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Broiled Ham

Slices of ham are broiled and served with butter and pepper.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 3 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, about ¼ inch thick.

  2. Trim the skin from the upper side of each slice and remove the hardened outer edge.

  3. If the ham is very salty, soak it in cold water for 1 hour, then dry with a cloth.

Broil and serve

  1. Broil the slices over a brisk fire, turning constantly for about 5 minutes.

  2. Serve immediately on a warm platter with a little butter and a sprinkle of pepper on top.

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. Butter + peppertop 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
Provides the meat and salty, savoury flavour, and its fat helps the slices brown under heat.
Butter
Adds richness and a glossy, moist finish to the hot slices when served.

The step that matters

Turning the slices constantly under the broiler. Ham's sugars and proteins brown quickly over high heat. Constant turning spreads the heat evenly and stops the surface scorching before the centre warms through.

“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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