Ham Omelette
1 ounce minced ham. A little pepper. Eggs beaten very light and fried in lard. --Miss E. W.
A recipe reduced almost to a note: three ingredients, no quantities for the eggs, no pan size, no timing. The gaps are worth filling before you stand at the stove.
- Egg count is missingAn ounce of minced ham is about two tablespoons, which suits a two- to three-egg omelette for one person. The original never says, so scale the ham at roughly a tablespoon per egg if you want it noticeable.
- "Beaten very light"The phrase points to a thorough beating; some period omelette recipes go further and beat whites and yolks separately for puff. Beat until pale and frothy; a hand whisk and a minute of effort gets you there.
- Fried in lardLard is still sold and gives a clean flavour with a high smoke point. Use about a tablespoon in an 8-inch pan; butter works but browns faster and will colour the eggs.
- Heat and timingMedium heat, not high. Pour in the eggs, let the base set for thirty seconds, then draw the edges in and tilt. Two to three minutes total is enough; a puffed omelette collapses and toughens if held on the heat.
- The hamThe recipe specifies only "minced ham," but country hams of the region were dry-salt cured and assertively salty, which may be why pepper alone is called for. With supermarket wet-cured ham you will likely want a pinch of salt as well.
- Add the ham warmCold minced ham dropped into the eggs slows the set and weeps moisture. Warm it in the pan in the lard for a moment first, then pour the eggs over.
- YieldThe original states no yield; at the two to three eggs suggested above, one serving.
Housekeeping in Old Virginia (1879), compiled by Marion Cabell Tyree, gathered contributions from hundreds of Virginia housekeepers, and its recipes are credited by name or initials as here. The terseness is characteristic: these were brief entries that gave the variation rather than the basic method. Ham of some kind was a near-constant in a Virginia larder, where whole hogs were killed in late autumn and the hams salt-cured and hung for months, so an ounce of minced scrap from the end of a ham was the sort of thing a cook had on hand rather than something she went out to buy. Egg cookery filled the same role it does now, a fast dish made from what was already in the house.