Jambon Soufflé

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •8 to 10-inch (20 to 25 cm) boning or carving knife
• •Food processor with metal blade
• •Electric mixer or balloon whisk
• •12 to 14-inch (30 to 35 cm) ovenproof oval serving platter
• •Deep covered roasting pan large enough to hold the platter
• •Low roasting rack or sturdy trivet
• •Heavy parchment paper and kitchen twine
• •Instant-read thermometer

Instructions

1. 1

   Prepare the humid oven

   Heat the oven to 325°F (165°C) with a rack in the lower-middle position. Fit a low wire rack or sturdy trivet inside a deep covered roasting pan, then check that your oval ovenproof platter rests securely above the bottom and leaves enough room for water around it. Bring the water to a full boil just before the assembled ham goes into the oven.

2. 2

   Carve the ham cushion

   Set the cold ham with its end bone pointing toward you. Beginning at the extremity of that bone, make a horizontal incision through the ham about 1/2 inch (1.25 cm) above it, cutting toward the swollen head of the bone. At that point, make a vertical incision down to meet the first cut and lift away the cushion of ham in one piece. Leave a thick, even bed of meat attached to the end bone and trim it into the low oval outline of a ham. Measure about 3 cups loosely packed (450 g / 16 oz) from the removed cushion for the soufflé, then wrap and chill the remainder for another meal.

3. 3

   Tie the parchment collar

   Use 1 tablespoon (15 ml / 14 g) of the butter to coat the ovenproof platter and one face of two overlapping strips of heavy parchment, each about 5 inches (13 cm) wide. Set the retained ham base on the platter, cut side up, then wrap the parchment around it with the buttered face inward. The collar should rise at least 4 inches (10 cm) above the meat. Overlap the ends generously and tie the collar snugly with kitchen twine. This band holds the soufflé while it expands. If it bows or slips, add a second dry parchment band outside the first and retie it. Ça se rattrape.

4. 4

   Cook the panade

   Melt the remaining 2 tablespoons (30 ml / 28 g) butter in a medium saucepan over gentle heat. Make a roux (butter and flour cooked together) by whisking in the flour and cooking for 2 minutes without letting it colour. Add the milk gradually, whisking smooth after each addition, then whisk in the cream. Cook for 3 to 5 minutes, stirring firmly, until the mixture becomes a thick panade, a binding paste that pulls from the pan and holds a deep track from the spoon. Stir in the white pepper. If it looks lumpy, don't discard it, the food processor will smooth it. If it flows rather than holds, cook it another minute. Spread the panade on a plate and cool it until no warmth remains.

5. 5

   Make the ham base

   Put the measured cold ham in a food processor and pulse until very finely minced. Add the cooled panade and the 4 egg yolks, then process for 45 to 60 seconds, scraping the bowl once, until the mixture is cohesive and smooth enough to spread with a knife. Fry a teaspoonful in a small dry pan and taste it before adding salt, because cured ham varies enormously. Add only as much salt as the taste test demands. If processing has warmed the mixture, chill it for 10 minutes before continuing. A warm base collapses the whites, and this is the moment when that failure can still be prevented.

6. 6

   Fold in the whites

   Whisk the egg whites in a perfectly clean bowl until they form glossy medium peaks, firm enough to hold shape but still curved at the tip. Stir one-third of the whites firmly into the ham base to loosen it. Fold in the remainder in two additions, cutting down through the centre and turning the mixture over with a broad spatula. Stop as soon as no large pockets of white remain. A few pale streaks are harmless; endless folding presses out the air that must lift the jambon soufflé.

7. 7

   Rebuild the ham

   Spoon the soufflé mixture immediately inside the parchment collar, covering the retained meat and building it up into the original rounded contour of the ham. Fill close to the bone first so no hollow forms there, but don't pack or compress the mixture. Dip the flat of a knife in cold water and smooth the surface with light strokes. A few shallow decorative lines are enough if you want them. Elaborate surface work was service scaffolding and can go; the parchment collar, the ham-shaped contour, and the humid poach are the dish.

8. 8

   Poach in humid heat

   Set the platter on the rack inside the roasting pan. Carefully pour in the boiling water around it, stopping at least 1 inch (2.5 cm) below the platter so the ham never sits in water. Cover with the domed lid, or make a high, tightly sealed foil tent that cannot touch the soufflé. Transfer the pan to the oven and cook without opening it for 45 minutes. Open the cover away from your face, then check the centre: it should feel resilient rather than wet and register 160°F (71°C). If it still trembles loosely, it isn't lost. Add more boiling water if the pan is dry, cover again, and cook for another 8 to 12 minutes. The enclosed moisture sets the forcemeat gently while the egg whites lift it.

9. 9

   Uncollar and serve

   Lift the platter from the roasting pan and let the jambon soufflé settle for 8 minutes. Cut the twine and peel away the parchment carefully; if a patch clings, release it with the tip of a knife dipped in cold water. Wipe the platter rim and carry the ham to the table whole. Carve downward so every serving receives both the airy soufflé and some of the denser ham still attached to the bone. Pass any chosen braised-ham accompaniment separately rather than covering the risen surface. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Ask for a fully cooked, unsliced shank-end ham with a mild cure and no sweet glaze. A spiral-cut ham cannot support the reconstruction, and a strongly smoked joint overwhelms the delicate egg and cream. Have the butcher remove every bone except the exposed end bone if possible.
• •The source begins with a cooked and cooled ham. Buying it fully cooked is the honest home translation, not a change to the finished dish; cooking and chilling a whole cured joint would push this well beyond one evening.
• •The food processor replaces the grand kitchen's pounding and sieving, but it must not heat the ham. Use short pulses, scrape once, and chill the base before folding if the bowl loses its cold feel.
• •The classical entry sends a braised-ham garnish or sauce separately, but its References line names no particular preparation. Don't invent one inside the forcemeat. If you already use a canonical braised-ham accompaniment, pass it warm in a sauceboat; otherwise the jambon soufflé stands quite confidently on its own.
• •Pour a dry Chenin Blanc from the Loire. Its acidity clears the richness of the ham, butter, cream, and yolks without bullying the mild forcemeat.

Advance Preparation

• •Have the butcher remove all but the end bone and keep the ham well chilled. This can be done a day before cooking, provided the cut surface is wrapped tightly.
• •The panade can be cooked a day ahead. Press parchment directly against its surface and refrigerate it, then let it soften just enough to process smoothly with the cold ham.
• •The ham base can be processed with the panade and yolks up to 4 hours ahead and kept covered in the cold. Whip and fold in the whites only when the parchment collar and humid oven are ready.
• •Jambon soufflé is best served after its brief settling rest. Refrigerated leftovers keep for 3 days and can be warmed, covered, in a gentle oven, but they will not regain the original rise.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 215g)