Honey Glazed Gammon Recipe

Honey Glazed Gammon - feeling hungry already!

When we were in the UK in November, our gorgeous friend Caroline cooked a seriously fabulous Honey Glazed Gammon to feed all of us internationals who descended on their home on the night before the Christening.

Anyway, I'd never had gammon before and it was so yummy that I kept having more and more.  I think it's all scrumptious, but my fave bits were the crunchy roasted bits on the edges - bliss!  I badgered her for the recipe, and it turns out to be one of the Hairy Bikers recipes.

The Hairy Bikers - fuzzy wuzzy lads!

We headed down to Adelaide for Christmas with family and friends, and I thought I'd try to cook this for the HUGE family Christmas lunch at my parents house.  First we had to find gammon.  It's not a common thing in Australia, and we tootled into the butcher and asked what he thought.  He reckoned it sounded pretty much like pickled pork, which he could make for us, so we ordered some to pick up in a few days.

Mum and I followed the recipe fairly well (it's pretty basic) and it came out an absolute treat.  High points here for Mum who did all the hard work of boiling it etc., whilst I was out drinking bubbles with my girlfriends - I sloped in at the last moment and did the glazing and baking bit.  I'd love to try it again over here in Germany, but I have absolutely no idea what I'd ask for at the butcher to get the gammon/pickled pork - any German speakers know what I should say?

Here's the recipe, hope you enjoy it!

Ingredients

• 2-4kg/4lb 8oz-9lb unsmoked boneless gammon joint, tied
• 2 onions, halved
• 2 carrots, unpeeled, cut into 5cm/2in pieces
• 2 celery stalks, cut into 5cm/2in pieces
• 4 bay leaves
• 12 black peppercorns
• small handful cloves

For the glaze

• 4 tbsp runny honey
• 4 tbsp English mustard

Preparation method

1. Place the gammon joint into a large lidded saucepan, cover with cold water and bring to the boil over a high heat. Drain the water from the saucepan, add fresh cold water, add the onions, carrots, celery, bay leaves and peppercorns and bring to the boil once more. Reduce the heat, cover with a lid and simmer the gammon and vegetables gently for twenty minutes per 500g/1lb 2oz. (If your pan is not quite large enough to cover the joint completely, turn the gammon over halfway through the cooking time.)
2. Remove the gammon from the water and set aside to cool for fifteen minutes. (The cooking liquid can be strained and reserved for making soup for another time.)
3. Pre-heat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6 and line a large roasting tin with aluminium foil.
4. Use a small knife to remove the rind from the gammon joint, leaving as much of the fat intact as possible. Score the fat in a diamond pattern, and push a clove into the centre of each 'X'.
5. Place the gammon into the foil-lined roasting tray, ensuring that the sides of the foil come half way up the joint to contain any roasting juices.
6. For the glaze, mix the honey and mustard together and brush half of it evenly over the gammon, including one side of the joint. Roast in the centre of the oven for ten minutes, then take the joint out and brush the top and remaining side with the rest of the glaze. Return the gammon to the oven for a further 10-15 minutes, rotating the roasting tin so that the opposite side of the gammon faces the back of the oven.
7. The gammon is ready when the fat on top is glossy and golden brown. Cover loosely with foil if the top begins to look too brown. Remove the gammon from the oven and set aside to rest for 15 minutes before carving.
8. Pour any juices that have collected in the aluminium foil into a small pan, and warm through gently.
9. Carve the gammon, serve on a large platter and spoon over the warmed juices