 to 50 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour and 20 minutes
- Yield: Around 42 ham balls
Ingredients
Ham Balls
- 2 eggs, beaten
- 1 cup panko breadcrumbs
- 1 cup finely chopped onion
- 2 pounds ground ham (grind your own or use something like Frick’s Ground Ham)
- 1 pound Jimmy Dean Premium All-Natural Regular Pork Sausage (or your favorite pork sausage)
Sweet and Spicy Sauce
- 1 can (20 oz) crushed pineapple, in juice, undrained
- 2 red sweet bell peppers, seeded and quartered
- 1 cup packed brown sugar
- 1/4 cup prepared (yellow) mustard
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon red pepper flakes, omit or adjust to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F
- In a large bowl, combine the eggs and breadcrumbs.
- Let stand and allow breadcrumbs to hydrate.
- Add onions.
- Crumble ham and sausage over mixture.
- Mix well (clean hands works best).
- Shape into 1 and 1/2 inch balls.
- Place in two greased 13 by 9 inch baking dishes.
- In a blender, combine pineapple, sweet bell pepper, brown sugar, mustard, vinegar, and red pepper flakes; cover and process until smooth.
- Pour pineapple mixture over ham balls.
- Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 45 to 50 minutes or until a thermometer reads 160 degrees. Baste occasionally with sauce.
Notes
Serve with white rice and stir fry vegetables. Make smaller balls and serve as an appetizer. This recipe would also make a great ham loaf.
Reduce sticky hands. Before mixing and shaping the ham mixture, lightly moisten your hands with cold water. A bit of cooking oil works as well.
Freeze half of the ham balls and sauce to use later. Freeze the ham balls on a baking sheet and once frozen store them in a zipper freezer bag. Store the sauce in a freezer-safe container.