Real Recipes From Real Home Cooks ®

holiday ham pate

Recipe by
Garrison Wayne
La Quinta, CA

If you want to impress people,.......make a Pate. Traditionally, Pate is made with liver. A lot of people will not eat liver, but they will eat ham. This recipe for Ham Pate is really quite easy and will make use of some of all that leftover ham. Steaming in a water bath on low heat is key. Since the flavors of a Pate should mature for a few days, it makes for a great make ahead appetizer. I hope you will find this as delightfully delicious as I do. Happy Holidays.

yield 8 serving(s)
prep time 20 Min
cook time 2 Hr
method Bake

Ingredients For holiday ham pate

  • 2 c
    cubed or chopped ham
  • 1 stick
    unsalted butter, softened
  • 1/4 c
    plain breadcrumbs, dry
  • 1/8 lg
    onion
  • 1 lg
    egg
  • 1/4 c
    heavy cream
  • 1 tsp
    dijon mustard
  • 1/4 tsp
    black pepper
  • 1/4 tsp
    dry thyme leaves, crushed
  • 1/2 tsp
    smoked paprika
  • 3 dash
    tabasco sauce
  • 1 Tbsp
    brandy or cognac
  • PRESENTATION INGREDIENTS
  • sour cream
  • chopped italian parsley
  • freshly cracked black pepper

How To Make holiday ham pate

  • 1
    Place all ingredients in a food processor and pulse and process until quite smooth and homogeneous.
  • 2
    Transfer to a well buttered 4 x 8 x 2.5 inch loaf pan. Cover tightly with heavy duty foil. Make sure it is tightly wrapped.
  • 3
    In larger baking dish, line the bottom with a white or natural colored tea towel. Place the wrapped Pate on top of the towel. Pour boiling water in the larger pan to come half way up the sides of the wrapped pate.
  • 4
    Bake in a 275 degree oven for 2 hours.
  • 5
    Remove from oven and cool on rack for about 30 minutes. See note below*.
  • 6
    Unmold the Pate by flipping it out of loaf pan on to a flat tray or plate that is lined with wax paper or plastic wrap. Some of the fat will puddle a bit, but don’t discard.
  • 7
    When cooled, pull the paper or plastic that the Pate is resting on up the sides and over the top to wrap tightly. Place the Pate in a loaf pan that is larger than the Pate. Cover with foil and store in fridge for several days before serving.
  • 8
    *Frost the Pate with sour cream and sprinkle with freshly chopped Italian parsley and add some cranks of freshly ground black pepper. Serve with a sturdy cracker or little toasts.
  • 9
    Note: if you wish, you can weigh down the Pate to compress a bit by placing an equal size loaf pan that is filled with dry beans atop the baked Pate (you need to remove the foil to do this). Weigh down for 30 minutes.
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