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.

 

 

By Published On: January 20th, 202148 Comments on Potted Ham

About the Author: Chef Mimi

As a self-taught home cook, with many years in the culinary profession, I am passionate about all things food-related. Especially eating!

48 Comments

  1. Linda Duffin January 20, 2021 at 6:12 AM - Reply

    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

    • chef mimi January 20, 2021 at 6:36 AM - Reply

      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.

      • Linda Duffin January 22, 2021 at 6:06 AM

        One should always make the most of a Tuesday. :) Take care. Lxxx

  2. sherry January 20, 2021 at 6:13 AM - Reply

    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

    • chef mimi January 20, 2021 at 6:34 AM - Reply

      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.

  3. Jeff the Chef January 20, 2021 at 8:31 AM - Reply

    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!

    • chef mimi January 20, 2021 at 10:14 AM - Reply

      I hadn’t either! All of those lost years… Do try it!

  4. kitchenriffs January 20, 2021 at 9:35 AM - Reply

    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!

    • chef mimi January 20, 2021 at 10:14 AM - Reply

      Well now I have to go see what deviled ham is! See? So much food, so little time!

  5. Charlie DeSando January 20, 2021 at 10:53 AM - Reply

    I love this. I know my mom made this 100 years ago, when I was a youngster.

    • chef mimi January 20, 2021 at 11:05 AM - Reply

      That would make you quite elderly!!! It’s so good, and can really be gourmet-ified. It’s my new favorite!

  6. cookingwithauntjuju.com January 20, 2021 at 11:04 AM - Reply

    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?

    • chef mimi January 20, 2021 at 11:06 AM - Reply

      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!

  7. chef mimi January 20, 2021 at 12:30 PM - Reply

    Oh wonderful! These are so good. And they thaw out well when you freeze, if you have to…

  8. Jack & Barbra Donachy January 20, 2021 at 2:03 PM - Reply

    Mmmm… what a cool idea. And that kitchen! Ah, perhaps in our next life…

    • chef mimi January 20, 2021 at 2:12 PM - Reply

      Exactly!

  9. David Scott Allen January 20, 2021 at 2:46 PM - Reply

    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!

    • chef mimi January 20, 2021 at 3:15 PM - Reply

      Thanks David. Well I’d never had it either, and I’ve already made another batch! So good!

      • David Scott Allen January 22, 2021 at 9:09 AM

        Do you suppose I could make this with thick slices of deli ham? I imagine the quality would suffer…

      • chef mimi January 23, 2021 at 7:22 AM

        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.

  10. Liz @ spades, spatulas, and spoons January 20, 2021 at 6:04 PM - Reply

    This recipe is so very British! Wonderful, thank you. I will check out her blog.

    • chef mimi January 24, 2021 at 8:30 AM - Reply

      Well, it certainly has a great name! I love saying potted!

  11. elizabethcrabtree0225 January 20, 2021 at 9:43 PM - Reply

    Your plating is beautiful!

    • chef mimi January 24, 2021 at 8:30 AM - Reply

      Aww, thank you!

  12. chef mimi January 21, 2021 at 8:44 AM - Reply

    You’ll love her blog! She’s very talented.

  13. Fran @ G'day Souffle' January 21, 2021 at 9:28 AM - Reply

    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!

    • chef mimi January 21, 2021 at 10:08 AM - Reply

      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.

  14. Gerlinde de Broekert January 23, 2021 at 9:26 PM - Reply

    This post made my boring evening. I love pâté and rilletes and I have all the ingredients for your recipe including duck fat.

    • chef mimi January 24, 2021 at 8:24 AM - Reply

      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.

  15. chef mimi January 24, 2021 at 8:26 AM - Reply

    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!

  16. chef mimi January 24, 2021 at 8:28 AM - Reply

    This is just as easy as making rillettes, and just as good to eat!

  17. chef mimi January 24, 2021 at 8:30 AM - Reply

    Their charcuterie is so much fun, and also Italy’s. Well, and Spain…

  18. Tandy | Lavender and Lime January 25, 2021 at 2:04 AM - Reply

    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 :)

    • chef mimi January 25, 2021 at 6:55 AM - Reply

      You will love it. It’s one of those – “why didn’t I think of this before?” Recipes!

  19. neil@neilshealthymeals.com January 25, 2021 at 5:59 AM - Reply

    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!

    • chef mimi January 25, 2021 at 6:57 AM - Reply

      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!

  20. Roz January 25, 2021 at 5:01 PM - Reply

    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

    • chef mimi January 25, 2021 at 5:07 PM - Reply

      You are so welcome. You’ll love Linda! Paté is also very easy to make. But you’re lucky if you can buy it !

  21. Raymund January 26, 2021 at 3:07 PM - Reply

    This is perfect timing, I was looking for new recipes to use with leftover ham and you made this. Heaven sent!

  22. chef mimi January 26, 2021 at 3:08 PM - Reply

    You’re welcome! You’ll love it.

  23. Molly Pisula January 28, 2021 at 4:09 AM - Reply

    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!

    • chef mimi January 28, 2021 at 6:38 AM - Reply

      That’s exactly what I used! The recipe is wonderful – I’ve already made it again!

  24. Karen (Back Road Journal) January 28, 2021 at 2:10 PM - Reply

    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.

    • chef mimi January 29, 2021 at 7:15 AM - Reply

      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!

  25. Dzukijos July 28, 2022 at 9:38 AM - Reply

    Delicius recipe, thank you! Wishes from Lithuania!

    • Chef Mimi July 28, 2022 at 12:49 PM - Reply

      Thank you!

  26. Hunter May 27, 2024 at 2:01 PM - Reply

    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?

    • Chef Mimi May 27, 2024 at 3:18 PM - Reply

      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!

Leave a Reply. I love 'em!