As I munched on yummy leftovers for lunch today, I thought it was time to blog my roast gammon recipe. Although it’s not all roasted – mostly it’s boiled, which ensures that it’s moist, whilst the roasting (with a glaze) sets in a little crisp sweetness. Gammon is an excellent Sunday lunch joint – no waste and wonderful leftovers. And last week, in our local Tescos 2.7kg joints were going for £6! So we had one yesterday and another is in the freezer. The great advantage with gammon is that because it’s great with mashed potatoes, rather than roasted, you can have it mainly cooked before church and eat Sunday lunch at lunchtime rather than midafternoon, as tends to happen with anything involving roasties.
So this recipe is specially adapted for Vicarage dwellers, or anyone wanting to go to church on a Sunday and come back and eat within an hour or so of returning.
A great and speedy Sunday lunch - cherry coke and jam ham
Ingredients
- Gammon joint
- Cherry coke/coke/cranberry juice/apple juice/cider/spiced cranapple to fill pan over the meat (if there’s not quite enough top up with water) but for a 2.2kg joint I normally find 2l is enough
- Cloves
- Cherry jam/treacle/mustard and brown sugar
I usually rinse the joint in cold water – there’s never enough time to soak it or boil it up from cold, I find. Although lately I’ve not even bothered with this rinse. Then I simmer it for 30mins per 500g in something tasty – cherry coke, ordinary coke, cranberry or apple juice, cider or (an excellent discovery tried this Christmas) leftover Spiced cranapple from the carol service. I usually pop an onion in alongside the joint too. Usually on a joint they tell you to cook it for 35mins per 500g plus another 35mins, but since I’m leaving the joint in warm juice during the service, I ignore their instructions.
Then when I get back from church I whack the oven up to 200C (Gas 6) and whilst it’s heating up I put the tatties on and fish the joint out and put it straight onto a roasting dish which I’ve lined with foil. Then I remove the funny plastic holder thing and carve off the top layer from the fatty skin part. I use the knife to make a diamond pattern and stud the criss-cross of each diamond with a clove. Then I cover the clovey fat with a sweet sticky topping. This might be (easiest and peasiest) black cherry jam boiled up a bit to make it stickier, or maybe some black treacle, or some brown sugar and mustard. My top tip for this is to have everything you need to hand before you start – teaspoons, cloves, mustard, sugar or whatever. It’s sticky and it’s better to get it over with quickly.
Then I pop the ham in the oven for only 15-30 minutes. Any longer and the sugary topping begins to burn and weld to the bottom of your roasting dish. So set the pinger to 15mins and check it. I consider it done when the sweet topping is caramelised but before the bottom of the pan is completely scorched.
This is why a foil lining to the dish is a good idea. I just wish I remembered that every time. Otherwise you can get the burns off by adding a sprinkle of dishwasher powder to water and boiling the mixture in your roaster on the hob. Takes off many a cooking stain. Also works on cast iron casserole dishes.
Whilst the ham is cooking, pop your veggies on, yell at the Vicar to come and carve and at the children to stop bickering, check that your guests are comfortable and very soon you’ll be enjoying a warming Sunday lunch. The leftovers of course are delicious. Very popular with Vicarage children in a pasta bake with cheese sauce, spaghetti carbonara, or the new favourite, Spanish gammon hotpot. Or picked at for lunch by the grown-ups.
The Vicar's Wife 
We had some of the bargainous gammon last Sunday, too! Housemate bought an ENORMOUS piece and then invited the whole of Cambridge to eat it. There were 9 of us for Sunday lunch and the rest of it lasted the 2 of us all week! Very delicious. We had baked potatoes with it, which are also good left in a low oven all morning to be ready when you get back from church.
Try leftovers in a pan with stock, a shredded leek, sliced carrots and cubed potatoes with a handful of lentils (red or green) or any other pulse (check if you need to soak them first). Bring to boil and simmer until lentils are soft.
Serve as a main meal soup/stew. Sounds basic, but is quick, easy and yummy … serve with fresh bread if you think there may not be enough to go round.
In another few years your children may be old enough to go home, put the potaoes in the oven, peel the rest of the veg….That often happens here, it’s lovely to have sunday lunch at lunchtime. During the curacy we had sunday lunch at monday’s teatime, no timer facility on the oven there, and Helen’s Chronic fatigue meant she slept until 2 most days… I love opening the front door and smelling sunday lunch nearly ready!
Gammon makes a regular appearance here at our vicarage Sunday lunch as well. My recipe is similar to yours except I use one or two cans of ginger beer (a bit like Nigella’s recipe, except not such a large quantity) and often don’t bother to do the finishing glazing touches. It does give a lovely sweet ginger hint to the flavour. Here is what I do:
http://hopeeternalcookbook.wordpress.com/2009/12/18/gingered-glazed-ham/
I find my slow cooker is great for a not too large gammon or ham. Once the preheating is done we pop in the meat and ginger beer (plus a little water if needed), put it on the automatic setting and when we get back at around 1pm it is ready to finish/rest and serve.
hopeeternal
‘Meanderings through my Cookbook’
http://www.hopeeternalcookbook.wordpress.com
This all sounds lovely but frightfully British! Here in New Zealand we are much less traditional. We usually do a spontaneous lunch invite after church; tell people we’ll find something to eat; let them bring some bread or juice if they offer — and then head home to see what we’ve got. No pressure, no expectations — but we always enjoy the company whatever we eat 😀
Hi all, thanks for the comments. A special welcome to the Vicarage to Corinna, as I don’t think you’ve commented before.
I think people can be spontaneous in the UK too, and when the Vicar and I lived in Cambridge and were at a church with many more younger people we often had a much less organised Sunday lunch.
Here, where many of the congregation are elderly, or have regular extended family commitments on Sundays, we like to invite folk in advance and be prepared. We do sometimes have something on for our lunch and invite random folk, but then we usually end up lunching without company as people already have plans. I think it’s always easier to be more spontaneous when the weather’s better too. Perhaps that’s your main advantage over UK folk…
Love your blog and great to hear of Sunday lunch. Ros, great to see you back commening. You said no posts on your own blog in 2010. Well, it’s not 2010 any more…
Hope you’re well.
I’ve lived half my life in NZ and half in the UK (childhood in Wirral/teens and uni in NZ/young adult in London/back to NZ to raise kids). I always found people more hesitant about spontaneous invites in London, and also they didn’t like you dropping in without warning (once I caught a friend with a duster in her hand — she looked horrified!). It makes me quite homesick to read all the British contributions — so no doubt I’ll be back 🙂
Thanks for this recipe! My husband cooked gammon last week following your recipe & it was delicious!!!! I am not usually a gammon fan but this has definitely turned me into a fan! The kids (all of whom LOVE gammon anyway- the twins call it pink roast) thought it even more wonderful than before. Wish I had read about the foil in the bottom of the roasting dish before hubby cooked though….. tin looks a little past it’s best now!! LOL!!
That’s great Emily! Glad it turned out so well 🙂