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Mousses et Mousselines Chaudes de Jambon
Created by Chef Juliette
One chilled ham farce becomes either a generous moulded mousse or eight egg-shaped mousselines, poached gently to a tender satin set. The entire dish turns on testing the ham's salt before cooking.
Mousses et Mousselines Chaudes de Jambon (hot ham mousse and individual ham mousselines) teach the discipline of farce mousseline, a silken cream-bound forcemeat whose lightness depends on cold ingredients and gentle cooking. The one true thing to know before touching a pan is simpler: the ham has already been salted. Cook and taste a teaspoon of farce before adding so much as a grain.
The grand kitchen surrounding the original formula had a saucier on staff, stock never off the fire, a salamander for finishing, mortar, sieve, ice, and enough hands to shape a dining room's service. The saucier, stockpot, and salamander are scaffolding here, not the dish, so they go. What stays is the cold emulsion from Fine Chicken Forcemeat or “Mousseline” (No. 195), prepared with ham, then a small home mould or two tablespoons and a quiet poach. I scale the formula to a half batch for four. One cook, one stove, one evening.
A mousse is the large form, unmoulded and sliced for the table; mousselines are the same farce shaped like eggs for individual servings. The original permitted vegetable red when the ham looked pale, but I leave it out because it changes appearance, not flavour. A natural blush is honest. Keep the farce cold, keep the water below a boil, and above all, cook one teaspoon and taste it before shaping the rest.
Ingredients
Fine Chicken Forcemeat or “Mousseline”
Quantity
1 half batch, about 2¼ cups (540 ml / 540 g), Fine Chicken Forcemeat or “Mousseline” (No. 195)
prepared with cooked ham replacing the chicken, no added salt until tested, and kept very cold
unsalted butter (optional)
Quantity
1 tablespoon (15 ml / 14 g)
softened, for the large mousse mould
cold heavy cream, at least 35% fat (optional)
Quantity
up to ¼ cup (60 ml / 60 g)
for correcting excessive salt only
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| Fine Chicken Forcemeat or “Mousseline”prepared with cooked ham replacing the chicken, no added salt until tested, and kept very cold | 1 half batch, about 2¼ cups (540 ml / 540 g), Fine Chicken Forcemeat or “Mousseline” (No. 195) |
| unsalted butter (optional)softened, for the large mousse mould | 1 tablespoon (15 ml / 14 g) |
| cold heavy cream, at least 35% fat (optional)for correcting excessive salt only | up to ¼ cup (60 ml / 60 g) |
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