# How Long Have You Ever Kept A Ham In The Freezer?



## SeaBreeze (Aug 19, 2016)

Just took an old cured unopened ham out of the freezer a couple of days ago, the kind that's vacuum packed and already cooked ready to eat.  We did put it in the oven for an hour or so like we usually do, just to get any excess moisture out of it.

Anyhoo, it didn't taste like it was spoiled, but it didn't taste good as they usually do.  Looking at the label, it was frozen for over a year.  We had some sandwiches on rye today and decided to make Great Northern Beans with the rest of it.

How long have you ever kept a ham in the freezer?  I don't fuss about dates and eat a lot of stuff that's expired providing that it still looks, smells and tastes good.


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## Falcon (Aug 19, 2016)

Ya know, they're NOT frozen in the store when you buy it. When we buy one we bake it (Like you do) and try to use it up within a week or so.

Sandwiches, with eggs etc.  We don't REfreeze  it; just keep it in the fridge.  Too bad they don't make a smaller one.

You COULD share it with a friendly neighbor.

If it ever turns green around the edges or has an unsavory aroma about it; TOSS it  NOW  !!  Life's too short as it is.


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## Gemma (Aug 19, 2016)

Ham...about 6 months in the freezer without it breaking down.


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## Carla (Aug 19, 2016)

I have never frozen a whole ham but I have froze slices. I think ham is one of the few meats that doesn't have a long life in the freezer, why, I'm unsure. I would think vacuum sealing would keep it longer. They say 6-8 mos but I would use it sooner so it doesn't lose it's flavor. Too bad that happened, ham is expensive.


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## IKE (Aug 19, 2016)

The company I worked for gave everyone a whole bone in 12-15 pound ham every year for Xmas and after work I'd go straight to the grocery store and have in cut in half and freeze half as soon as I got home.......we'd eat half for Xmas dinner and by the time Xmas rolled around the next year the frozen half would still be in the freezer and I'd yet have another ham to deal with from work. 

The half that had been froze for a year always looked freezer burnt in places so we'd always toss it out without thawing and tasting it.

This continued for the first 3 or 4 years of the 31 years that I worked for them and I finally came to the conclusion that all we were doing was wasting food so for the last 26 years there on 'company ham day' at work I would drive straight after work to a local church close to home that always had a sign out front around the holidays requesting food donations for their 'holiday food baskets' for needy families.......problem solved.


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## Ruth n Jersey (Aug 19, 2016)

I have kept ham frozen for 6 months sometimes longer. It never tastes the same or has the same consistency once it is frozen. If I have to freeze leftover ham I cube it or cut into strips in the right amount needed for casserole dishes I have using ham or  lentil and bean soup. I noticed the same thing happens with ham luncheon meat as well. I think they pump a lot of water into these hams and freezing releases it giving  the ham a different taste and texture.


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## SeaBreeze (Aug 19, 2016)

We usually buy hams and turkeys once a year when they're on sale around the holidays. We have a big freezer in the basement, so we just keep them there until we're ready to make them, anytime throughout the year.  We generally buy 1 or 2 of each, depending on how we feel that year, and never had one sit there for that long.

  Usually with ham we'll have sandwiches, some kind of beans in the crock pot and a potato casserole, so we'll get quite a few meals out of it.  It's only a half-ham, not a whole, but it sealed (plastic) and just refrigerated when we buy them, and then we put them in the freezer.

Thanks for your replies, we won't let one sit that long again.


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## HazyDavey (Aug 20, 2016)

We do the same, around the holidays when hams & turkeys are at a good price we'll buy some extra ones for the freezer. Our Daughter who lives here in town has always been a ham lover. She seems to have radar when we cook one and drops by. Always good to see her.. 

I got a chuckle when I read the topic of this thread, seems I always do this..  Summer is winding down, which gets me to thinking about Fall, then about the Holidays. Then I remember we still have ham/turkey in the freezer from last year. And that's when we cook them, can't remember having a bad one.


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## RadishRose (Aug 20, 2016)

Everything loses some flavor when frozen; the longer the freeze the more flavor lost. But for some reason I haven't been able to figure out; ham and bacon, and especially bacon loses a *lot* of flavor. It doesn't go bad, just loses flavor.


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## Son_of_Perdition (Aug 20, 2016)

When it turns green


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## RadishRose (Aug 20, 2016)

Son_of_Perdition said:


> I was told many years ago that animal fat doesn't completely freeze, so it can go 'bad' even in a freezer.  Here is a chart from the government, take it for what it's worth.
> 
> https://www.foodsafety.gov/keep/charts/hamstoragechart.html



That's a great site to have, thanks.


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## tnthomas (Aug 20, 2016)

Thanks for the reminder SB, we have a Nueske's ham from Christmas sitting in the freezer.  Gonna thaw it and have it this week.


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