Boiled Ham
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
If the ham is very dirty, soak it for 12 hours.
Wrap the ham in a clean cloth and place it on stone flags for 2 days, keeping the cloth moistened with clean soft water.
Thoroughly scrape and clean the ham.
Boil and finish
Place the ham in a pot and cover it with sufficient water.
Boil the ham for 3.5 to 6 hours, depending on its weight.
Once cooked, carefully remove the skin to prevent the ham from drying out.
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
What each ingredient does
- Ham
- Is the main cut of meat, cooked whole so it becomes tender and carries the dish's flavour.
The step that matters
Boil the ham for the full time, covered in water. The ham must stay fully submerged and simmer gently for the whole time, since boiling too hard or letting it dry out toughens the meat and makes the texture uneven. Cooking time depends on weight, so a larger ham needs the longer end of the range to cook through evenly.
“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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