The Epicurean
A Treatise on the Culinary Art — Charles Ranhofer of Delmonico’s — 1894
No. 2525

Hams of Chicken with Zampino

Jambons de Poulet Garnis de Zampino

Bone thoroughly two good chickens weighing two pounds each, leaving on only the drumstick bones; separate each one in two lengthwise, season and fill each half with galantine forcemeat (No. 65) and long shreds of cooked veal udder, also of very red beef tongue, raw foies-gras and quartered raw truffles, proceeding exactly the same as for boned chicken (No. 2485); bring the meats close together in order to sew up and wrap each of the halved boned chickens in a white cloth; cook for one hour in unskimmed white broth (No. 194a); drain the galantines and unwrap; lay on a baking sheet some bottomless molds in the shape of hams, having a slot in the thin end to allow the drumstick to pass through, place the chickens in these and let get cold under the pressure of a light weight. Pare and disengage the pinion bone. They may now be cut in slices, reconstructing them as before, and keeping in shape with a thin skewer; cover the entire surface with white chaudfroid sauce (No. 596), that has become slightly thickened on ice. After this sauce is cold cover over the hams on the drumstick end with brown chaudfroid (No. 594), imitating the real skin of a pared ham; trim each ham bone with a frill (No. 10); dress them two by two on a rice foundation, withdraw the skewers and decorate the hams with fanciful cuts of very black truffles; surround with thin slices of zampino three inches in diameter and cut in two across and dress them around the foundation, one overlapping the other. Surround with a piping of chopped jelly and some jelly croutons.

Zampino of Modena.-Take one leg of a fresh pig about fifteen inches long, leaving the foot adhering; bone it carefully not to split the skin, turn the skin back and then remove the meat and fat; salt the skin plentifully, and leave it in brine for four to five days. After this time chop up coarsely ten pounds of lean pork meat with five pounds of beef, and mix these with five pounds of very finely chopped fresh pork rind. Season the mixture with ten ounces of salt, one ounce of crushed black pepper corns, a heavy pinch of cinnamon, a small pinch of saltpeter and one gill of red wine; mingle thoroughly. Now wash the skin in fresh water to extract all the salt, turn it over to its normal position, and fill it with the above mixture; tie it firmly at the extreme end, and enwrap with a strong inch-wide tape, beginning at the smallest end of the zampino (that is, near the foot). Lay the zampino in a large kettle, cover plentifully with cold water, and stand it on a slow fire to have the liquid almost reach boiling point; then remove the kettle to a corner of the range and let barely bubble for an hour and a half to an hour and three quarters. Take from the fire and leave to cool in the liquid; drain and remove the tape. This zampino can be served hot with string beans as described in No. 1820.