I try not to make a habit of having too many food posts out at the same time, but considering the ridiculous feast we managed to pull off, I have quite a few to get through and to share with you, and to be honest, I am particularly proud of this one - and quite heartbroken that it's all been gobbled up. Well done @zakludick for jumping in and being the glazing king!
So we'd had a horrible year, and more than our fair share of woes and worries, but somehow, @zakludick and I managed to pull off a truly awesome Christmas - a Christmas miracle, one might say.
Miracles aside, it also took generosity from family, borrowed cooking appliances, and even a borrowed Weber and a SHITLOAD of Voltaren.
Anyway, back to the Gammon, which is why you're all here. Trust me, I have found the magic method and this, without a doubt, will give you a perfect gammon every single time.
The secret is both in the soak and boil stage as well as the basting stage. To achieve that tender juicy texture with the perfect super-sticky glaze, follow these steps.
I usually go for a boneless gammon, but to my surprise and unexpected delight, the bone-in gammon turned out better than any other previous gammon I have made. All the boneless ones at the butchers looked sad as heck, so I decided to do a bone-in one and just buy a much larger piece since it's far cheaper per kg. The result was a far richer flavor and more tender meat. I definitely recommend buying a gammon with the joint in place. Also, select a piece with a good covering of fat. This particular one had no skin for me to cut off which made things much easier. Sometimes separating the skin from the fat can be tricky and a finicky process, and taking the string off after the boil is tricky enough.
So, Let's start with what you need.
Please go and have a look at my trifle recipe to see how I saved all the juices from the tinned fruit to soak my gammon in, which is also why I posted dessert 1st! There is a method to my madnessπ
ππ¨ππ«π¦Claire's Crazy Cakes, Bakes and Kitchen Hacks: Chapter 32 - Don't Trifle with my Trifle!!ππ¨ππ«π¦
Ingredients and method for the soak - Do this on the same day you prep the trifle. It needs to soak as long as the trifle, so they go hand in hand
+/- 2.5 kg smoked roast gammon, bone-in
750ml Cider
juices from all the tinned fruit from the trifle
Plonk all of this in a giant pot and refrigerate and turn the meat over every day.
The boil - do this the day before serving. I let the gammon sit in this bath overnight and the results were absolutely glorious. Those real Christmas flavors and aromas were perfectly permeated throughout the roast and had the whole house smelling like heaven.
Remove your pot from the fridge and add the following:
500ml water - or enough to ensure the meat is completely covered.
3 or 4 cinnamon sticks
3 tablespoons of rosemary, basil, and garlic (I made a massive batch of pre-chopped and premixed herb and garlic mix, much like my crack recipe but without the chilies.
800g - 1kg roughly chopped carrots
5 or 6 stalks of celery, roughly chopped and de-leafed
YOU DO NOT need to add salt AT ALL. Remember, you bought a smoked gammon and this is hellishly salty already.
Bring to the boil for around 45 minutes and then let it simmer for another hour and a half. Then switch it off and just leave it alone, with the lid on.
When you are ready the next day, you can remove the gammon from the pot and transfer it onto a board to remove the string and skin/ rind (if necessary). I made the decision to leave mine alone, aside from taking the string off, because everything was so soft and it was impossible to separate anything that even vaguely looked like skin from the fat, and it was the right decision. You definitely don't want to lose any of the fat because that is what renders through the meat during the roasting and glazing phase and prevents your roast from drying out, which would be tragic considering how much work you've just put into making it juicy and tender.
You can remove the veggies and save them to crisp up with cinnamon sugar and butter to serve as a veggie side (along with some separately prepared green veg) to your feast.
The trick to much of my cooking is waste not want not, so to make my roast potatoes extra special, I parboiled them before roasting in the remaining liquid from the soaking/boiling process, just adding a bit more water to make sure all the potatoes were covered. I'll do a separate post for perfect roast potatoes!
Once you've destringed your gammon, you can start dressing it with pineapple rings, glazed cherries, and cloves (remember where you put the cloves so you can pull them out later. NO ONE wants to chew on a clove). I used toothpicks to secure everything. You'll want to be sure to remove them when serving.
Save the pineapple syrup left in the tin and mix it with homemade chutney, golden syrup, apricot jam, and mustard. Simmer on the stove to make your glaze.
Whether you do this in your oven or the Weber, it doesn't matter. The idea is to keep basting and never let it dry out.
This incredible piece of meat will bring you joy for up to a week after. The meat keeps incredibly well and can be served on sarmies or munched directly out of the pan (don't tell anyone I've done this).
Then, of course, the real bonus is that someone gets to be an absolute heathen and munch all the remaining meat directly off the bone! I recommend locking the door so no one can disturb you!!
