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Gammon cooked in spiced cider

Every Easter and Christmas I make boiled or roast ham. The proper way of cooking ham is boiling a joint of gammon -  this can be used for soups, stews and salads. If you cook it further ( by baking, grilling or roasting) then you’ll get a lovely, glazed ham that can be served at a dinner/lunch party or a drink party. This Gammon cooked in spiced cider is a perfect base for both. I didn’t roast it further as I wanted to use it in soups, salads and wraps ( so I boiled it a bit longer to get that pulled ham texture). If you want roasted ham, just add a glaze of your choice ( such as marmalade; honey mixed with mustard; maple syrup with spices; pomegranate molasses etc) and roast for 20-30 minutes.
Print Recipe
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 2 hours
Resting Time 4 hours
Total Time 2 hours 5 minutes
Servings: 6 people
Cuisine: British
Calories: 1234
Ingredients Method

Ingredients
  

  • 1 boneless gammon joint about a kilo
  • 1 can of cider 400mL
  • Water
  • 1 onion halved
  • 1 star anise
  • 1 tsp peppercorns
  • 1 tsp of whole cloves
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 stick of celery
  • 1 carrot

Method
 

  1. Put the gammon a deep saucepan. Add the cider, then enough water to cover the meat fully. Bring to the boil, skimming off and discarding any impurities. 
  2. Add all the other ingredients and bring to the boil again. Cover and gently simmer for 1-2 hours depending on what you want to do with the ham.
  3. If you want to roast it, take off the heat after an hour and let it cool for an hour in the liquid. Then take it out of the stock, score the fat into diamonds and stud with cloves. Glaze with marmalade or honey mixed with mustard or, maple syrup with spices etc. Roast for 20-30 minutes in a preheated oven (at 190C) for 20-30 minutes until golden and crispy.
  4. If you want to use the ham for salads, soups and stews, cook the gammon for 2 hours, then take it out of the cooking water and cool a bit. Remove the fat and shred the meat into chunks. Store the chunk in the fridge.