Broiled Ham
Cut the ham in slices of medium thickness, place on a hot gridiron, and broil until the fat readily flows out and the meat is slightly browned, take from the gridiron with a knife and fork, drop into a pan of cold water, then return again to the gridiron, repeat several times, and the ham is done; place in a hot platter, add a few lumps of butter, and serve at once. If too fat, trim off a part; it is almost impossible to broil the fat part without burning, but this does not impair the taste. Pickled pork and breakfast bacon may be broiled in the same way. -Mrs. A. E. Brand,
A 19th-century Southern method for cured ham steak, built around an unusual trick: repeated dips in cold water between turns on the grill. It works, and it is worth understanding before you decide whether to keep it.
- The water dip is the whole pointPlunging the hot slice into cold water and returning it to the fire is the step that distinguishes this method; the recipe does not say why, but the likely effect is to rinse surface salt and cool the lean while the fat goes on rendering. Country ham of the period was generally saltier than what is sold today, so with a modern mild-cured ham steak one or two dips should be enough; with a genuine dry-cured country ham, the 'several times' of the original is a reasonable guide.
- Gridiron equals hot grateA gridiron is a hinged or footed iron grate set over live coals. A ridged cast-iron grill pan over high heat, or an outdoor grill with the coals raked hot, gives the same direct radiant heat. A flat skillet will fry rather than broil, and the rendered fat will not drain away.
- "Medium thickness"Read this as about 1/4 to 3/8 inch. Thicker slices will not cook through in the short time the surface tolerates before scorching, and thinner ones curl and dry out.
- Time on the fireFully cooked ham steak needs only browning, and two to three minutes a side over high heat, plus the interruptions for dipping, is the whole job; ham held on the grate until it stiffens goes leathery. Check the label, though -- ham sold 'cook before eating', and the pickled pork the recipe mentions, need to reach a safe internal temperature rather than just colour.
- The fat will flareThe recipe admits the fat is nearly impossible to broil without burning. Trimming the outer fat to about 1/8 inch, or scoring it so it lies flat, prevents the worst of the flare-ups without losing the flavor the fat contributes.
- Pickled pork needs a soak"Pickled pork" is salt pork out of brine and is much saltier than bacon. Soak it in cold water for several hours, changing the water once, before it goes near the fire, or the finished slice will be inedible.
- Butter at the endThe lumps of butter melt into the rendered ham fat on the hot platter and become the sauce. Do not skip it and do not add it on the grate, where it will only burn.
- YieldFigure one 4- to 6-ounce slice per person as a breakfast or supper dish, served with hot biscuits, grits or fried apples.
Broiled ham belonged to the Southern breakfast table, where a country ham hung in the smokehouse was a household's most reliable store of meat and was sliced off as needed for months. The Dixie Cook Book (1883, compiled from the same publishing stable that produced Buckeye Cookery) collected contributions from named housekeepers, and Mrs. Brand's water trick reflects a real problem of the era: farm-cured hams were preserved with heavy applications of salt, and cooks routinely soaked, parboiled or rinsed them to bring the seasoning back into range. Dipping a broiling slice into cold water accomplished the same thing on a smaller scale, and had the side effect of cooling the surface so the lean did not harden while the fat rendered. The casual note that pickled pork and breakfast bacon may be treated the same way is a reminder that all three came from the same animal.