When it comes to cooking, something to keep in mind is portion size. The last thing you want to do is eat so much that you end up feeling super full.
Overeating can have a lot of negative effects on your body and so can eating too little. This can lead to snacking, which eventually leads to overeating.
You can fix this problem by learning the correct portion size for the meals you are preparing.
One food people do this with is meat like ham, and in this article, you’ll learn how much to give each person, plus more!
Contents
How Much Ham Does Each Person Get?
There is a certain amount of ham you should give each person, but it depends on what kind of ham you happen to have on hand. In this section, we will break down the portion sizes of boneless, bone-in, and deli ham.
Boneless and Bone in Ham
The amount of ham to cook and give a person depends on what kind of ham you are going to be cooking/serving.
Either you are going to have bone-in ham, or you will have ham without the bone. It doesn’t matter which one you buy. All it depends on is what you prefer to cook and/or eat.
For boneless ham, you want to have 1/3 of a pound per person. So, if you are a four-person family, then you’ll end up buying a 2-pound boneless ham for the meal. Go with this general idea or rule of thumb before you go out and purchase your boneless ham.
Now we have to look at bone-in ham. For bone-in ham, you need to have about ½ pound per person.
A four-person household will require around a 3-pound ham if you plan to give everyone a decent portion size. This will make sure you will fill their belly and not leave them feeling hungry. Hey, no one wants to go hungry. Then you’ll end up snacking!
Deli Ham
Deli meat is something that is so convenient to buy for people and yourself. While it might not be the cheapest thing to buy now because of inflation, it is still really easy to buy.
You just go to the deli and buy it! Or you can buy the prepackaged version. The only difference is that the one at the deli is fresh, and the prepackaged stuff has preservatives added to it to keep it fresh.
For every sandwich, you are going to want to have about two to three ounces of deli meat. This way, the sandwich will be filling for you and/or your guests.
Don’t be tempted to put an extra slice on because you are afraid of letting the fresh deli meat go badly. Remember, there can be too much of a good thing when food is involved!
Hard to believe that is the case, but trust us. It is.
Can You Eat Too Much Ham?
Ham is a great meat to eat, but you don’t want to eat a lot for many reasons. The reason for this includes the following:
- Eating too much ham can lead to an increase in cancer. This is especially true for meat that is very processed, like canned ham and prepacked ham.
- The types of cancer that you can be at risk of are stomach, colorectal, pancreatic, stomach, and prostate cancers.
- Some ham can have a lot of sodium or carcinogens in it. Again, this is mostly processed ham. The reason processed ham is chock full of this is to extend its life. Without these additives, it would only last about as long as fresh ham from the deli does.
The best way to prevent anything from going wrong is to stick to the correct portion size. By not eating too much ham, you can help lower your risk.
Still, ham is a great meat to have once a week or so. Besides the fact that it is delicious, there are also benefits to be had from eating ham, which we are going to touch on in the next section.
What Are the Benefits of Eating Ham?
As we mentioned in the previous section, there are benefits to eating ham. These benefits include:
- Ham is very rich in protein, nutrients, and minerals. Some examples are selenium, choline, coenzyme Q10, and carnosine. The evidence for these benefits varies depending on which one you are talking about, and not all of them provide the same benefits either. Still, the fact that they exist is pretty great.
- Depending on the type of ham you get, it will have low calories, and eating food low in calories can help you with weight loss!
- Because of the amino acids in ham and pork in general, this can help you maintain muscle mass.
- Finally, some types of ham can help reduce inflammation in your body. This depends on the type of ham. One type of ham that can help you with this is Spanish-style Iberian Ham.
These are the biggest benefits of eating ham… in moderation, of course. Some of these benefits are better than others, but if you add all of them together, it makes it pretty worth it to have ham at least weekly.
If you like ham, then great! However, don’t worry. There are plenty of other meats out there for you to pick from.
Final Thoughts
And there you go, all your ham lovers out there! If you decide to cook, then you know how much portion size to give out to people.
It does depend on the type of ham that you have on hand, so make sure to keep that in mind. You don’t want to end up mixing up the portion sizes!
Another thing we touched on is what happens if you eat too much ham and also the benefits of eating it as well.
The reason for this is so you can have all the information which can help you make an informed decision in your cooking.
You might also be interested in the following:
- How Much Pork per Person?
- How Much Pork Shoulder per Person?
- How Much Pork Tenderloin per Person?
- How Much Pork Butt per Person?
- How Much Turkey per Person?
- How Much Chicken per Person?
- How Much Meat per Person?
I have been smoking and grilling meat from an early age and enjoy sharing my knowledge and expertise through the hundreds of articles I have written about BBQ. I hope to make everyone’s BBQ journey that little bit easier.