© J Sainsbury plc 2020
Christmas ham
If there is a Christmas ham in the house, I am constantly aware of its presence. Yes, a home cooked ham served warm with potatoes and green beans is truly special and a serious upgrade on shop-bought, but I think I prefer the cold, leftover ham. It will be on a plate in the fridge with a small sharp knife next to it, so that at any point I may make the short journey to carve a slice or three to enjoy while lit by the open door.
-
Ready in 3 hours 10 minutes
-
Cooking time 3 hours
-
Prep time 10 minutes
-
Serves 8
Ingredients
- 1.4kg unsmoked or smoked ham or gammon
- 2 carrots, peeled and cut in 1/2
- 1 onion, peeled and cut in 1/2
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 tsp black peppercorns
For the glaze
- 2 tsp curry powder
- 1 tsp mixed spice
- 75g brown sugar
- 100ml red wine, or use a cider
- 1 tbsp brandy or port (optional)
- Juice of 1 orange
- 10 cloves (how many you use depends on the size of the surface of the ham)
Method
-
1
Put the gammon in a large saucepan and pour on enough cold water to cover. Add the carrots, onion, peppercorns and bay leaves. Bring to the boil, turn down to a simmer and cook for 1 hour. Top up with water and skim off any froth from the surface from time to time.
-
2
Meanwhile, mix all the ingredients for the glaze in a bowl and put aside until later
-
3
Allow the ham to cool a little, then remove from the pan. Strain the liquid and save/freeze as it makes an excellent stock for soups
-
4
Once cool enough to handle, peel away the skin from the ham leaving a layer of fat. Score the fat in a diamond pattern and push a clove in the centre of each diamond
-
5
Preheat the oven to 150°C.
-
6
Place the ham on a grill in a roasting dish with the scored skin facing upwards and brush with the glaze, and cook for about 20 minutes
-
7
Increase the temp to 180°C and pour the remaining glaze over and cook for another 15-30 minutes, using a spoon or brush to glaze the ham every 5 minutes until it has a lovely coloured sticky glaze
-
8
Allow to rest for at least 30 minutes, still using a spoon or brush to glaze the ham every 5 minutes, before slicing to serve warm with whatever you fancy, or allow to cool and eat over the following week
