Why it works: Ham and sherry work together. They rank in the top 14% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 377 recipes. Both carry 4-ethyl-2-methoxyphenol, which smells smoky, clove. The science ↓
Braized and Baked Hams
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no oven temperature. The 300°F (150°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.
Simmer and rest
Simmer the ham gently on low heat for 5 to 6 hours, probing it after 4 hours to check tenderness.
Let the ham rest in its own liquid for 1 hour.
Drain the ham.
Prepare for baking
Remove the rind, leaving 4 inches near the knuckle-bone.
Create a decorative design with a sharp knife.
Trim the fat for a neat appearance without removing too much.
Place the ham on a baking sheet.
Absorb excess grease with a clean cloth.
Glaze and bake
Bake in a 300°F (150°C) oven for 10 minutes.
Glaze the ham.
Return to the oven for another 5 minutes.
Glaze once more.
Serve
Place the ham on a serving dish.
Garnish with dressed vegetables.
Serve with bright Espagnole sauce mixed with sherry and braising liquor.
Add a ruffle on the bone.
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.
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Ham + sherrytop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together377 recipes
Shared aroma: 4-ethyl-2-methoxyphenol (smoky, clove).
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Sherry + spinachtop 19% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together88 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isobutyl-3-methoxypyrazine (green bell pepper, earthy).
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Sauce + spinachtop 20% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together756 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Ham + saucetop 22% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together1,314 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Sauce + sherrytop 23% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together1,097 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Ham
- Is the main cut that is simmered until tender and then glazed and baked.
- Bright espagnole sauce
- Forms the savoury base of the serving sauce, combined with sherry and braising liquor.
- Sherry
- Adds sweetness and aroma to the sauce served with the ham.
- Braising liquor
- Adds moisture and savoury flavour to the sauce served with the ham.
The step that matters
Simmer the ham gently on low heat. Gentle heat lets the connective tissue soften slowly into tender meat. A rolling boil toughens the outer muscle and can leave the meat dry and stringy, so the ham should only barely simmer.
Swap the spinach
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (ham, sauce, sherry):
- Mustardfits better
- Capsicumfits better
- Shallotfits better
- Spinachthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against ham, sauce, sherry. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
“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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