Danish Ham Viking Style Recipes

DANISH HAM - VIKING STYLE

Steps:

• To prepare the ham:.
• Place the meat on a cutting board. Using a sharp knife, score the fat in a cross-hatch pattern, cutting all the way through to the meat.
• Put the ham in a large roasting pan. Spread the honey over the ham. Combine the thyme, bay leaves, and juniper in a small bowl. Season the mixture with salt, and then rub it into the ham. Pour the beer over the ham. Cover the pan and marinate the ham in the refrigerator for several hours or overnight.
• Preheat the oven to 320 degrees F.
• To prepare the puree:.
• Note: The puree also calls for 2 salsify roots. Recipezaar doesn't recognize them, so it wouldn't allow me to include them in the ingredients. They are easily ommited. Especially since they are rather hard to find in this part of the world.
• After the ham has marinated, peel and dice all of the fruit and vegetables. Place the vegetables in the roasting pan around the ham.
• To cook the ham:.
• Roast the ham and vegetables, basting the meat frequently with the marinade and adding more beer and honey if the pan seems dry. Cook the vegetables until they are very tender, about 1 hour. Take the vegetables from the roasting pan and put them in a large saucepan. Set the vegetables aside until the ham is cooked. Return the meat to the oven and continue roasting and basting until the meat is tender, about 3 more hours. Take the ham out of the oven, cover it and set it aside to rest for 1 hour.
• To finish the puree:.
• Gently warm the vegetables over medium heat. Mash them with the butter, and then season with salt and pepper. Keep the puree warm until ready to serve.
• Note: If desired, the ham can be glazed with a mixture of honey and mustard just prior to slicing and serving.
• Horseradish Cream:.
• In a bowl, combine all the ingredients, adding more or less of each, to taste. Mix well and then chill in the refrigerator.
• Apple and Pear Compote:.
• Peel and core the apples and pears. Roughly chop the fruit. Place the fruit in a medium saucepan. Add about 1 inch of water. Cover the pan and simmer the fruit over low heat until tender, about 20 minutes. Add honey, to taste. Serve the compote warm or at room temperature.
• Glaze the ham if desired, and then slice it. Serve the ham with the puree, Horseradish Cream and Apple and Pear Compote, accompanied by grilled toast topped with mushrooms, if desired.

SWEET AND SMOKEY SPANISH-STYLE HAM

Steps:

• Let the ham sit at room temperature 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Trim off any skin from the ham if needed. Score the ham through the fat in a diagonal crosshatch pattern without cutting into the meat. Place the ham, flat-side down, on a rack in a roasting pan. Pour 1/4 inch of water into the bottom of the pan. Roast ham until it reaches an internal temperature of about 130 degrees F, about 2 1/2 hours or 15 minutes per pound.
• Meanwhile, combine the sugar, paprika, garlic powder and oregano in a small bowl and stir until well mixed. Whisk in the olive oil until the mixture is a smooth paste.
• Remove the ham from the oven when it has reached 130 degrees F internally. Increase the oven temperature to 425 degrees F. Spoon or brush the mustard all over the ham. Spread the spice paste with a spoon as evenly as possible all over the ham. Add water as needed to the bottom of the pan. Return the ham to the oven and roast until the paste forms a very light brick red crust, turning once halfway through, about 25 minutes more.

BLUEBERRY-RICOTTA STUFFED EBELSKIVERS

Steps:

• For the filling: Mix together the ricotta, honey and lemon zest in a small bowl until well combined. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.
• For the pancakes: Whisk together the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl.
• Whisk together the milk, sour cream, egg yolks and lemon zest in another medium bowl. Whisk the yolk mixture into the flour mixture until just combined (the batter will be lumpy). Allow the batter to rest while you whip the egg whites.
• Beat the egg whites in a separate medium bowl with an electric mixer until stiff peaks form, about 1 minute. Gently fold the egg whites into the batter.
• Heat an ebelskiver pan over medium heat for 4 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium low and brush 4 of the wells generously with melted butter so there is some butter pooling at the bottom of each (the butter should barely sizzle when it hits the pan). Fill each buttered well with about 1 tablespoon batter. Repeat with the butter and batter in the remaining 4 wells. (You are working in batches to prevent the butter from burning.) Allow the batter to cook slightly around the edges, about 30 seconds.
• Carefully spoon about 1 teaspoon of the ricotta filling into the center of each ebelskiver, then press 2 blueberries (or just 1 if large) into the center. Spoon about 1 tablespoon additional batter on top of the blueberries so the wells are very full. Cook until the bottom crusts are golden brown, an additional 2 1/2 minutes.
• Push a wooden skewer through the raw batter and into the bottom crust of each ebelskiver to turn it slowly. Allow the raw batter to flow back into the well and create a new bottom crust. (If an ebelskiver does not slide up easily or hold its shape, slide it back to its original position and give it more time to cook and set.) Cook until the new undersides are golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes more. Check all sides of the ebelskivers: If there are pale spots on some, turn them pale-side down so they brown against the bottom of the pan for a few seconds. When they are done, the ebelskivers should be deep golden brown all over and a skewer inserted deep into the pancakes, avoiding the filling, should come out clean. If you find that some are cooking much more quickly than others, rotate the pan occasionally to even out the heat. Remove the ebelskivers from the pan.
• Repeat the process with the remaining melted butter, batter, filling and blueberries to make 6 more ebelskivers. By the second batch, the pan will be significantly hotter, so you may need to reduce the heat or remove the pan from the heat occasionally to ensure even cooking. Dust the ebelskivers with confectioners' sugar and serve warm drizzled with honey.