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Roast Ham

Ham wrapped in a stiff dough, baked, then finished with wine and cayenne pepper.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 7 ingredients
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Why it works: Ham and bread are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,536 recipes. Both carry 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline, which smells popcorn, roasted. The science ↓

Roast Ham

Oven, in the book's wordsA moderate oven

Ingredients

Directions

The book says “a moderate oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.

Prepare the ham

  1. Wash and scrape the ham.

  2. Soak the ham in cold water for 24 hours.

  3. Scrape the ham again.

  4. Dry the ham thoroughly.

Wrap and bake

  1. Make a dough with 2 quarts of flour and enough water for a stiff paste.

  2. Roll the dough into a sheet large enough to wrap the ham.

  3. Wrap the ham in the dough.

  4. Place the wrapped ham on a meat rack in a dripping pan.

  5. Bake in a 350°F (175°C) oven for 6 hours.

Finish and glaze

  1. Remove the ham from the oven.

  2. Take off the paste and skin.

  3. Sprinkle the ham with fine bread crumbs.

  4. Return the ham to the oven for 30 minutes.

  5. Dust the ham with cayenne pepper.

  6. Baste the ham every 5 minutes with the wine mixture.

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.

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 + breadtop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together2,536 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline (popcorn, roasted).

  2. Ham + sherrytop 14% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together377 recipes

    Shared aroma: 4-ethyl-2-methoxyphenol (smoky, clove).

  3. Sherry + breadtop 15% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together682 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).

  4. Pepper + breadtop 16% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together20,964 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).

  5. Sherry + peppertop 18% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together3,107 recipes

    Shared aroma: piperonal (bitter, coconut).

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

What each ingredient does

Ham
The main meat, which the dough encases and slowly cooks through during baking.
Flour
Forms a stiff dough that shapes and seals around the ham, protecting it during the long bake.
Claret
Adds acidity and wine flavour to the basting liquid that moistens the ham's surface.
Sherry
Adds sweetness and aroma to the basting liquid, deepening the flavour of the glaze.
Fine bread crumbs
Form a dry coating on the exposed surface that can crisp and brown in the oven.

The step that matters

Take off the paste and skin. The paste and skin must come off before the crumbs and basting. Exposed meat can then brown and the crumbs can cling, rather than steaming under the crust.

“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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