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Broiled Ham

Sliced ham is simmered, then broiled and served with pepper and butter.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 4 ingredients
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Broiled Ham

Why it works: Ham and butter are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 16% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 5,475 recipes. Both carry trans-2-decenal, which smells waxy, orange. The science ↓

Broiled Ham

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the ham

  1. Cut the ham into thin slices and trim the edges.

  2. Place the slices in a saucepan and cover with water.

  3. Heat gradually without boiling for about 10 minutes.

  4. Taste the ham. If too salty, pour off the water and add fresh water.

  5. Heat again.

Broil and serve

  1. Dry the ham with a cloth.

  2. Broil over a clear fire.

  3. Serve on a platter and dress with pepper and small bits of butter.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.

Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Ham + buttertop 16% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together5,475 recipes

    Shared aroma: trans-2-decenal (waxy, orange).

  2. Pepper + buttertop 21% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together85,593 recipes

    Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).

  3. Ham + peppertop 23% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together6,058 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Ham
Is the main protein, and its slices carry the savory flavor of the dish.
Butter
Adds richness and moisture to the hot ham as it melts over the surface.
Pepper
Adds a sharp, aromatic bite that balances the richness of the ham and butter.

The step that matters

Taste the ham before broiling. Cured ham can be quite salty, and simmering in fresh water after pouring off the first batch lowers the salt level. Drying the slices before broiling helps them brown rather than steam.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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