Tangy Ham Sauce
When You Want to Kick Up Your Ham
This Tangy Ham Sauce is the perfect accompaniment to your Easter ham.
This silky, smooth, and delicious ham sauce is made with dry mustard, maple syrup, dark brown sugar, rice wine vinegar, and heavy cream. The addition of egg yolks is what makes it all come together and remain silky.
It is very easy to make, you just need a little patience and the ability to stir something for about 10 minutes.
If that’s too much, you could always just buy a sauce but then you’ll miss the bragging rights when everyone at your gathering asks how you made something so tasty.
The full, printable recipe is linked below. Beyond the printable recipe is more information to help guide your ham preparing experiences.
Full, Printable Recipe
Tangy Ham Sauce
A tangy and delicious mustard sauce that goes perfectly with your ham. This sauce also keeps for one week in the fridge and makes the perfect condiment for leftover ham sandwiches. You can also use this sauce for chicken. It is an elevated honey mustard that everyone will love.
Ingredients
- 1 cup of heavy cream
- 1/2 cup of rice wine vinegar
- 1/4 cup of real maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon of dark brown sugar
- 4 egg yolks
- 1 tablespoon of a very grainy mustard
- 2 tablespoons of dry mustard plus a few shakes of black pepper
- *you can reduce the dry mustard to 1 tablespoon if you want this less mustard flavored
Instructions
- Have a bowl with a strainer ready and set to the side.
- In a sauce pan, add all of the ingredients, have the heat on low.
- Whisk the mixture constantly while the sauce combined and comes up to a boil. Do not step away from the sauce. This will take some time, approximately 10 minutes or more depending on your stove and how heavy your pot is. This needs to cook low and slow.
- As soon as the mixture starts to bubble and boil, remove it from the heat and pour it through the strainer.
- You can serve this warm with your ham, or make it ahead of time and let it cool, the put it in the fridge where it will thicken up slightly.
- This stores for one week in your fridge, but it probably will be eaten up and you will have no leftovers.
What’s With The Egg Yolks?
There are four egg yolks in the ingredients to thicken the sauce when heated.
Without getting all scientific on you, egg yolks are proteins so as this sauce thickens it helps combine the fats and liquids so that you do not have a separation of the sauce.
Egg yolks also add richness to this tangy mustard sauce. It will end up being a similar texture to a hollandaise sauce when it is complete. You will not taste egg in this sauce, but it provides a richness you can’t describe.
Here is a great article from Food and Wine magazine that goes into more detail of why you should be using egg yolks in sauces.
Low And Slow
Cooking this slow and low allows the egg yolks to do their job, uniting the sauce components without having to go through the trouble of cooking it in a double boiler. You will see the sauce come together beautifully without having to do anything but whisk it as it comes up to temperature.
Don’t Strain Yourself
Straining the sauce immediate after cooking ensures that the texture of the sauce is silky and smooth. This eliminates the mustard seeds and any thicker textures in the sauce.
Perfect For Leftovers
This mustard sauce can be served immediately and warm with your holiday ham. You can also make it ahead of time and keep it covered in the fridge.
The sauce will thicken slightly as it sits which also makes it a perfect texture for leftover sandwiches. I highly suggest you try it on chicken tenders as well. I happen to have one the BEST chicken tender recipes and they are amazing dipped in this sauce.
More Spring Recipes
If you are looking for another great spring recipe idea, I have this incredible recipe for this sautéed asparagus with a creamy mustard dressing. This dish not only tastes great, but looks beautiful on any spring buffet. It can be served warm or cold.