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Broiled Ham, Platter Gravy
Score the fat of inch-thick slice of ham, rind removed. Broil until brown on one side, turn to other and brown that. Rub with brown sugar while broiling. Serve the juice that runs into the broiling pan as the platter gravy, diluting it with water if desired.
A one-line breakfast-and-supper dish that assumes a thick, dry-salt-cured ham slice and a coal or gas broiler. Two things need translating: the cut, and when the sugar goes on.
- The ham to buyThis calls for an inch-thick slice cut from a cured, smoked ham, with the rind taken off. Supermarket ham steaks are usually a half inch or less and will overcook before they brown; ask a butcher to cut one to the full inch.
- Already cooked, mostlyNearly all cured ham sold today is fully cooked, so broiling is for color and rendered fat rather than doneness. Country hams and other dry-cured slices are the exception and are far saltier; those benefit from a soak or a brief blanch before broiling.
- Broiler distanceSet the rack so the surface of the ham sits 4 to 5 inches from the element. Roughly 6 to 8 minutes a side for an inch-thick slice, less if the ham is thinner.
- Sugar lastBrown sugar under a broiler scorches in a minute or two. The instruction to rub it on "while broiling" is best read as late: apply it after the second side has taken color and give it only a short pass back under the heat, watching it.
- Scoring the fatCut through the fat band at intervals of about an inch, down to but not into the meat. This keeps the slice from curling as the fat contracts and lets it render into the pan, which is where the gravy comes from.
- The platter gravyWhat collects in the pan is rendered fat, ham juices and dissolved sugar. Tip off most of the fat, loosen the browned residue with a few spoonfuls of water while the pan is still hot, and pour it over the meat. Do not salt it.
- YieldThe recipe states no yield. An inch-thick slice of this kind will generally serve three to four as a main course, more if it is part of a larger menu.