Grilled Ham Steaks with Southern Kale Salad
Cozy Grilled Ham Steaks with Southern Kale Salad. A light family dinner that is big on southern charm!
Now, I try to be a good southern girl… often with little success. Growing up in a straight-forward Midwestern family, the concepts of being genteel and prim took second fiddle to hard work and direct honesty.
I’m ok with that. Yet now that I live in the South, I strive to achieve southern greatness in the kitchen, even if I’ll never achieve it in manner.
So when working with raw greens, I went with subtle southern flair. What’s more southern than ham, cornbread, and greens?
Grilled Ham Steaks with Southern Kale Salad is a light modern take on this deep south favorite.
I rubbed ham steaks with brown sugar, cumin and coriander to give them a smoky kick. Then grilled them for a couple minutes per side.
Next I toasted crumbled cornbread and roughly chopped almonds to provide contrast for the kale.
Finally I dressed the salad with a bright citrus vinaigrette made with orange zest, orange juice, honey, chive and almond oil.
The verdict? Grilled Ham Steaks with Southern Kale Salad is YUM. Double yum.
Yum with a southern twist, Ya’ll.
Salty, sweet, crunchy, zesty plate of Kale-icious yum!
Plus, there is much less guilt involved in eating Grilled Ham Steaks with Southern Kale Salad than most southern dinners.
Grilled Ham Steaks with Southern Kale Salad
Ingredients
For the Ham:
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon cumin
- 1 1/2 tablespoons coriander
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 4-6 thick-cut ham steaks
For the Southern Kale Salad:
- 1 bunch kale (large), 6 cups chopped
- 2 corn muffins or cornbread squares, crumbled into large chunks
- 3/4 cup roughly chopped almonds
- 2 tablespoons butter
For the Dressing:
- 1 orange, zested and juiced
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 1/4 cup almond oil, or vegetable oil
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 tablespoon fresh chopped chive
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the grill to medium and preheat a large skillet on the stovetop to medium-high.
- Mix the brown sugar, cumin, coriander and pepper. In a small bowl, rub the mixture on both sides of each ham steak. Set aside.
- Shred the kale into (very) thin strips. Place the kale in a large serving bowl.
- Place the ham steaks on the grill for about 3 minutes per side—or just until grill marks form. Remove and tent with foil to keep warm.
- Meanwhile, add the butter to the skillet. Pour in the crumbled cornbread and chopped almonds. Gently move around the pan until toasted, 5 minutes.
- Whisk the ingredients together for the vinaigrette. Toss the kale with your desired amount of vinaigrette. Then top with the toasted cornbread and almonds. Best if served immediately.
Notes
- Don't salt the ham. It tends to be salty enough on it's own.
- Ham steaks are also precooked, so the grilling is simply for texture and appearance, don't over do it!
- I used whole raw almonds in the kale salad and roughly chopped them, but you could substitute slivered almonds.
- I adore almond oil, but any mild flavored oil will work for the vinaigrette.
- I used store-bought corn muffins for the salad.
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This sounds really delicious and something new to try. Thank you for sharing this.
Simon
This sounds really delicious and something new to try. Thank you for sharing this.
Simon
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Perfect southern meal…I have never tried raw kale either, sounds wonderful :)
Sounds great! But one suggestion. To complete the “Southernness,” I would have used pecans instead of almonds. You know we Southerners love our Pee-CANS. :-) I look forward to trying a raw kale salad myself!
So I ended up using this. I made a Kale salad with slices oranges, dried cranberries, maple-sugar roasted pecans and goat cheese plus your dressing. It was great.
I used the dressing again for a similar salad but with spinach this time for a friend who just had a baby and she really loved it. The maple syrup replaced the honey quite well too.
My kind of women!!! Kale, southern style, is hands-down-the-best ever! I have been away from the US for quite a long time, and can you clue me in on what ham steak is? I know what it is, but not sure how to go about asking what piece the butcher should prepare for me?
My oh my! What we’ve been missing! Ryan loves to eat raw greens, but I don’t think we’ve tried kale yet. I love how thin you sliced it…I think that made all the difference. Thank you for sharing another beautifully rendered post, my sweet friend. You know how to get my week off to a great start. I hope your week bursts forth with flavor and love. Hugs from Austin!
Hi Sommer,
Oops dear, by mistake wrote incorrect name, my due apologies to you…regards, MCF !!!
Hi Soma, The salad is looking so vibrant. Very nicely made and presented. Its always fun to see ur appetizing recipes. I wud love to give ur version a try on the coming weekend. Have a great day !
I love grilled ham steak. Now, the raw kale is a different story. It’s more the rough texture I don’t care for than the flavor. I have texture issues – lol… I love the grace and charm associated with the South. I’m afraid to admit I don’t have much of either :)
well…..alright, I’ll give raw kale a try. :-) Now for that ham steak, I’ll give you a definite yum double yum
Oh wow, that looks scrumptious!! I could dive into that! I am a sucker for Ham Steaks… so good!!