Ham Fried with Sugar
Take a few slices of boiled ham. Sprinkle some brown sugar and a little dry mustard over it. Fry in butter until it browns. Serve hot, to be eaten with salad.
A four-line skillet dish: slices of cooked ham caught in a quick sweet-and-mustard crust and browned in butter.
- Start with cooked hamThis uses already-boiled ham, so you’re just browning and glazing slices — a fast way to dress up the remains of a boiled ham.
- The sweet-savory coatingBrown sugar plus a little dry (powdered) mustard is the whole seasoning; the sugar caramelizes in the hot butter while the mustard cuts the sweetness.
- Keep the heat moderateSugar burns quickly — use medium heat and turn the slices once they’re glossy and browned, a matter of a couple of minutes a side.
- Serve hot, with something sharpThe recipe pairs it with salad; cool, acidic greens are the perfect foil to the rich, sweet ham.
The marriage of salt-cured ham and something sweet is one of the oldest tricks in the cook’s book — sugar, honey, or fruit balancing the meat’s salt and smoke, from glazed holiday hams to ham with brown-sugar gravy. Mustard is the classic third note, its bite keeping the sweetness in check. Frying pre-cooked ham slices was everyday Southern and Creole economy: quick, hot, and satisfying, a way to turn the remains of a boiled ham into a fresh dish. Served against a crisp salad, it’s a study in contrasts — sweet, salty, sharp, and rich all at once.
From page 20 of the 1904 edition.
Original page from the book
