Ham Salad Sandwich Spread with a Basil Twist

Ham salad and bologna will always be connected in my mind.  If you can’t stand bologna, skip the next paragraph while I have a chat with my sisters.

Hey Kay and Bonnie, remember those long, fat sticks of bologna our mom used to bring home? Remember attaching that old silver grinder to a stool in the kitchen? Mom would cut the bologna up in big chunks, then we pushed it through the grinder  while turning the big silver handle. It was fascinating to watch ground up bologna  extruding out of the holes in a rather magical way and then turned in to sandwich spread. Seems like we put bologna, hard boiled eggs, pickles and mayonnaise together and called it bologna salad.

Today, I will not eat bologna. I guess it’s not that bad if you fry it with little slits but I won’t go there either. What I will do is make ham salad sandwiches with leftover ham. Spreading it on homemade cranberry yeast bread (recipe coming soon) makes it special. Good enough for a party.

I love the Durkee’s Famous Sandwich and Salad Sauce. it’s wonderful with turkey or ham. Do try it in this recipe.  Southerners have loved this spread for generations.  Unfortunately, I hear it is hard to come by outside of the south.  Google it to order  online or find a recipe to make it yourself.  If all that is too much trouble, a couple tablespoons of  mustard (any variety) make an acceptable substitute.

Take the whole concept over the top by adding a leaf or two of fresh sweet basil to each sandwich. Your guests will be asking for your secret recipe.  It is AMAZINGLY good.

Ham Salad Sandwich Spread with a Basil Twist

 

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Ham salad sandwich spread made with leftover ham, hard-boiled eggs, pickle relish and mayo. Durkees Famous Sauce and Basil make this recipe memorable.

Author: Paula Rhodes

Recipe type: Sandwiches

Ingredients

• 1 pound ham (the better the ham, the better the spread)
• 2 hard-boiled eggs, chopped
• 1 stalk celery (optional, chopped very finely if you like crunch in your sandwich)
• 4 tablespoons Durkee’s Famous Sandwich and Salad Sauce
• ⅓ cup olive oil mayonnaise or reduced fat mayonnaise
• ⅓ cup sweet pickle relish
• Seasoning salt, (sparingly if desired–ham is salty already)
• White pepper to taste
• Fresh sweet basil leaves

Instructions

1. Chop ham finely or place in a food processor and pulse several times until ham is chopped but not too fine.
2. Chop hard-boiled eggs and celery. Add to ham. Add remaining ingredients and stir gently to combine.
3. Chop basil and add to spread if serving immediately. Otherwise, leaves should be left whole and added to sandwich before serving. Cut leaves will turn an unappetizing color.

3.1.09

Coming Next: A recipe for Craisin Egg Bread (seen in picture above) guaranteed to take your ham salad from everyday fare to party time.

Looking for other ways to use up leftover ham?

Ham and Veggie Fried Rice

Hearty Beef and Ham Stew

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