Jambon Beurre

Name: Jambon Beurre
Total time: 20 min
Yield: 1 serving
Cuisine: french
Ingredients: 1 (10-inch) section fresh baguette; 1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter (preferably 85 percent butterfat), softened; 4 ounces thinly sliced cooked ham, preferably jambon de Paris or prosciutto cotto, at room temperature

By Florence Fabricant

Published Nov. 30, 2022

Total Time: 20 minutes
Rating: 4(516)
Comments: Read comments

Unlike ham and cheese, a sandwich that’s ubiquitous across the globe, jambon beurre (ham butter) is strictly French. Though it’s a seemingly sparse construction — simply baguette, cooked ham and butter — the ingredients for this interpretation from L’Ami Pierre in New York require careful selection. High-quality baguettes are now sold in many bakeries. High-butterfat butter enhances the sandwich, providing more fat than 80 percent supermarket standard, and the ham, preferably silky jambon de Paris, a cooked ham sliced, in the finer shops, from a bone-in joint, can make it or break it. French-style or similar cooked ham is available in many areas; to avoid are boneless, often waterlogged deli hams. Like most sandwiches, this one is designed as a treat for one, but, cut into smaller sections and served on a platter, it can enhance a buffet, even at holiday time.

Featured in: The Proustian Ideal of a Ham Sandwich

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Ingredients

Yield:1 serving

1(10-inch) section fresh baguette
1½tablespoons unsalted butter (preferably 85 percent butterfat), softened
4ounces thinly sliced cooked ham, preferably jambon de Paris or prosciutto cotto, at room temperature

Ingredient Substitution Guide

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Preparation

Step 1
Heat oven to 275 degrees. Place baguette in oven and bake 10 minutes, just until the outside crisps. Remove from oven, split in half horizontally and allow to cool to room temperature.
Step 2
When bread has cooled, spread butter on both sides. Pile on the ham. Close the sandwich, cut in half on an angle and serve.

Ratings

4 out of 5

516 user ratings

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Comments

Janet H.2 years ago

I have made this alot for my husband, who used to live in France. Anyone who has visited or lived in France - and ate this sandwich - would understand why this article and recipe were worth publishing. Here is my attempt at trying to be helpful for those still who look to Notes for actual tips and helpful advice: Many delis and even good supermarkets in the northeast sell French-canadian ham from Montreal that comes very close to the french version. A good baguette is more challenging.

Colin2 years ago

I've always had a jambon beurre with cornichons. Is that inauthentic (not that I really care, frankly, just curious)? I think the pickle cuts through the ham and butter nicely.

Claire2 years ago

Had this first in a smoke filled bar when I was about 24 and too young to understand what it was. Ordered in puzzlement (“why is butter listed as an ingredient?”) Saw that the baguette was covered with *slices* of butter and took all except one of them off in horror. Took a bite of the end that still had the butter on - and was transported. Carefully replaced all of the butter and ate the rest. For anyone asking – in this instance, the cornichons were served on the side.

Kathy Grey3 days ago

I lived in Provence, summer of 1981. We were poor college students. Each weekend, we'd go to every nearby festival (fête). Lots of music and dancing, fending off the advances of inebriated French men. The jambón-beurre provided low-budget sustenance during or after a night of partying in the fresh evening air. I remember they included cornichons (the "vegetable" component) and whole-grain mustard. The very mention of the jambón-beurre sends me back to some of the best times of my life.

Ken B.3 days ago

Love this sandwich. Perhaps my favorite. I made one like it with mortadella yesterday.

Peter4 days ago

Love this sandwich! I've been making it for a couple of years now and always enjoy it, and there are never leftovers when it's brought to a party. 2 things I can offer: ֍ Try and find Ficelle loaves (like a baguette but thinner), as a typical baguette can be a bit bready for this sandwich. I've resorted to making my own Ficelle's due to logistics. ֍ The butter: I've had the most flavorful results using grass fed unsalted butter. . .high butterfat content and it just has more buttery flavor.

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