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Ham as Sauerbraten

4 servings

Ingredients

• 1 piece Fresh ham
• Salt (a little)
• 6 pieces Bay leaves
• Shallots or onions (a little)
• Pepper (a little)
• Cloves (a little)
• Tarragon (a little)
• Vinegar (a little)
• Water (a little)
• Butter (a little)
• Crushed rusk (a little)
• Nutmeg (a little)
• Lemon slices (a little)
• Potato starch (a little)
• Celery (a little)

Instructions

1. Rub the fresh ham with salt, place it in vinegar with 6 bay leaves, plenty of shallots or onions, a lot of whole peppercorns, cloves, and tarragon for 8 days, basting it often.
2. Afterward, put it in boiling water with a little of the marinade and cook it almost tender, tightly covered.
3. Strain the broth, add butter under the ham, either score the rind crosswise and stick a clove into each strip, or remove the rind and sprinkle a thick layer of crushed rusk and nutmeg over it.
4. Finish roasting in the oven until golden and tender, gradually adding the broth and basting the ham often but carefully so that the crust remains hard and is not washed away.
5. When serving, remove most of the fat, stir the sauce well, slice some lemon into it, and thicken it with a little potato starch.
6. For garnish: cook several celery roots in water and salt until half tender, cut them lengthwise into 8 pieces, and cook them until soft in the ham broth.
7. Keep them ready until serving, then briefly simmer them in the finished sauce and garnish the dish with them.

Modernized from a treasured 19th-century German cookbook.