How do I calculate a ham bone?

onsugarhill

I'm making soup and was planning to use a ham bone. How should I calculate it?

I was thinking of weighing it before it goes in, then after I take it out, and using the difference. Would that make sense?

jgrode1984

Is it going to make that much of a difference? If its under 20 calories, I wouldn't worry about it, or you could inflate the total recipe by 30-50 calories to be safe?

onsugarhill

Thanks for the reply! My thought is that what the bone will add to the soup is mostly fat, which is very high in calories per gram, so I want to make sure it's accounted for. I'm adding my recipes as I go and have been trying to stay as accurate as possible - only skipping some spices if I use less than 1/4 teaspoon.

Gramps251

I chill the stock and take the fat off the top and remove all the meat from the stock so the only thing that is still there is flavor and geletin. I don't know how many calories would be in a cup though. I told myself it was minimal but I could be wrong.

Enjoy your soup. (I was suprised at how many calories are in beans though!)

jgrode1984

Gotcha, never made anything that needed the bone. Did you consider skipping the bone completely and seeing how it turns out?

onsugarhill

Thanks again, guys! After thinking about it, I'll take both of your suggestions. I'll skim the fat that congeals at the top after the soup is cool, and I'll take the weight of the ham I put in the soup and add a few grams to the recipe calculation to account for whatever comes out of the bone other than fat.

jgrode, if you've never made soup with bones in it, you're really missing out on flavor! That's the base for most stocks. You can roast a chicken, eat all the meat, and make delicious stock with just the carcass and some aromatics. Although clearly it makes it complicated to count calories. )

Gramps, I know what you mean about beans, but at least they're really filling! I eat a lot of beans and lentils and love them - getting so much protein and fiber is really helping me hit my macros without eating a ton of meat.

mcrower

Really?