Jambon à la Choucroûte

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •8-quart stockpot
• •Instant-read thermometer
• •4-quart heavy saucepan or small cocotte
• •2-quart saucepan for the demi-glace
• •3-quart saucepan for the potatoes
• •Large warmed round platter
• •Small sauceboat

Instructions

1. 1

   Taste and prepare

   Check the ham’s label before beginning. If the producer calls for soaking, do that in cold water before the cooking time begins. Taste the drained sauerkraut as well. If it is pleasantly sour, leave it alone; if the salt or acidity bites harshly, rinse one-third of it briefly under cold water, then mix it back with the unrinsed portion and squeeze everything dry. This corrects excess without washing away the character the plate depends upon.

   Choose cabbage fermented in brine, whether refrigerated, jarred, or canned. Sauerkraut is an honest preserved ingredient, and good preserved cabbage is far better here than fresh cabbage pretending to be choucroute.
2. 2

   Poach the ham

   Set the ham in a stockpot and cover it with the cold water by about 2 inches. Bring the water up slowly over medium heat, skimming any grey foam, then lower the heat when the surface reaches a lazy quiver, about 180°F to 185°F (82°C to 85°C). Hold it there without boiling until the centre reaches 155°F (68°C), about 1 hour 15 minutes to 1 hour 30 minutes. If the water breaks into a boil, pull the pot off the heat and add a cup of cold water. Ça se rattrape. Return it gently and keep going; a brief boil is recoverable, a rolling one dries the meat.

   Temperature decides when the ham is cooked, not minutes per pound. Push the thermometer into the thickest part without touching the pot or any bone.
3. 3

   Reduce the sauce

   While the ham poaches, put 1 cup of the Rhine wine and the shallot into a small saucepan. Simmer until only about 1/3 cup remains and the raw alcoholic sharpness has softened. If using the optional gelatin, reserve 2 tablespoons of the cold stock and bloom the gelatin in it. Add the remaining stock to the wine reduction and simmer steadily until the liquid measures about 1 1/4 cups and tastes deep rather than merely salty, 30 to 40 minutes. Strain and set aside. This reduction replaces the ready demi-glace and dedicated saucier the original kitchen took for granted.

   Unsalted stock matters because reduction concentrates every grain of salt. If the sauce becomes too strong before it gains enough body, stop reducing and use the optional gelatin at the finish.
4. 4

   Braise the choucroute

   Once the ham has poached for about 30 minutes, melt 2 tablespoons of the butter in a heavy saucepan or small cocotte. Add the onion and cook gently until soft and translucent without browning, about 8 minutes. Fold in the sauerkraut, juniper, bay leaf, and peppercorns, then add the remaining 1 cup Rhine wine and 1 cup of the ham poaching liquor. Taste the liquor first; if it is fiercely salty, use water instead. Cover and braise at the barest simmer for 45 to 55 minutes, turning the cabbage several times, until tender, fragrant, and moist without being soupy. If it catches, add another spoonful of poaching liquor. If it remains wet, uncover it for the final 10 minutes. Ça se rattrape in either direction.

   Do not season the choucroute with salt until the end. Cured ham and its poaching liquor bring their own, and the cabbage concentrates as it braises.
5. 5

   Cook à l’anglaise

   When the ham has about 30 minutes left, place the peeled potatoes in a saucepan with the cold potato water and measured salt. Bring them gradually to a gentle simmer and cook until a small knife enters the centre without resistance, 20 to 25 minutes depending on size. Drain at once, then return them to the empty pan over low heat for 30 seconds, rolling them carefully so their surfaces dry. This is à l’anglaise: water, salt, and correct timing. If a potato begins to split, drain the lot immediately and let residual heat finish them; place the cracked one beneath the choucroute rather than cooking every potato to collapse.

6. 6

   Skin and carve

   Lift the cooked ham from its liquor and rest it for 10 minutes. Remove any netting. While the exterior is still warm, work a small knife beneath the skin and peel it away, then trim the fat to an even layer about 1/4 inch (6 mm) thick and neaten any ragged edges. Slice the ham across the grain into pieces about 1/4 inch (6 mm) thick. Keep the slices covered near the stove while the sauce is finished; do not return them to boiling liquid.

7. 7

   Finish and arrange

   Return the strained wine reduction to gentle heat. If using the bloomed gelatin, whisk it in and simmer for 30 seconds. The sauce should nap the back of a spoon in a thin, glossy coat. Reduce it further if thin, or loosen it with a spoonful of unsalted stock if tight. Take the pan off the heat and whisk in the remaining 2 tablespoons cold butter a little at a time. If the butter floats in greasy beads, whisk in 1 teaspoon cold water away from the heat. Ça se rattrape. Mound the choucroute in the middle of a warmed round platter, overlap the ham slices in a circle around it, and border them with the potatoes. Send the demi-glace au vin du Rhin separately in a warm sauceboat, exactly as the entry directs. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Ask for uncooked cured ham or a gammon joint. Fresh ham is uncured and belongs to another preparation, while a spiral-sliced ready-to-eat ham will dry out during the full poach. If fully cooked ham is your only option, warm it in the same quiet water only to 140°F (60°C), about 35 to 45 minutes, and understand that you are reheating rather than following the original cook-through.
• •Use a dry Alsatian Riesling, Pinot Blanc, or Sylvaner. Sweet wine makes the cabbage heavy and the sauce cloying; dry wine leaves acidity behind as it reduces. Pour the same bottle at the table.
• •A good stock should wobble when cold. If yours remains fluid, the optional gelatin restores the body expected of a demi-glace, but it cannot supply flavour. The wine and stock must still reduce until they taste concentrated and joined.
• •Do not rinse every strand of sauerkraut by reflex. Its acidity is what lets a generous piece of cured pork feel balanced from first bite to last; correct only an aggressive batch.
• •Leftovers keep for up to 3 days in the refrigerator. Store the ham, choucroute, potatoes, and sauce separately, then warm the ham gently in a little poaching liquor while the cabbage and sauce reheat in their own pans.

Advance Preparation

• •The choucroute may be braised 1 day ahead, cooled promptly, and refrigerated. Reheat it slowly with a spoonful of ham poaching liquor or water; the rest gives the wine and cabbage time to settle together.
• •The Rhine-wine and stock reduction may be prepared up to 2 days ahead. Refrigerate it without the finishing butter, then reheat, adjust its consistency, and mount with cold butter just before serving.
• •If the ham requires soaking, follow the producer’s directions and do it earlier in the day or overnight. Drain it and begin the poach in fresh cold water.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 770g)