Ever wrapped a whole ham in pastry? I now have. This is the sort of thing that you make to impress other people (even if only in your own house).

Ham pâté is another 18th century recipe from Louisbourg via From the Hearth. As the author notes, the key is to start with a nice ham, not the processed stuff that’s typical at the deli counter. My local butcher, Windsor Meats, provided me with a great starting point for this dish. I ended up getting a fully cooked ham, but the cooking time in the recipe is enough that you can start with an uncooked or partially cooked ham.

Once again, I couldn’t source ground veal, so ground chicken is my substitute.

The recipe, which is modified slightly from the original, serves 10-12. But it also eats cold really well, so consider making it for a smaller group and having delicious leftovers.

Ingredients

1 ham, 6-8 lbs
1 tsp ground ginger
5 whole cloves (I used 1/2 tsp ground cloves)

Stuffing:
1 lb ground veal (I used ground chicken)
1 cup soft bread crumbs
1/4 cup light cream
2 egg whites
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
pinch nutmeg

Pastry:
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1 cup lard
1/3 cup plus 1-2 tbsp very cold water

Gilding:
1 egg, beaten

Mid-cooking addition:
1/2 cup wine (I used white wine)
2 tbsp brandy

Instructions

Remove any bone from the ham, cut off the rind and outer layers of fat. (Save this stuff for the dried pea soup recipe!) If heavily salted, soak 3-4 hours or overnight. If your ham is uncooked, you can partially cook it (boil or bake) and then allow it to cool completely before following the remaining instructions. Sprinkle the ham with the ginger and stud with cloves (or sprinkle with ground cloves). 

Pastry:
Mix the flour and salt. Cut in the lard until it is pea-sized pieces or smaller. Add the cold water and mix gently with a spatula until it comes together as a dough. You may need to knead it a few times. If it needs more water, add a little at a time. Make into a ball and place in the fridge while you get the stuffing ready. 

Stuffing: 
Soak the bread crumbs in the cream. Add in the remainder of the ingredients and mix well. 

Assembly:
Pre-heat the oven to 350F. Roll out two pastry pieces, one larger than the other. Place the smaller piece in a baking dish (I used a French oven). 

On the bottom pastry, spread some of the stuffing (1/2 to 1 inch thick). Place the ham on top of this. Spread stuffing on the sides and top of the ham, and place the second piece of pastry over top. 

Cut away extra pastry. Moisten the pastry edges with water to help seal the two pastry pieces together. 

Cut a hole in the top of the pastry (this will be used to add the wine/brandy mix). Use the pastry scraps to create small cut-out shapes. 

Gild the pastry with beaten egg. 

Cooking:
Bake at 350F for 1 hour. After 1 hour, use a parchment paper funnel to help you pour the wine and brandy into the pastry. Take your time with this, allowing the liquid to soak in slowly. 

Return to over for 1 hour, or until meat is done. 

Remove from oven and let sit for 20-30 minutes before serving. 

The ham I purchased still had part of the bone in it. I was unsuccessful in trying to cut out the bone without cutting the whole ham piece in half, however since the pastry keeps it all together in this dish I wasn’t too worried. It was apparent once we cut into it, but again, we were cutting it up anyway!

The pastry and stuffing was enough for this smallish ham – if you intended to make a larger ham, you would definitely need more of each.

I think the edges of my pastry were sealed well, but could have been cleaner looking (although that doesn’t impact the taste). I probably could have wrapped the top pastry sheet over the bottom instead for a better looking result.

I … didn’t pour the wine and brandy in slowly enough, so I had lots of spillage over the outside of the pastry. In the end, it cooked down on the outside, and still flavoured the dish. But I’d do it more carefully next time.

The final product looked pretty good. Even the pastry edges looked better than they did before cooking.

There was quite a lot of liquid in the bottom of the pot when it was time to serve it (after 20 minutes of resting), and initially the bottom pastry was quite soggy. By the next day, however, the liquid was gone (absorbed?) and the bottom pastry was fine. A cooking mystery.

From the Hearth suggests serving this with any of a number of sauces – Robert, Espagnole or Béchamel. We found it tasty without any sauce, but I could see adding a sauce for a special dinner.

The Verdict

This ham wrapped in pastry was delicious, and would make a very festive dish for a holiday meal. I would make this again.

As is often the case, good quality ingredients is likely the key to a great dish. Definitely get yourself a high-quality ham to make this.

More recipes with meat wrapped in pastry to come! What would you wrap in pastry?