Ham Sandwiches
Cut the bread very thin, butter lightly, put on it a good layer of finely chopped cold boiled ham; lay another piece of buttered bread on top, and press together gently. If the crust is at all hard, cut it off before putting in the ham.
A plain nineteenth-century tea sandwich, and the details that look trivial are the ones doing the work: thin bread, a light film of butter, and ham chopped rather than sliced.
- Chopped, not slicedFinely chopped ham binds with the butter and does not pull out in a sheet when bitten. A few pulses in a food processor, or a coarse mince by hand, gives the right texture; a paste is too far.
- "Cold boiled ham"This means a wet-cured ham simmered at home and left to cool, close to what a deli sells as cooked ham today. Supermarket sliced ham works; dry-cured country ham or prosciutto is far saltier and will overwhelm the bread.
- Butter both facesThe butter is a moisture barrier as much as a flavour, so butter the cut side of each slice right to the edge. Use it soft, not melted, or it soaks in and stops sealing.
- Bread thicknessThe recipe does not define "very thin"; cut as thin as the loaf allows. A day-old close-crumbed loaf is easiest, as fresh, airy bread tears under the knife. Chill the loaf briefly if it drags.
- CrustsThe recipe removes the crust only if it is hard, and then before the ham goes in rather than after assembly.
- Yield and servingServing -- The recipe gives no quantities or yield. Keep the sandwiches covered until served, as they dry out quickly uncovered.
- Seasoning the original assumesSeasoning -- No seasoning is called for, presumably because the ham brings its own salt. A little mustard worked into the butter, or a grind of pepper, sits well within the style if your ham is mild.
Sandwiches like this one belong to a household logic of cooking that kept the range cold: a ham boiled once and then drawn on cold for days, needing nothing but bread and butter. The thin bread and trimmed crust mark it as a tea or picnic sandwich rather than a labourer's lunch -- a convention generally traced to the English tea table of the nineteenth century.