Potted Ham
I love all forms of charcuterie, but I’m especially enamored with pâtés, terrines, and rillettes. It’s something about their rustic, picnic-like nature.
On my sister-friend’s cooking blog a while back, I saw something I’d not made before – potted ham! I knew I’d love it. It’s a simple recipe, not much different than making rillettes. And to make it simpler I used my food processor.
If you haven’t had the pleasure of meeting Linda Duffin, whose blog is Mrs. Portly’s Kitchen, you are missing out. First of all, besides being a professional cookery teacher, recipe developer, and writer, she’s a hoot!
I often read her blog posts out loud to my husband, mostly because we can’t figure out what she’s saying, with all of her Britishisms, but we still laugh out loud!
Here is Linda posed by her infamous Aga, and a shot of her beautiful English kitchen.
A post of Linda’s from May 3, 2020, in the midst of the pandemic, had us rolling on the floor. You can read it here. My favorite line from the post is, “Get me a lobster thermador or I’ll cough on you.”
Potted Ham
Printable recipe below
5 ounces unsalted butter, softened
2 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 small garlic clove, peeled
14 ounces lean ham, trimmed
4 tablespoons finely chopped parsley
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon sweet paprika
1/8 teaspoon white pepper
1/8 teaspoon cayenne
Clarified butter or duck fat
Add the butter, cream cheese, and garlic clove to a food processor. Run until the garlic is well dispersed. Chop the ham and add it to the mixture in the food processor, along with the parsley and spices. Pulse until combined, but not lose texture. This should be spreadable, but not baby food.
Taste for salt.
Add to crockery jars and top with clarified butter.
I considered getting fancy with mustard, but then just decided on a whole grain Dijon.
Serve at room temperature with toast and cornichons.
Lift off the chilled butter and dip into the wonderful ham spread.
Personally my adaptation of Ms. Duffin’s recipe is perfection. I’m sure hers is perfect as well, I just went a little fattier and a bit spicier.
Potted ham is basically ham rillettes. Add butter, spices and parsley to a meat and that’s what you get.
The potted ham would be fabulous with cheeses as well. Especially on a picnic by a creek in the Cotswolds. But for now I’ll just enjoy my potted ham in quarantine.
Potted Ham
5 ounces unsalted butter, softened
2 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 small garlic clove, peeled
14 ounces lean ham, trimmed
4 tablespoons finely chopped parsley
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon sweet paprika
1/8 teaspoon white pepper
1/8 teaspoon cayenne
Clarified butter or duck fat
Add the butter, cream cheese, and garlic clove to a food processor. Run until the garlic is well dispersed. Chop the ham and add it to the mixture in the food processor, along with the parsley and spices. Pulse until combined, but not lose texture. This should be spreadable, but not baby food.
Taste for salt.
Serve at room temperature with good bread.
Oh, Mimi, I do love you! Thank you for the shout-out and the very kind words. It’s weird re-reading that post, because over here we’re all in the same situation again except this time with dreary winter weather and soggy gardens and countryside. I think people are finding it even harder this time around. Sometimes I worry that I’ve mislaid my sense of humour but I’m sure it’s in the kitchen somewhere, probably under a pile of cookery books.
Your version of the potted ham looks splendid. If only we could eat it together! Lots of love, Transatlantic Sister-Friend. Lx
I know ☹️. And I’m sorry. We’re not completely locked down, but still choose not to go anywhere. So there is boredom. And cooking and eating! I have one more potted ham in the freezer and I’m saving it for a special occasion. Like Tuesday.
One should always make the most of a Tuesday. :) Take care. Lxxx
this looks fabulous mimi. yes i do read linda duffin’s blog now and then. isn’t her kitchen lovely? i love a pate etc with clarified butter on top. the only way to go…
cheers
sherry
Thank you. It is so good. I make my mother’s recipe for liver paté but as I get older I really but good rustic rillettes for something meaty.
I completely share you love of this kind of food, yet I’ve never had potted ham! That needs to change right now. Thanks for pointing out Ms. Duffin’s blog!
I hadn’t either! All of those lost years… Do try it!
I’ve made deviled ham, but never potted. Always wanted to, just never got around to it. This is a great recipe — gotta give it a go. Thanks!
Well now I have to go see what deviled ham is! See? So much food, so little time!
I love this. I know my mom made this 100 years ago, when I was a youngster.
That would make you quite elderly!!! It’s so good, and can really be gourmet-ified. It’s my new favorite!
