French · Burgundy · appetizer

Jambon Persillé de Bourgogne

Jambon Persillé de Bourgogne reads allium 4.0, sourness 3.7 and salinity 3.2 on Palate's 0–10 flavor X-ray — a French · Burgundy appetizer, about 27 hr 48 min. Measured from the recipe itself: ingredients and technique.

The flavor X-ray — six axes, 0–10

The measured notes (of 18)

Allium 4.0 · Sourness 3.7 · Salinity 3.2 · Herbaceous 3.2 · Warm Spice 3.1 · Sweetness 2.7 · Umami 2.5 · Fruity 2.3 · Floral 2.2 · Funk & Ferment 2.0 · Citrus 1.9 · Earthy 1.8 · Heat 1.1 · Bitterness 1.0 · Richness 1.0

What's in it (20)

Time & effort: about 27 hr 48 min (15 hr 48 min active) · effort: involved

Nutrition (per 100 g, engine-estimated): 94.7 kcal, 3.4 g protein, 2.8 g fat, 18.9 g carbs

Dietary: Contains meat — engine-derived; double-check anything allergy-critical.

How it's cooked (9 steps)

  1. This is the Easter dish of Burgundy — pink ham suspended in a pale wine jelly shot through with green — and it is a terrine that sets on gelatine drawn out of a veal knuckle rather than on a packet. Start two days before you want to eat it.
  2. Soak the ham in several changes of cold water for 12 hours to draw out the salt. Taste a sliver at the end; if it is still fierce, give it another few hours. Salt is the one thing you cannot correct in a jellied terrine, because the jelly concentrates as it sets.
  3. Put the ham and the split veal knuckle in a deep pot with the wine, the onions, carrots, bouquet garni, peppercorns and coriander, and add cold water just to cover. Bring it up slowly and hold it at 85°C (185°F) — steam and the occasional lazy bubble — for 3 hours, skimming the grey foam off in the first 20 minutes. A boil will make the stock cloudy and the jelly will never be clear.
  4. Test the ham with a fork: it should fall into coarse strands under light pressure. Lift it and the knuckle out and leave both to cool until you can handle them.
  5. Strain the cooking liquid through a muslin-lined sieve and boil it down to about 700 ml, then skim every trace of fat. Test the set by putting a tablespoon on a cold saucer in the fridge for 10 minutes: it should wobble firm. If it stays liquid, soften the gelatine in cold water and whisk it in.
  6. Tear the ham into coarse pieces with two forks, taking out fat and rind. Do not chop it fine and never mince it — the ragged texture, with pieces the size of a walnut, is the difference between jambon persillé and a pale pink pâté.
  7. Mix the chopped parsley, shallots, garlic paste, tarragon, vinegar, salt and pepper. Stir a third of it into the cooled but still liquid jelly.
  8. Layer the ham and the remaining parsley mixture into a 1.5 litre terrine, pressing each layer down lightly, and pour the jelly over until it just covers. Tap the terrine on the counter to release trapped air. Chill 12 hours at least. Turn it out or serve it in slices straight from the dish, with Dijon mustard, cornichons and a glass of Aligoté.
  9. Substitutions: gammon can stand in for the lightly salted unsmoked ham; Chardonnay can stand in for the dry white Burgundy.

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Every number above is Palate's engine-measured estimate, computed from this recipe's ingredients and techniques — not human-tasted ratings or reviews.