A big, beautiful holiday ham is the centerpiece of many Christmas dinners, but for a lot of us, it’s the leftovers that are the best part of the meal.
Donna Knowles Killian always gets her ham from the HoneyBaked Ham store. Before she leaves, she adds a bag with the makings of the company’s white bean soup to her order. And since her husband, Bill, is a native of South Pittsburg, home to Lodge Manufacturing, no serving of the soup is complete without a piece of cornbread made in their Lodge cast-iron skillet.
“Buying a large ham for the holidays has always been a tradition in our family,” she says. “And the soup simmering for hours on the stove makes the leftover ham so tender and adds such a delicious flavor. Having leftover ham is something we always look forward to.”
Bo Mucciarone, assistant manager of the meat department at Publix in Hixson, says ham sales are strong around Christmas, and many people buy the largest they can in order to have leftovers.
“They also buy bone-in hams specifically so that they can flavor pinto beans and other things,” he adds.