3000 year old stew, with beets

https://babylonian-collection.yale.edu/babylonian-cooking

Randy has been sharing with me his 180 most influential cuneiform tablets (right!) and sent me a couple sites with translations of ancient Babylonian recipes. So, this is a 3000 year old stew!

1 pound of diced leg of mutton or lamb
1/2 cup of rendered sheep fat
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1 cup of beer
1/2 cup of water
1 small onion, chopped
1 cup of chopped arugula
1 cup of Persian shallots or spring onions
1/2 cup of chopped fresh cilantro
1 teaspoon of cumin
1 pound of fresh red beets, peeled and diced
1/2 cup of chopped leek
2 cloves of garlic

For the garnish:
2 teaspoons of dry coriander seed
1/2 cup of finely chopped cilantro
1/2 cup of finely chopped kurrat or ramps/wild leek

1. Heat the fat in a pot wide enough for the diced lamb to spread in one layer.
2. Add lamb and sear on high heat until all moisture evaporates.
3. Fold in the onion, and keep cooking until it is almost transparent.
4. Fold in red beet, arugula, cilantro, Persian shallots and cumin. Keep on folding until the moisture evaporates and ingredients emit a pleasant aroma.
5. Pour in the beer. Add water. Give the pot a light stir. Bring the pot to a boil.
6. Reduce heat and add leek and garlic that you crush in a mortar.
7. Let the stew simmer until the sauce thickens after about an hour.
8. Chop kurrat and fresh cilantro and pound it into a paste using a mortar.
9. Ladle the stew into plates and sprinkle with dry coriander seed and the kurrat and cilantro paste. The dish can be served with steamed bulgur and naan-bread.

Crêpe-wrapped Apple Terrine - Untested

For 4 crêpes http://www.lapopottedemanue.com/article-30793313.html
3 eggs (3 oeufs)
2 Tbsps butter, melted (10 g de beurre fondu)
1 cup lager (25 cl de bière blonde)
1 cup milk (25 cl de lait)
2 cups flour (250 g de farine)
1 Tbsp (1 cuil. à soupe de sucre)
1 pinch salt (1 pincée de sel)

1. In a large bowl whisk the eggs until uniform. Allow the butter to cool a bit and, still whisking, slowly whisk in the butter. Add the beer and the milk and combine thoroughly. With a wooden spoon mix in the flour, sugar and salt. (Dans un grand bol mélangez le beurre fondu et les œufs. Ajoutez la bière et le lait, mélangez bien. Incorporez la farine avec le sucre et le sel, fouettez énergiquement.)
2. Whisk vigorously until the batter is perfectly smooth. Don't hesitate to put in the blender or food processor if you can't get all the lumps out. (La pâte doit être lisse, exempt de grumeaux. Si cela n'est pas le cas n'hésitez pas à la passer au mixer ou dans votre blender.)
3. Butter a fry pan, heat and cook in thin layers, until golden. (Avec un pinceau en silicone graissez votre pôele, chauffer bien et verser une louche de pâte. D'un joli mouvement de poignet faîtes glisser la pâte partout. Retournez la crêpe une fois la pâte dorée.)

For the filling

http://www.lapopottedemanue.com/article-terrine-de-crepes-aux-pommes-et-caramel-85532426.html
3 Tbsps of butter (40 g de beurre)
4 apples, peeled and cored and cut into 8ths (pommes à cuire)
3/4 cups sugar (150 g de sucre)
2 tsps vanilla extract (La pulpe d' 1 gousse de vanille)

1. Mélanger le sucre avec la pulpe de la gousse de vanille afin d'obtenir un sucre bien vanillé.
2. Eplucher les pommes, les couper en 8 quartiers et ôter les pépins.
3. Melt the butter and add the apples. When the apples are almost cooked, dust the sugar over the apples and sprinkle on the vanilla. When the apples are nearly falling apart, increase the temperature to caramelise. Allow to cool. (Faire fondre le beurre dans une grande poêle et ajouter les quartiers. saupoudrer du sucre vanillé et cuire à feu moyen en remuant de temps en temps. Lorsque les pommes sont presque fondantes, accélérer la cuisson pour les caraméliser. Laisser tiédir.)
4. Using a terrine dish, layer the bottom with a crêpe, allowing the excess to hang over. Divide the apple mixture into 3 portions. Use one portion to create a layer at the bottom. With the remaining crêpes, cut out the shape of the dish. Layer one cut crêpe over the bottom layer of apples. Put in another layer of the apples over this, and lay another cut crêpe over this. Layer the last portion of apples in the terrine dish, and place the last cut crêpe over this. Fold the hanging edges of the bottom crêpe over the top of this last crêpe. Allow to cool completely before putting in the refrigerator to chill. (Tapisser le fond de la terrine avec une crêpe. A l'aide du couvercle, découper au couteau 2 carrés dans chaque crêpes restantes. Alterner les carrés de crêpes et les pommes fondantes en tassant bien. Terminer par un carré de crêpe. Laisser refroidir, couvrir avec le couvercle et mettre au frais une fois froid.)

