You Need to Try This Well Loved Iowa Dish

If you haven't ever heard of or had Ham Balls are you even from the midwest?

Just kidding but seriously Ham Balls are an Iowan's staple dish especially around Easter time and at family gatherings.

Think of the savoriness that you get with regular meatballs but the sweetness of ham all mixed together into one stick to your insides kind of dish.

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Ham Balls are a well-known Dutch dish that originated from a way to use up leftovers that originally came from ham loaf the meal before.

What is ham loaf?

Ham loaf is a different take on meatloaf but is instead served with a sweet glaze made from brown sugar.

But the Ham Balls are by far the crowd favorite compared to its meatier predecessor.

Ham Balls typically consist of a couple of main ingredients: grounded-up ham, graham cracker crumbs, brown sugar, eggs, mustard, vinegar, and tomato soup.

Other ham ball recipes call for a sweet glaze over the top whereas others tend to use a favorite BBQ sauce instead.

Many have said that you can prep the ham balls the night before, freeze them to use at a later meal as "they are very forgiving".- Diana Fuller via Taste of Home.

Heck, these little crowd-pleasers are even sold at Fairways in the Hawkeye State.

You could put these balls of ground ham into a baking dish and then serve over a bed of white rice, into a ham ball sandwich, or onto a toothpick for a quick potluck-like protein.

Either way, if you're going to a gathering in Iowa, be prepared to try some ham balls!

Sources: Taste of Home, Corn, Beans, Pigs, Kids, Foodie with Family and Wikipedia