We love to make this minced ham spread when we have family get-togethers. It's always a big hit for both kids and adults! Only three ingredients and the spread is ready in no time.
The recipe comes from the Czech Republic, where it belongs to the most popular spreads for various celebrations: served on New Year's Eve, birthdays, parties with friends.
Spread it on sliced rolls, arrange on a platter and enjoy!
Czechs call ham spread as “Šunková pěna” or “Šunková pomazánka”.
MY TIP: Try out this garlic cheese spread (it tastes fantastic!)
Ingredients
To make ham spread, you'll need:
- Ham; high-quality ham with rich meat content. It can be whole, sliced, or even ham offcuts. If you have leftover holiday ham, use that!
- Unsalted butter; softened at room temperature
- Heavy cream; with a fat content of around 30 %
- Salt; optional. Ham is usually salty enough, so prepare the spread without salt first and then, if necessary, add salt to taste.
✅ You’ll find the exact amount of ingredients below in the recipe card, which you can also print out.
How to Make Ham Spread
STEP 1: Take the butter out of the fridge in time to soften at room temperature. Finely slice or dice the ham.
STEP 2: Put the ham in a blending bowl, add the softened butter and cream.
STEP 3: Blend until the spread has a delicate, fluffy texture. While blending, scrape the ingredients from the sides of the container so that no coarse pieces remain in the spread.
STEP 4: Only now, if necessary, add salt, and once again briefly mix. Serve immediately.
Serving
This Czech-style ham spread is typically served on a slice of white bread roll (Czech rohlík). As a final touch, garnish with green sprigs of herbs such as parsley, chives, or chopped spring onion.
Arrange on a platter and serve. Guests pick up individual pieces on their own plates. For better handling, insert a party stick in the middle of each bread slice.
Czechs call such snacks "jednohubky" (one bites) because you can eat them in only one bite!
TIP: For a fancy-looking appetizer, put the ham spread in a piping bag and spray it decoratively on the roll slices.
Storage
Refrigerate the ham spread in an airtight container or in a bowl covered with cling film. It will keep for about three days in the fridge.
The spread is firmer when taken out of the refrigerator. Allow it to soften for a while at room temperature before using.
Useful Tips
- Whip the ham spread best with a food processor or immersion blender. Be patient; sometimes, it takes a while. Take breaks while blending and scrape the spread off the sides of the mixing bowl to puree all the ingredients finely.
- The more cream you add, the smoother, whipped, and lighter the spread you will get. The exact amount of cream also depends on the water content in the ham. Drier types of ham will need more cream and vice versa. Read: How to choose the best ham
- Feel free to also enjoy the spread as a dip for crackers or for tea sandwiches.
The spread requires only three essential ingredients: ham, butter, and cream. Without eggs and cheese, its preparation is really quick and easy!
More Tasty Recipes:
- Bramboráky – Czech potato pancakes
- Easy chicken schnitzel
Recipe card
Easy Homemade Ham Spread
Ingredients
- 6 oz (170 g) ham high-quality
- ½ cup (120 ml) heavy cream
- ½ stick (55 g) unsalted butter softened at room temperature
- salt optinal
Instructions
- Take the butter out of the fridge in time to soften at room temperature. Finely slice or dice the ham.
- Put the ham in a blending bowl, add the softened butter and cream.
- Blend until the spread has a delicate, fluffy texture. While blending, scrape the ingredients from the sides of the container so that no coarse pieces remain in the spread.
- Only now, if necessary, add salt, and once again briefly mix. Serve immediately.
Notes
- Makes about 1 cup of spread.
- SERVING: This Czech-style ham spread is typically served on a slice of white bread roll. As a final touch, garnish with green sprigs of herbs such as parsley, chives, or chopped spring onion.
- STORAGE: Refrigerate the ham spread in an airtight container or in a bowl covered with cling film. It will keep for about three days in the fridge.
- The more cream you add, the smoother, whipped, and lighter the spread you will get. The exact amount of cream also depends on the water content in the ham. Drier types of ham will need more cream and vice versa.
DISCLAIMER: Because I come from Central Europe, my recipes are based on metric units such as grams or milliliters. Check out how I convert metric units to the U.S. system:
Conversion chart
aketch
Lovey, flaky, delicious cracker! Dobrou chut!