For the caramel
100 g de sucre
40 g de beurre salé
40 g de créme fraîche

1. For the caramel, put the sugar in a heavy-bottomed pan. Add just enough water to wet the sugar (about 3-4 Tbsps). Set aside. (Préparer le caramel en mettant le sucre dans une casserole à fond épais, et en mettant juste assez d'eau pour le mouiller (soit l'équivalent de 3 à 4 CS).)
2. Melt the butter and add the crème fraîche and heat to avoid chocking the hot sugar. (Dans un bol, faire chauffer le beurre et la créme fraîche 30 s au micro-onde afin d'éviter le choc thermique lors de l'ajout dans le caramel.)
3. Over high heat and stirring frequently, melt the sugar and heat until it turns a lovely amber. IN a slow stream, mix in the butter and cream. (Faire chauffer le sucre sur feu vif en surveillant constamment. Lorsque celui-ci prend une jolie couleur ambrée, hors du feu, ajouter les liquides et mélanger.)
4. Remove from the heat and allow to cool in a lidded container. (Laisser refroidir et stocker dans un pot avec couvercle.)
5. Before serving, heat the caramel until runny.
6. Turn out the terrine onto a serving platter and drizzle the caramel on top. (Au moment de servir, réchauffer 10 à 20 secondes le caramel au Micro-Onde et le verser sur la terrine de crêpes démoulée.)

Herbed Ham - Untested

http://www.lesgourmandisesdisa.com/2006/10/jambon-aux-herbes.html

1 picnic ham (about 6-8 lbs)
1 bottle of lager-type beer
10 sprigs of rosemary
1 bunch fresh thyme
3 bay laurel leaves
4 cups water

1. In a large oven-ready pot place the ham along with the beer, herbs and water.
2. Cover and bake at 300F for 5 hours.

Ham braised in beer - Testing

http://www.banlieusardises.com/jambon-a-la-biere/
https://www.recipetips.com/kitchen-tips/t--753/boiling-ham.asp

0 - compare the boiling instructions with the existing ham recipe.
00 - look up the use of molasses instead of sugar - note at end indicates molasses helps remove salt from the cured ham
000 - look up the use of milk to boil ham - uses, advantages, function
0000 - look up other beer-based ham recipes

1-I think I used an unsmoked boneless ham, which allowed me to shorten the cooking time considerably. I've added the alternate instructions in the notes. The flavour was good and the meat very tender, but I'm curious about the beer - is it just flavouring or is there chemistry with the meat involved? Also, for a smoked ham, is the 3-4 hours really necessary? Or is it because of the bone?
2 - Delicious! And Ben-approved. Used a smoked ham this time. And some notes for next time. Ok, size of ham is important to account for. I put in a little 4lb ham and after 4 hours of slow cooking on the wood stove the meat was already totally falling off the bone. It only makes sense that the 2+2+4=8 hours of cooking is for a big 10lb+ ham. I did a bit more research and have more to add in the recipe. Also, it was maybe a little bit dry, so I'm curious what will happen when I leave it in to cool completely in the liquid before roasting it.

3 - (pre-baking) I've removed the boiling instructions in this since I now have a standard recipe for that step which I quite like. It may also help me realize that this is a long, slow recipe.

UPDATE - the changes I made worked very well indeed. Very moist. The one thing to tweak is the long cooking time - it went over 155F which may have made it a bit dryer than it could have been, so 25 minutes per lb might be too much. I will alter it to 20 minutes per lb and add that if it isn't at 155F to check every 10 minutes.

1 picnic style smoked ham (If using a fresh ham, see NOTES)

1/2 cup (125g) brown sugar
1 tsp dry mustard
1 bottle of lager-type beer
1/2 cup water

15+ cloves

1. Preheat the oven to 275F.
2. If you've boiled your own ham, cut away the skin (keep to make crackling if you want) and leave about 1/4 to 1/2 inch of fat.
3. In a small bowl mix together the sugar, mustard, beer and water. 
4. Put the ham in a roasting pan or casserole with a lid. Pour over the beer mixture. 
5. Cover and cook for 25 minutes 20 minutes per lb of ham, or until the meat falls off the bone and is fork-tender, or until the internal temperature reaches 155F. If the right temperature is not achieved, put back in and check every 10 minutes until you hit the 155F mark.
6. Score the fat with a grid pattern and poke in the cloves the intersections of lines.
7. Increase the temperature to 400F, put ham in an over-ready dish and spoon over some of the braising liquid; bake, uncovered, for another 10-15 minutes (or try the broiler) just to get the top to caramelize a bit.
8. Allow the ham to cool for about 20 minutes before carving.