Jambon Braise Au Madere (braised Ham W/madeira Sauce - France)

Total Time: 23 mins Preparation Time: 5 mins Cook Time: 18 mins

Ingredients

• 4 tablespoons butter
• 4 shallots (finely minced)
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 cups beef stock
• 1 tablespoon tomato puree
• 6 tablespoons madeira wine
• 4 ham steaks (6-7 oz each)
• salt & freshly ground black pepper (to taste)

Recipe

• 1 melt half the butter in a heavy med-sized saucepan over med-high heat. add the shallots & cook for 2-3 min till just softened, stirring freq.
• 2 sprinkle over the flour & cook for 3-4 min till well-browned, stirring constantly. whisk in the stock + tomato puree & season to taste w/salt & pepper. simmer over low heat till the sauce is reduced by nearly half, stirring occ.
• 3 taste the sauce & adjust seasoning as desired. add the madeira wine & cook for 2-3 minutes. (the sauce can be made up to 3 dys in advance, chilled & then rewarmed to serve.).
• 4 snip the edges of the ham steaks to prevent curling. melt the remaining butter in a lrg fry pan over med-high heat. add the ham steaks & cook 4-5 min (turning once) till the meat feels firm to the touch. serve immediately w/the sauce.
• 5 *notes* ~ this is where i often go astray w/a recipe - a point where i begin to think about a better (or easier) way to do something or a way i pers prefer. *for example* ~ 1) the recipe said to strain the sauce at the end of prep step 3, but i deleted that as i rarely see it as beneficial & certainly not w/this recipe as the sauce has no food solids other than finely minced shallots -- 2) i esp like that this sauce can be made ahead & rewarmed to serve, but i'd be more than reluctant to walk away from the lovely pan drippings from cooking the ham steaks -- so i'd be inclined to rewarm the sauce in that same pan to add to the rich flavor of the sauce b4 serving.