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Jambon Braise Au Champagne

A ham braised in Marsala, stock, and champagne, then glazed and served.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 6 ingredients
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Why it works: Sherry and champagne share more aroma than cooks usually use. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 61 recipes. Both carry ethyl isobutyrate, which smells fruity, ethereal. The science ↓

Jambon Braise Au Champagne

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the ham

  1. Soak the ham in cold water for 24 hours.

  2. Remove the knuckle-bone from the ham.

  3. Cover the ham with cold water.

  4. Cook gently for 3 to 4 hours.

  5. Trim the ham.

Make the sauce

  1. Place the ham in a stew-pan with Marsala and stock.

  2. Simmer for about 30 minutes.

  3. Remove the ham from the pan.

  4. Skim the liquid.

  5. Reduce the liquid to a half-glaze.

  6. Add champagne and brown sauce.

  7. Boil the mixture.

  8. Return the ham to the pan.

  9. Simmer briefly.

Glaze and serve

  1. Dish up the ham.

  2. Glaze the surface of the ham.

  3. Insert silver skewers into the ham.

  4. Skim and strain the sauce.

  5. Pour some sauce around the ham.

  6. Serve the remaining sauce in a sauce-boat.

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. Sherry + champagnetop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together61 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl isobutyrate (fruity, ethereal).

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

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

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

    Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

  4. Sherry + saucetop 23% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together1,097 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

  5. Ham + champagnetop 24% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together45 recipes

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

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Ham
Is the main dish, cooked slowly so it becomes tender and flavourful.
Marsala or sherry
Adds sweetness and depth to the braising liquid as it reduces.
Stock
Provides the moist braising liquid that cooks the ham and forms the base of the sauce.
Champagne
Adds acidity and a bright aroma to the finished sauce.
Demi-glace or espagnole sauce
Adds body, rich colour and savoury depth to the sauce.

The step that matters

Reduce the liquid to a half-glaze. Reducing concentrates the flavour and thickens the liquid by evaporating water. If it is reduced too little the sauce will be thin and weak; if too far it becomes overly salty and sticky. Skimming first removes fat and impurities that would cloud the sauce.

“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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