Chef Thomas
A Proper Ploughman's Board
A board of good cheddar, thick ham, proper pickle, hard-boiled eggs, and crusty bread. Not cooking so much as assembling with conviction, and one of the finest lunches the English kitchen has ever produced.
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Yorkshire Potted Ham
Created by Chef Thomas
Cold roast ham pounded with soft butter, English mustard, and a whisper of mace, packed into pots and sealed under clarified butter. The Boxing Day meal that asks almost nothing of you and gives back more than it should.
Appetizers & Snacks
British
Christmas
Make Ahead
25 min
Active Time
10 min cook•PT35M plus chilling total
Yield6 servings
The kitchen on Boxing Day has a particular quiet to it. The big effort is behind you. The roast has been carved, the table cleared, and somewhere in the fridge there's a ham that still has a good deal of life left in it. This is its second act.
Potted ham is old Yorkshire thrift dressed up as something worth wanting. You take yesterday's meat, shred it by hand, work it together with soft butter and English mustard and a pinch of mace that smells like Christmas even when Christmas is nearly over. You press it into small pots, seal it under a layer of clarified butter, and put it in the fridge. The next day you have something that spreads on warm toast like a quiet gift: savoury, spiced, rich with butter, the sort of thing that makes a cold lunch feel like an occasion.
I make this every year between Christmas and New Year, when the fridge is full of leftovers and the appetite wants something simple. I wrote it down in the notebook years ago: ham, butter, mustard, mace, Boxing Day. It hasn't changed since. A recipe is a conversation, not a contract, but some conversations don't need revising.
There are few better feelings than putting a pot of this in front of someone with a pile of toast and a jar of pickles, and watching them spread it on, take the first bite, and reach for more without saying a word. We're only making dinner. Or lunch. Or something to pick at while the rain comes down and the year winds itself out.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
cooked ham
Quantity
400g
ideally leftover from a roast, roughly shredded
unsalted butter, softened
Quantity
150g
unsalted butter, for sealing
Quantity
80g
English mustard
Quantity
1 tablespoon
ground mace
Quantity
generous pinch
ground cloves
Quantity
pinch
cayenne pepper
Quantity
pinch
black pepper
Quantity
freshly ground, to taste
good toast or oatcakes (optional)
Quantity
to serve
cornichons and pickled onions (optional)
Quantity
to serve
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| cooked hamideally leftover from a roast, roughly shredded | 400g |
| unsalted butter, softened | 150g |
| unsalted butter, for sealing | 80g |
| English mustard | 1 tablespoon |
| ground mace | generous pinch |
| ground cloves | pinch |
| cayenne pepper | pinch |
| black pepper | freshly ground, to taste |
| good toast or oatcakes (optional) | to serve |
| cornichons and pickled onions (optional) | to serve |
Equipment Needed
- •Ramekins or small stoneware pots, around 150ml each
- •Two sturdy forks for shredding
- •Small saucepan for clarifying butter
Instructions
- 1
Shred the ham
Take the leftover ham and pull it apart with two forks, working against the grain until you have a pile of rough shreds. Some people mince it. I prefer to shred it by hand because you get a texture that feels honest, not industrial. A mix of fine and coarse is what you want. Pick out any large pieces of fat, but don't be too fastidious. A little fat carries flavour.
The darker, more caramelised pieces from the outside of the roast are the best bits here. Don't discard them. They bring a deeper, more savoury note to the pot. - 2
Pound with butter and spice
Put the shredded ham in a large bowl with the softened butter, mustard, mace, cloves, cayenne, and a good grinding of black pepper. Work it together with a fork, pressing and mashing until the butter and ham are properly combined. You're not making a smooth paste. You want it rough, spreadable, somewhere between a pâté and a rillette. Some people use a food processor. I don't. The fork gives you control and the texture stays interesting. Taste it. Adjust the mustard if you want more heat, the mace if you want more warmth. Season and taste. Then taste again.
The ham is already salted from its cure, so go carefully with any additional salt. The butter and spices are there to round it out, not compete. - 3
Pack the pots
Press the mixture firmly into ramekins or small stoneware pots, pushing it down with the back of a spoon to remove any air pockets. Leave about a centimetre of space at the top. Smooth the surface. The packing matters. Air is the enemy of keeping, and a well-packed pot will hold for days in the fridge.
- 4
Seal with clarified butter
Melt the remaining butter gently in a small pan. Let it foam and settle, then carefully pour the clear golden liquid over the top of each pot, leaving the milky solids behind in the pan. The butter should form a smooth, even seal about half a centimetre thick. Put the pots in the fridge and leave them alone for at least four hours, overnight if you can manage it. The flavours need time to settle and marry. Boxing Day patience.
The butter seal is what preserves the ham and keeps it sweet. Make sure it covers the entire surface with no gaps. If you spot a crack once it's set, melt a little more butter and patch it. - 5
Serve at room temperature
Take the pots from the fridge twenty minutes before you plan to eat. The butter seal softens just enough to spread, and the ham beneath it comes to life as it loses its chill. Serve with good toast, cut thick and still warm, or oatcakes if you can find them. A few cornichons alongside. A pickled onion or two. A glass of something cold. That's Boxing Day sorted.
Chef Tips
- •This is a recipe that lives or dies by the quality of the ham. A dry, overcooked joint won't suddenly become something wonderful because you've added butter. Start with a properly cooked ham, one that's still moist and well seasoned from its cure, and the potting is just a matter of assembly.
- •Mace is the spice that makes this taste like itself. It's warm, a little sweet, faintly nutmeg-like but more refined. Ground mace can be hard to find, but it's worth seeking out. A good spice shop or a decent supermarket will have it. There is no substitute that does quite the same job.
- •The mustard should be English. Colman's, ideally. It has a clean, sharp heat that cuts through the richness of the butter without muddying the flavour. French mustard is a different thing entirely and won't give you the same result.
- •These pots make a very good thing to give away. Pack them into small stoneware ramekins, seal them well, tie a bit of cloth over the top if you're feeling generous. A pot of potted ham, a few oatcakes, and a jar of pickles is a Boxing Day parcel worth receiving.
Advance Preparation
- •Best made the day after roasting the ham, while the meat is still moist. The potted ham needs at least four hours in the fridge to set, but improves overnight as the spices settle into the butter.
- •Sealed under its butter layer, potted ham keeps in the fridge for up to a week. Once the seal is broken, eat within two days.
- •Can be made in one large pot or several small ones. Small pots are better for giving away and mean you only break the seal on what you intend to eat.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 108g)
Calories
375 calories
Total Fat
36 g
Saturated Fat
21 g
Trans Fat
1 g
Unsaturated Fat
14 g
Cholesterol
120 mg
Sodium
765 mg
Total Carbohydrates
0 g
Dietary Fiber
0 g
Sugars
0 g
Protein
14 g
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