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Braized and Baked Hams

A ham braised for hours and then baked, finished with a glaze and served with dressed vegetables and sauce.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 7 ingredients
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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

Braise the ham

  1. Simmer the ham gently on low heat for 5 to 6 hours, probing occasionally after 4 hours to check tenderness.

  2. Let the ham sit in its own liquid for 1 hour.

  3. Drain the ham onto a dish.

Prepare and glaze

  1. Trim the rind to within 4 inches of the knuckle-bone.

  2. Cut a decorative design with a small sharp knife.

  3. Smooth the fat on the ham without removing too much.

  4. Place the ham on a baking sheet in the oven for 10 minutes.

  5. Absorb grease with a clean cloth.

  6. Glaze the ham.

  7. Return the ham to the oven for 5 minutes.

  8. Glaze the ham again.

Serve

  1. Serve the ham on a dish.

  2. Garnish with dressed vegetables and sauce made from Espagnole sauce, sherry, and braising liquid.

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

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

  2. Ham + saucetop 22% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together1,314 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

  3. Sauce + sherrytop 23% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked 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
Its long simmering turns tough connective tissue tender and moist, while the fat carries flavour.
Espagnole sauce
A thickened brown sauce that adds body and savoury depth to the finished serving sauce.
Sherry
Adds acidity and aroma to the sauce, balancing the richness of the ham.
Braising liquid
Keeps the ham moist during cooking and flavours the sauce that accompanies it.

The step that matters

Glazing and reheating in the oven. Glaze applied too early or left in a hot oven can burn and turn bitter before it caramelises. Short, watched heating lets the sugars brown into a glossy coat while the ham stays warm and moist.

“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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