So last Sunday I was presented with a bit of a challenge: We had a gammon joint left over from the Christmas period that required eating, but nobody had much energy to devote to cooking it.
Cue me putting on my experimental chef's hat and entering the room, ready to find the quickest and easiest way to get a roast gammon joint or to fail horribly and be left with the shame of calling for take-out.
Ingredients/equipment:
Stage 1:
• 800-1000 ml Apple Cider (you can use apple juice if you really want)
• 1000 ml water
• Gammon Joint, skin intact
Stage 2:
• 50-100 ml water/cider (if there's any left from stage 1)
Stage 3:
• 2 tablespoons smooth apple sauce (or normal apple sauce with the chunks removed)
• 4 tablespoons English mustard (can be substituted for whole grain for a crunchy crust, but less heat)
• 2 tablespoons clear runny honey - MUST BE RUNNY
Instructions:
Stage 1
1. First of all we need to soak the gammon joint in order to remove any excess salt from the curing process. What you will need to do is place the joint in a bowl large enough to contain it and then cover with water. This will then need to soak for a minimum of 2 hours per 450g/1lb (If time is available, I recommend soaking all joints overnight for best results).
2. With the soaking done, drain the joint and then it's time to get on with poaching. Get a saucepan that is large enough to fit the joint inside and then pour in the apple cider - making sure that the liquid covers the joint. This will then need to be brought to the boil and then covered and simmered for ~25 minutes for every 450g/1lb of gammon. Please be aware that you may need to adjust the liquid levels when poaching the joint, as it will evaporate and any sections of the meat outside of the poaching liquid can (and probably will) dry out if left uncovered for an extended period of time.
3. Now that the meat has finished the poaching process, you will need to leave it to cool in the poaching stock. Optionally, you could let it go fully cold by leaving it overnight.
Stage 2
4. Preheat your oven to 180C / gas 4 / fan 160C.
5. Now that the meat has been poached and cooled, it's time to remove the rind/skin and get ready for roasting. Feel free to remove some fat from the joint along the way, but make sure there is enough left to cover it.
6. With the joint skinned take a sharp kitchen knife and score the fat in a diamond pattern, making sure not to cut too deeply into the meat else it may dry out in the roasting process.
7. Now that it has been skinned, scored and the oven has reached temperature it is time to roast it. I would highly recommend putting a layer of tin foil across the base of the roasting pan that you use, just in case any glaze later on the process burns to it. Plus it makes it far easier on the washing up. With this done, place the joint into the roasting pan, fat side up, and pour over any remaining cider (roughly 50-100ml) or water if there's no cider remaining, followed by placing it into the over for around 45 minutes to an hour with a foil tent over the top to prevent burning and drying out.
Stage 3
8. Now that the meat has been roasting for 45 minutes - 1 hour, it's time to get on with glazing it. Mix all of the ingredients listed above for this stage in a bowl, making sure it is properly mixed.
9. Once done, remove the joint from the oven; discard the foil tent, increase the oven temperature to 200C / gas 6 / fan 180C and then carefully pour some of the glaze over the top of the meat - making sure to evenly coat it all over the top.
10. Once the oven has reached temperature, return the roasting pan back into it for another 15 - 20 minutes or until the glaze has turned a lovely dark brown (not burnt!). Feel free to top up the glaze on top of them eat at the 10 minute mark if you don't think it's covered enough.
Stage 4
11. Now that the meat is cooked, the glaze is nicely browned and the meat has rested, it's time to start thinking about a sauce for it. In a saucepan mix the remaining glaze, the juices from the base of the roasting pan and any leftover cider that you may have. Bring this to the boil then simmer and reduce until it has thickened slightly. You can assist this by using cornflour, but Ive found this to make the sauce slightly cloudy.
Finally, carve the meat and serve with whatever seasonal vegetables and sides you might have prepared alongside this.
Here are a few images of my gammon joint after serving. Suffice to say, the local take-out place was down one customer that night and we all went to bed nice and full.
