This gammon is left unsmoked to let the natural flavour of the Christmas gammon speak for itself, and is ready for either steam roasting on a bed of fragrant vegetables or poaching in a scented bouillon. The unsmoked gammon is also well-suited to glazing at home. Serve in deep sandwiches with your favourite chutney or mustard, or roast for a centrepiece in itself.
Method
Roasting a Christmas gammon:
Remove the Christmas
gammon joint from the fridge and rinse in cold running water
for a few minutes then pat dry.
Preheat your oven to 160c for fan assisted or 180c for ovens
without a fan (Gas 4).
Make a trivet by roughly chopping equal amounts of onion,
carrot, celery, a cooking apple cut into wedges, a bay leaf, a
sprig of thyme and a few black peppercorns.
Place the Christmas gammon fat
side up onto the trivet, cover with foil and roast for 30 minutes
per 500g, plus an additional 20 minutes. Remove the foil for the
final 30 minutes of cooking.
Leave to rest for 30 minutes in a warm place before
carving.
Poaching a Christmas gammon:
Weigh your Christmas gammon then simply cover the joint with
your chosen liquid, spices and aromatic vegetables. Bring it to the
boil and let it simmer.
Simmer gently for 20 minutes then an additional 20 minutes per
500g, until tender and easily pierced with a skewer.
Allow to cool in the cooking broth before carving.
Serving suggestions:
Buttered black cabbage, hot mustard or cold as part of a
buffet.