Rauch family's traditional ham loaf will have special meaning this Christmas

LANCASTER − Stacey Rauch's traditional ham loaf will have a special meaning this Christmas.

She got the recipe from her husband, Steve Rauch's, maternal aunt, who recently died. Steve Rauch is the care and outreach pastor at X Church in Canal Winchester. His aunt's name was Janet Jordan and Stacey Rauch said Christmas will be filled with memories of her this year.

"Most people are familiar with meat loaf, which has different spices and that kind of thing," Steve Rauch said. "Basically, this is the same kind of thing except using ham as ground beef."

He said his aunt would always bring the ham loaf to the family Thanksgiving dinner. Now Stacey Rauch also makes it for Christmas.

"To me, the secret ingredient was the glaze that would go on the ham," Steve Rauch said. "It was so very good. It was the thing I looked forward to and my family looked forward to on Saturday after Thanksgiving. It was so very good."

He said his mother's side of the family celebrated Thanksgiving on the Saturday afterwards instead of on Thursday. The ham loaf has been a staple in his family for about 30 years now, with his wife learning to make it about 15 years ago. Stacey Rauch said she makes a regular ham serving along with the ham loaf for Christmas.

"I take ham and put it in the food processor and grind it all up," she said of making ham loaf. "Pork and ham. Then I make a loaf just like meat loaf. Then the glaze is brown sugar and vinegar and a little bit of dry mustard. It crusts on top and gets all crunchy."

Stacey Rauch bakes the loaf for an hour at first, then bakes it for another 20 minutes after she puts the glaze on it to create the crust.

The ham loaf is more sweet than tart.

"I add my grandmother's Delmonico potatoes, which is shredded potatoes and cheese," Stacey Rauch said. "It's just not scalloped potatoes. It's next level to me. It's got nutmeg and dry mustard in it as well. They pair very well together. So I put my side of the family with his side of the family."

Stacey Rauch also makes a green been casserole and a corn casserole.

"I had never heard of ham loaf ever until I married into the family," she said. "But it's delicious."

This article originally appeared on Lancaster Eagle-Gazette: Rauch family's ham loaf will have special meaning this Christmas