Since my trip to Le Cordon Bleu with Parma Ham last year, I have become a teeny but obsessed with dried Parma Ham. Yep, not fried, dried! It might sound weird, but trust me; when you slowly remove the water, you are left with an uber-savoury treat which you can break up in to shards, grind into a meaty sprinkle or simple snack on whole.
It’s easy to dry Parma Ham. Here we go:
- Lay the slices on a baking tray lined with baking parchment
- place in a low oven (I did 100c) until it has dried. How long it will take depends on the thickness of the ham, the oven etc. Check it every 10 minutes – turning the slices when you do. In my oven it takes about 30 mins
- Pat on paper towel when you take them out of the oven
- When they are dry, you can break them up, or even grind them into powder
- Store in a well-sealed container (so it doesn’t go soggy) in the fridge
Dried ham and eggs…said Dr Seuss never!
It is easy to dry Parma Ham, and once you’ve done it the options are endless.
It does particularly well with eggs: sprinkled on scrambled eggs or over poached eggs for breakfast (see crumpets above), or you could grind into a powder and use in place of salt on a runny boiled egg.
If, like me, you like popcorn a bit on the savoury side, then let me introduce you to the idea of parma popcorn! Don’t get me wrong, I love a bit of sweet and salty popcorn, but this is so deeply savoury that it deserves to be served with a beer, or a big, dark, red wine.
Sprinkle over a risotto or even a salad prior to serving…the possibilities are endless!
It is quite the flavourbomb, so you don’t need loads. But I strongly suggest that as you will have the oven on anyway, that you dry a whole packet of Parma Ham – you will find that it has gone within days!
Let me know if you come up with any other great ways of enjoying dried Parma Ham.
