To Boil a York Ham
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the ham
Select a ham with a smooth thin skin and a plump shape.
Run a skewer down the knuckle by the bone to check for sweetness.
Saw off the knuckle-bone close to the ham.
Soak the ham in cold water for 24 hours.
Scrape it clean from dirt and slime.
Boil and cool
Place the ham in cold water with plenty of fat and bring to a boil.
Simmer steadily for 3 hours.
Let it cool in the water.
Remove the ham from the water.
Discard the rind.
Trim the fat smoothly.
Glaze and serve
Place the ham on a baking sheet in the oven for a few minutes.
Dab it with a clean cloth to absorb excess grease.
Brush the ham with glaze.
Let it cool completely.
Garnish with chopped aspic jelly before serving.
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
- York ham
- Provides the main body of the dish, with its fat and lean meat cooking together during boiling.
- Glaze
- Adds a glossy coating and sweetness to the outside of the ham.
- Aspic jelly
- Adds a savoury, glossy garnish that sets as it cools.
The step that matters
Simmer steadily rather than boil hard. A gentle simmer cooks the ham evenly and keeps the meat tender and moist. A hard rolling boil toughens the proteins on the outside and can break the skin and shape before the centre is cooked.
“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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