Food - Drink
What Makes Pittsburgh's Chipped Chopped Ham Unique?
By ERICA MARTINEZ
Pittsburgh has a venerated history, but when it comes to the city's cuisine of the past and present, things can get pretty divisive. One dish that has a place in both history and our modern day is chipped chopped ham, which was most popular from the 1930s to the 80s, but it is still adored by many Pittsburgh citizens to this day.
Chipped chopped ham is a combination of ham, ham trimmings, and seasonings that is ground together and molded into a rectangular shape, then sliced thinner than paper, or "chipped." This cold cut is most commonly prepared as "ham barbeque," which is simply chipped ham heated up with barbecue sauce.
This mixture is often served on a bun, making for a tasty sandwich. While chipped chopped ham may be found in delis in Pennsylvania, Ohio, and West Virginia, and you can ask for ham to be chipped (or at least sliced as thinly as possible) at most American delis, Pittsburgh is the one surefire spot to find true ham barbeque.