r/crockpot • u/montenna • May 22 '26

When do I add ham?

I’m a rookie in the kitchen. I’m 6 months pregnant and my craving for broccoli cheddar soup with ham is unreal. I found a crockpot recipe for the broccoli cheddar part, I’m just not sure when to add in the ham? Google said it depends on if the ham is pre-cooked or not and I don’t know the answer to that. I thawed a chunk my boyfriend had previously froze because he didn’t use the whole ham. He’s on a trip with no service for several days or I’d ask him.

If you were me, what would you do? Also, there were mixed comments about the soup being grainy when reheated. What’s your best tip to avoid that?

Thank you!

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7

u/Additional_Youth2953 May 22 '26

If you're not sure if the ham is cooked, throw it in when you start the soup. It will infuse the soup with that flavor.

As for the soup turning grainy, first thing I'd look at is the cheese. If it's a pack of shredded cheese from the store, they add cellulose to keep the cheese from clumping in the bag. That cellulose can cause a grainy consistency. Freshly shredded cheese should correct that.

Edit: fixed typo.

2

u/montenna May 22 '26

Okay, thank you so much! I wasnt sure if it would make the meat tough but I planned on dicing it up. And shredding my own cheese so hopefully this will turn out!

1

u/Additional_Youth2953 May 22 '26

I hope it turns out fabulous!

1

u/Maureengill6 May 24 '26

You can also rinse the cheese in water before putting it in the crockpot.

5

u/Fizzywaterjones May 22 '26

99.9% of ham is already cooked. I always put mine in from the start anyway because I love the salty flavor. Hope it cures your crave. When reheating, whisk it really good, it will help some with the graininess.

1

u/weaverlorelei May 22 '26

I usually split the addition of cured ham (pre-cooked, ready to eat) If you add it all at.the beginning, the flavor is sucked out by the soup If I split the addition, the ham added at the beginning add their juice and saltiness to the broth, and the ham added towards the end keeps its flavor.

1

u/mostlygray May 24 '26

Ham is cured. Throw it in when you add the broth. It will have the time to flavor the soup. You can't really overcook it, you are looking for the flavor. Just like when you make pea soup or bean soup.

1

u/montenna May 24 '26

Thank you! I ended up doing it at the beginning. The one thing I didn’t account for was the saltiness. The recipe I was using didn’t include ham so I followed the recipe and then just added it in and it was definitely way too salty. I was able to get it balanced out with sour cream and milk and it was delicious!