Ham & Gammon – Tips, Advice & Cooking Times

Buying Ham

Some Butchers cure their hams before cooking with natural ingredients using old established recipes. Weight to allow: If boned, allow 4 to 6oz (100 to 175g) per person and 8 to 10oz (225 to 300g) if on the bone.

To Glaze Ham
Brush away any crumb coating, make shallow cuts in a neat design in the fat. Coat with glaze, wrap foil around the lean part. Heat for 20 minutes at 350° F/ 180° C / Gas Mark 4.

Christmas Glaze
Blend 5 tablespoons cranberry sauce, 2½ tablespoons orange marmalade, 2 tablespoons chopped walnuts, 1 teaspoon mustard powder and a good pint of ground cinnamon. Garnish with glaze cherries and orange segments on cocktail sticks.

Buying Gammon
Buying Gammon The gammon (bacon) sold by your Butcher does not need soaking before cooking, unless dry cured, when it should be covered with cold water and soaked overnight. Choose between green (unsmoked) or lightly smoked gammon.
Weight to allow a 3lb (1.4kg) joint o gammon gives average portions for 6 people.

Cooking Gammon
Cook the gammon with water or cider or a mixture of water and ginger ale to cover, add a bay leaf, 1 onion, 2 carrots plus a tablespoon of brown sugar and shake of black pepper. Simmer for 20 to 25 minutes per lb (450g) plus 20 minutes. Cold gammon: cool in the liquid Sever one leg from the body to enable you to carve the breast.

Accompaniments
Cranberry jelly or sauce, mashed potatoes or broad beans

Using Cooked Ham 0r Gammon
The liquid in which the gammon is cooked makes a wonderful stock for soups. Pieces of cooked ham and gammon can be used as stuffing in jacket potatoes, gilling in omelettes and pancakes or added to soups. Use the meat in a variety of salads.