Cooking sliced ham to make it tender

Question

I am preparing sandwiches that have only really soft ingredients, like gouda cheese, cream cheese, etc.

But I would like them to have meat in them, I've decided to use sliced ham for that but the problem is that the sinews or tendons or whatever the little hard bits left in the meat are called in English are harder than the rest of the sandwich which gives an unpleasant feeling.

I want to tenderize the ham, while preserving the texture and moisture, so I was thinking of putting it in a pan of water to boil slowly.

What would be the best method to remove any "hard bits" (sinews, tendons?) from the ham, in order to make it tender and almost "creamy"? Are there any alternative meats I can use that would offer no resistance to biting?

Answer 1

You could use pâté or rilette or cretons or similar (spreadable meat pastes).

Alternatively, Cook's Ham has a recipe for "ham pâté" (Basically throw the ham in a food processor, then mix in some mayo and stuff to make a spread).

If you're using a city ham (rather than a country ham), it is likely pre-cooked (see the package directions) and all you need to do is re-heat it. If you do this gently (low and slow), you should be able to get better texture. For example, put it in the oven for the lowest oven setting possible until it comes up to temperature (you can add some water / use a turkey roasting bag as well to help), or stick it in a sous vide water bath.