We are on the same page when it comes to charcuterie – love it all and in different forms. Potted ham is new for me – any particular ham you use besides it being lean?
I don’t think it matters at all. I used the gammon I’d cooked myself from raw, but any of those ham slices or small hams would work, trimmed. If it’s dry just add more butter!
Oh wonderful! These are so good. And they thaw out well when you freeze, if you have to…
Mmmm… what a cool idea. And that kitchen! Ah, perhaps in our next life…
Exactly!
I love potted anything. Never had ham, though, but I will be trying this next time I have some leftover ham. Love the lobster thermidor comment – and your black nails!
Thanks David. Well I’d never had it either, and I’ve already made another batch! So good!
Do you suppose I could make this with thick slices of deli ham? I imagine the quality would suffer…
No, I think it needs more meaty ham, like the kind you buy in a slice or as a portion of a cooked ham. I think deli meat would be too watery and lack flavor.
This recipe is so very British! Wonderful, thank you. I will check out her blog.
Well, it certainly has a great name! I love saying potted!
Your plating is beautiful!
Aww, thank you!
You’ll love her blog! She’s very talented.
I’m going to be teaching an online class in food from the Alsace-Lorraine region of France and I might ‘steal’ your idea of potted ham! To serve this dish, you said to “lift off the butter layer” before spreading. I assume that you also eat the butter part of the recipe? Thanks!
No. Just like you’d cover a paté with butter or duck fat, it just seals in the meat mixture and prevents any breakdown of it. Keeps it fresh longer.
This post made my boring evening. I love pâté and rilletes and I have all the ingredients for your recipe including duck fat.
Happy to be of service! This is so good and so fun to make. You don’t have to follow my recipe exactly, but I’m sure you already know that! Enjoy. And, it freezes well.
It is truly enjoyable, because it has such good flavor, but it’s just meatiness. My husband won’t get near a paté because he’s scared of liver, and he won’t eat rillettes or terrines for the same reason, even though I tell him there’s no liver in them. He wouldn’t try the potted ham, either. More for the rest of us!
This is just as easy as making rillettes, and just as good to eat!
Their charcuterie is so much fun, and also Italy’s. Well, and Spain…
I have never seen potted ham let alone made it. But this is so up my street! If we have left over gammon I might adapt this :)
You will love it. It’s one of those – “why didn’t I think of this before?” Recipes!
Linda has a great sense of humour and we definitely need it at the moment. Things just do not seem to be getting any better here at the moment. Still there is always hope and food! I’ve never made potted ham myself. Thanks for sharing it!
If you make it I can guarantee you’ll love it. And such a wonderful way to use any leftover ham! Linda is such a joy to read, and we do need humor these days!
What a wonderful post! I have never made pate’ and have always purchased it for special celebrations. And I never thought about including it on a charcuterie platter . . . thanks for inspiring me to do this, Mimi. Also, I appreciate the lead to Linda’s blog. I’m always interested in the blogs that my blogging friends read. I’m on my way to visit it right after this comment.
Ciao,
Roz
You are so welcome. You’ll love Linda! Paté is also very easy to make. But you’re lucky if you can buy it !
This is perfect timing, I was looking for new recipes to use with leftover ham and you made this. Heaven sent!
You’re welcome! You’ll love it.
I am with you on the love for all things pâté, rillettes, etc. So it’s a good thing to be living in France! I love this potted ham version though–I’m thinking it might be an excellent thing to do with leftover holiday ham. Delicious recipe!
That’s exactly what I used! The recipe is wonderful – I’ve already made it again!
Your post brought back memories of the first time I had pork rillettes in France, it was so very good. I like your potted ham recipe because it does sound perfect for a easy Sunday evening meal with a chunk of cheese and a glass of wine. It is similar to the deviled ham I made using leftover holiday ham.
I still have to look up what deviled ham is. You’re the second person who has mentioned that. I also remember the first time I had rillettes in France. I had no idea back then that you could actually buy them! but I still like making them!
Delicius recipe, thank you! Wishes from Lithuania!
Thank you!
This looks like a lovely recipe. I would like to use this as an hors d’oeuvre, and fill a gougère with this and an apple/pear chutney with chive garnish. I do have a question about the yield on this. How big are the pots and how many did it make? Overall, how much does this recipe make so I can scale it if need be?
It’s been a while…. I would bet the potted ham ends up being about 24 ounces. The capacity of the jars really doesn’t matter. Your plan sounds wonderful with the gougères!