How To Tell If Your Ham Has Gone Bad

Whether it is leftovers from dinner or lunch meat in your fridge, ham is something many people enjoy regularly, and especially around the holidays. However, like all meat, ham has an expiration date, and it's important to know when it's too far gone to safely eat.

Although cured whole hams will last longer than fresh ones in the fridge — about a week for cured and a few days for fresh — once cooked, they have roughly the same shelf life. Both will last in the refrigerator for between three to five days. Meanwhile, cooked country ham, a key ingredient you need to make the best ham salad, will last up to around a week due to its low moisture content. Lunch meat ham has a similar lifespan of three to five days once opened, but if it's in a sealed package, it can remain good for two weeks. 

If you're ever unsure of whether or not your ham is good to eat, you can tell if it's gone bad by looking for a few key hints. Firstly, take stock of its color. Typically, the ham should have a light pink tint thanks to the addition of sodium nitrite, the same additive that gives packaged bacon its rosy color. However, when the ham is exposed to the air, it begins experiencing oxidation, which breaks down the color left by the curing chemicals, causing the meat to take on a gray hue instead. Alongside this, ham that's gone off can develop a slimy film, a sign of bacterial growth. Lastly, bad pork can have a pretty off-putting smell. Even if it looks okay, any funky odors are a sign it's time to bin it. 

If you need to keep ham safe to eat for longer than a few days, your best bet is to freeze it. Any foods, including ham, that are stored at or below zero degrees Fahrenheit continuously can stay safe to eat indefinitely. However, over time, the quality of the ham can diminish. For best quality, freeze fresh uncooked ham for up to six months, and for three to four months after cooking. Likewise, uncooked cured ham can be frozen for three to four months, and one to two months once cooked. You can also freeze your ham lunch meat for up to two months; just make sure it's in a freezer-safe container to avoid freezer burn. 

There are a lot of storage methods to prevent freezer burn when storing ham in the freezer, but the simplest is to use a zip-lock freezer bag with as much air removed as possible. One way to do this is to fill your freezer bag, seal it till there's only a small gap, and slowly lower it in water without fully submerging it. The pressure of the water will force air out through the gap much more effectively than squeezing. You can then seal, label, and date your bag so that you know when to use it by. 

When you're ready to use your ham, let it thaw completely in the fridge, not your counter, so it maintains a safe temperature. Alternatively, if you plan on cooking with it, such as making soup, you can also add the frozen ham directly without thawing.