Cue me putting on my experimental chef's hat and entering the room, ready to find the quickest and easiest way to get a roast gammon joint or to fail horribly and be left with the shame of calling for take-out.
Ingredients/equipment:
Stage 1:
• 800-1000 ml Apple Cider (you can use apple juice if you really want)
• 1000 ml water
• Gammon Joint, skin intact
Stage 2:
• 50-100 ml water/cider (if there's any left from stage 1)
Stage 3:
• 2 tablespoons smooth apple sauce (or normal apple sauce with the chunks removed)
• 4 tablespoons English mustard (can be substituted for whole grain for a crunchy crust, but less heat)
• 2 tablespoons clear runny honey - MUST BE RUNNY
Instructions:
Stage 1
1. First of all we need to soak the gammon joint in order to remove any excess salt from the curing process. What you will need to do is place the joint in a bowl large enough to contain it and then cover with water. This will then need to soak for a minimum of 2 hours per 450g/1lb (If time is available, I recommend soaking all joints overnight for best results).
2. With the soaking done, drain the joint and then it's time to get on with poaching. Get a saucepan that is large enough to fit the joint inside and then pour in the apple cider - making sure that the liquid covers the joint. This will then need to be brought to the boil and then covered and simmered for ~25 minutes for every 450g/1lb of gammon. Please be aware that you may need to adjust the liquid levels when poaching the joint, as it will evaporate and any sections of the meat outside of the poaching liquid can (and probably will) dry out if left uncovered for an extended period of time.
3. Now that the meat has finished the poaching process, you will need to leave it to cool in the poaching stock. Optionally, you could let it go fully cold by leaving it overnight.
Stage 2
4. Preheat your oven to 180C / gas 4 / fan 160C.
5. Now that the meat has been poached and cooled, it's time to remove the rind/skin and get ready for roasting. Feel free to remove some fat from the joint along the way, but make sure there is enough left to cover it.
6. With the joint skinned take a sharp kitchen knife and score the fat in a diamond pattern, making sure not to cut too deeply into the meat else it may dry out in the roasting process.
7. Now that it has been skinned, scored and the oven has reached temperature it is time to roast it. I would highly recommend putting a layer of tin foil across the base of the roasting pan that you use, just in case any glaze later on the process burns to it. Plus it makes it far easier on the washing up. With this done, place the joint into the roasting pan, fat side up, and pour over any remaining cider (roughly 50-100ml) or water if there's no cider remaining, followed by placing it into the over for around 45 minutes to an hour with a foil tent over the top to prevent burning and drying out.
Stage 3
8. Now that the meat has been roasting for 45 minutes - 1 hour, it's time to get on with glazing it. Mix all of the ingredients listed above for this stage in a bowl, making sure it is properly mixed.
9. Once done, remove the joint from the oven; discard the foil tent, increase the oven temperature to 200C / gas 6 / fan 180C and then carefully pour some of the glaze over the top of the meat - making sure to evenly coat it all over the top.
10. Once the oven has reached temperature, return the roasting pan back into it for another 15 - 20 minutes or until the glaze has turned a lovely dark brown (not burnt!). Feel free to top up the glaze on top of them eat at the 10 minute mark if you don't think it's covered enough.
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| During the glazing process, ~10 minutes in the hot oven. |
Stage 4
11. Now that the meat is cooked, the glaze is nicely browned and the meat has rested, it's time to start thinking about a sauce for it. In a saucepan mix the remaining glaze, the juices from the base of the roasting pan and any leftover cider that you may have. Bring this to the boil then simmer and reduce until it has thickened slightly. You can assist this by using cornflour, but Ive found this to make the sauce slightly cloudy.
Finally, carve the meat and serve with whatever seasonal vegetables and sides you might have prepared alongside this.
Here are a few images of my gammon joint after serving. Suffice to say, the local take-out place was down one customer that night and we all went to bed nice and full.
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| Small plate for my wife, as she was skeptical of this new glaze. |
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| And the cook gets the majority of the meat. Very tasty! |
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