Getting the Most Out of Your Holiday Ham: Do HoneyBaked Hams Come with Bones?

When the holidays roll around, a juicy ham often takes center stage on the dinner table. For many families, a special treat is getting a honey baked ham from popular chains like HoneyBaked Ham. But if you want to stretch your holiday ham dollars, you may be wondering – do HoneyBaked hams come with the bone?

In this article, we’ll take a closer look at whether you can get ham bones from HoneyBaked Ham stores and how to use them to get more value from your holiday centerpiece.

Can You Buy Bones From HoneyBaked Ham?

The short answer is yes, you typically can request and purchase the bone from a HoneyBaked Ham when you buy a whole ham. Most locations will sell you the bone for an additional small charge, usually around $6.99.

I called my local HoneyBaked store to confirm their bone policy. The employee I spoke with told me they are happy to sell ham bones to customers who ask when ordering a complete ham. However, they do not keep spare bones on hand for sale on their own.

So if you want to get the bone from your holiday ham, be sure to let your HoneyBaked store know when you place your order. With some advance notice, they should be able to accommodate your request and sell you the bone.

Why Buy the Ham Bone?

You might be wondering why you’d want to pay extra to get the bone when you’re already buying a big delicious ham Here are some of the best uses for ham bones that can help you get more mileage from your HoneyBaked Ham

• Make ham broth or bean soup
• Add flavor to beans, greens, or vegetables
• Use in the Instant Pot or slow cooker for easy flavor
• Make split pea soup
• Use in collard greens, turnip greens, kale, etc.
• Flavor red beans and rice
• Season just about any soup pot

The bone contains lots of meaty bits, marrow, and smoky ham flavor that can infuse foods with taste Simmering the bone makes broth packed with ham essence perfect for soups. Tossing it in the Instant Pot or slow cooker with beans, greens, or soup allows the bone to release flavor into the entire dish.

Step-By-Step Ham Bone Soup Recipe

Here’s an easy sample recipe to help you get started using ham bones in soup:

Ingredients:

• 1 leftover ham bone
• 1 onion, diced
• 2 carrots, chopped
• 2 celery stalks, chopped
• 1 bay leaf
• 8 cups water
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper

Instructions:

1. Place ham bone in a large stock pot. Add onion, carrots, celery, bay leaf, water, salt, and pepper.

2. Bring to a boil over high heat then reduce to low and simmer for 2-3 hours.

3. Remove bone and bay leaf. Taste and adjust seasoning as desired.

4. Add any vegetables you want and simmer another 20-30 minutes until tender.

5. Optional – shred any remaining ham from the bone and mix into the soup.

6. Serve hot and enjoy your bone broth ham soup!

This uses just the bone and basic aromatics to extract maximum smoky ham flavor into the broth. Feel free to get creative with veggies, beans, pasta or grains to make your own signature ham bone soup.

More Ways to Use Up Leftover Ham Bones

Here are some other ideas for using up ham bones after the holidays so none of that delicious flavor goes to waste:

• Toss it into a pot of collard greens, turnip greens, mustard greens, or kale while simmering to add a smoky meaty punch.

• Make red beans and rice more flavorful by cooking the beans with a ham bone. The bone will season the beans, broth, and rice.

• Add a ham bone while cooking dried beans like navy, pinto, black beans, etc. to infuse them with hammy flavor.

• Use ham bones to cook tender cabbage for naturally sweet and savory ham-flavored braised cabbage.

• Simmer ham bones with potatoes and milk to make creamy ham bone smashed potatoes.

• Flavor lentil soup by cooking lentils with aromatic veggies and a ham bone until tender.

Get More Value from Your Holiday Ham

When you buy a whole honey baked ham, request the bone to make broth, bean soup, greens, or to flavor just about any dish. Simmering the bone extracts smoky ham essence and marrow for maximum flavor and value. With some creative bone broth ham recipes, you can get even more meals out of your holiday ham investment.