Can you freeze cooked sliced ham?

glitterjunkie

Hi all, I buy cooked sliced ham for sandwiches during the working week, and buy the big packs from Aldi for £1.79 (about 12 slices), however I always end up throwing a few slices away at the end of the week which seems so wasteful :-/ its always well before the use-by date but it says on the packet to discard 2/3 days after opening... i don't stick to that and usually get 4 days out of it, but worry about food poisoning any longer after that! does anyone know if it freezes well? I am thinking it would just all stick together and be difficult to defrost just 1 or 2 slices?

Any thoughts appreciated, or alternatively ways to use it up if it can't be frozen? I do use it in omelette sometimes but can't think of anything else x

Lilyplonk

I frequently buy large packs of sliced ham and split them up into smaller packs before freezing - that makes them more 'useable'.

However, my sister just makes up individual 'butty-bag' packs of sandwiches for the entire week and freezes them. She just takes the right number out of the freezer each morning and puts them into a lunchbox with a piece of fruit. The sandwich is always defrosted by lunchtime.

Double-check the small print on the pack of cooked meat to see if it definitely states 'DO NOT FREEZE' - if it doesn't actually state that, then you should be fine with it.

We're all still here 'to tell the tale' .

Pollycat

I often buy reduced packs of ham, pork and beef - the pre-packed versions as well as the stuff from the deli - and chuck it in the freezer.

It comes out OK but I do find when the sliced ham is defrosted, it can be a bit 'wet' so I put each slice on kitchen paper before making a sandwich.

I've not noticed it with pork & beef, but it may happen to those too. Taste isn't altered.

Don't put the whole pack in the freezer if you're expecting to take just a few slices out, you'd need to separate the pack into useable portions.

Ken68

I freeze the chicken slices when cheaper in Lidl, as said separate into smaller portions.

DigForVictory

Caveat: Not all hams are equal.

You can't be the only person wondering:
http://www.foodsafety.gov/keep/charts/hamstoragechart.html

AnnieO1234

I wouldn't with the cheapest wafer thin, there's a lot of water in it to begin with and it just loses all flavour and texture IMHO. X

lobbyludd

DigForVictory wrote: »

Caveat: Not all hams are equal.

You can't be the only person wondering:
http://www.foodsafety.gov/keep/charts/hamstoragechart.html

american site though so can be difficult to work out whether all terms mean the same here and there.

: http://england.lovefoodhatewaste.com/node/216.

I freeze ham in weekly packs because it goes dry by the end of the week (although I'd eat it in a cooked meal - it's not dangerous after 5 days, just not very nice in sandwiches). I don't freeze sandwiches made up because I used to have these as a child and they were always soggy - freezer technology has undoubtedly improved but I still can't bring myself to do it.

tiredwithtwins

I frequently buy cheap ham/chicken and slice it up and put it in the freezer - slice it thinly and put a piece of greaseproof paper in between each slice so you can just get as many slices as you need ... I also make it into sandwiches and freeze them, doing what lilyplonks sister does.

maman

I know it's not what you asked OP but IMO the best ham is home cooked. I buy joints from Aldi (I think about £4 per kg), cook it in slow cooker and make amazing soup from the stock.


The cold gammon from this freezes beautifully. I tend to have it as a meal with cauliflower cheese but would work equally well in sandwiches. I just freeze portion size packs.


Do give it a try.

System

Most certainly you can. When I do the packed lunches they have something different each day. What I don't use gets frozen and used the following week.

Linda32

Yes you can, I used to freeze two slices in sandwich bags, then use that sandwich bag for the sandwiches.

You can freeze the whole lot if you want to, but seperate each slice with greaseproof paper, that way they don't all stick together as suggested. We do this with wraps now and re-use the grease proof paper.