Iowa Ham Balls

 Keri and I were talking about regional cooking; how some things are known in the area and only a few miles into another area no one has heard of it. An example is Ham Balls. Our Fareway grocery store makes a ham loaf/ball mixture and most modern cooks nowadays use that as a starter but there is an original recipe and older Iowans know how to make ham balls from scratch. So I went in search of it and found it. So if I wanted to make them in Texas I would approach the meat market in HEB and ask if I could buy the two ground types of meat I would need.

Here is the original recipe:

Iowa Ham Balls

TOTAL TIME: Prep: 15 min. Bake: 1 hour

YIELD: about 15 servings.

This is a special recipe most everyone in Iowa loves. If you have out of State visitors and wish to impress them with something all Iowa, this will do it.

Ingredients

3-1/2 pounds ground ham

1-1/2 pounds ground beef

3 large eggs, beaten

2 cups whole milk

3 cups graham cracker crumbs

2 cans (10-3/4 ounces each) tomato soup, undiluted

3/4 cup vinegar

2-1/2 cups packed brown sugar

1 teaspoon prepared mustard

Directions

1. In a large bowl, combine the first five ingredients. Using a 1/3 cup measure, shape the mixture into 2-in. balls. Place in two large shallow roasting pans. Combine all remaining ingredients; pour over balls. Bake at 325° for 1 hour, basting frequently with sauce.