Jambon Persillé — Parsleyed Ham in Aspic

Ingredients

• 3–4 kg bone-in ham shank, cured, whole
• 2 calves' feet, split
• For the court-bouillon
• 750 ml dry white Burgundy wine, Aligoté or Chardonnay
• 4 litres water
• 3–4 shallots, peeled
• 4 cloves garlic, peeled
• 4 sprigs fresh thyme
• 2 bay laurel leaves
• 4 sprigs fresh tarragon
• 1 tsp black peppercorns, whole
• For finishing
• 100 g per kg of ham flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped immediately before use
• 15–20 ml per litre of liquor white wine vinegar

Method

1. 1
   Submerge the ham shank in a vessel under cold running water. Desalt for 12–24 hours according to the intensity of the cure. The ham is ready when a sliver tasted raw no longer registers an aggressive salt.
2. 2
   Place the desalted ham and the split calves' feet in a large pot. Cover with 4 litres of cold water and 750 ml of dry white Burgundy. Add the shallots, garlic, thyme, bay, tarragon, and peppercorns. Bring to temperature and hold a steady 85 °C — never a rolling boil — for 2.5–3 hours. The ham is done when it registers 72 °C at the bone and the meat shreds apart under light pressure with two forks.
3. 3
   Lift the ham and calves' feet from the pot. Strain the liquor through a fine chinois lined with cheesecloth into a clean vessel. Reduce the strained liquor by one-third over moderate heat to concentrate both gelatin and flavour. Chill the reduced liquor completely, then lift and discard every trace of solidified fat from the surface. The liquor must be crystal clear and free of any white deposit before proceeding — this step is where the dish lives or dies.
4. 4
   Return the degreased liquor to a gentle heat. Season with white wine vinegar at 15–20 ml per litre. To verify the set, spoon a small sample onto a chilled plate and refrigerate for five minutes: the gelée must tremble but hold a clean edge when the plate is tilted.
5. 5
   Blanch the flat-leaf parsley in boiling water for 5 seconds, then transfer immediately to ice water to fix the chlorophyll. Drain and chop finely. Hand-shred the ham into irregular pieces of varying size. Combine 100 g of chopped parsley per kg of shredded ham. The parsley must be vivid green, not khaki.
6. 6
   Cool the aspic liquor to 30–32 °C — warm to the wrist, not hot. In a glass or ceramic bowl, ladle a base layer of aspic, allow it to firm slightly, then add a layer of parsleyed ham, pressing gently to eliminate air pockets. Continue alternating layers of parsleyed ham and ladled aspic, pressing at each addition, until the bowl is filled. Refrigerate at 2–4 °C for 12–24 hours. The set is complete when the surface is fully firm and does not yield to light finger pressure.
7. 7
   Unmould and slice into wedges of 15–20 mm. The cross-section must display a vivid mosaic of pink ham and bright green parsley suspended in a pale gold, barely trembling gelée.