Our Family’s Favourite Gammon Recipe
This is the gammon recipe we make on repeat. A succulent home-cooked gammon, boiled and then roasted with a delicious, knock-out glaze, makes for a wonderful centerpiece on your feasting table. Gammon is such a versatile meal—not just for Christmas. My mum and cousin often add a small gammon to their monthly shop to have homemade cold meats on hand.
The cooked gammon is perfect for a roast meal over the weekend and works brilliantly for midweek dishes too. Leftovers can be added to soups, sandwiches, pies, pasta, stir-fried rice, and so many other dishes.
At Christmas, I always go up a size. If we need a gammon to feed 8, I’ll buy one that feeds 10–12. This way, we have enough leftovers for those “one I’ve prepared earlier” meals.
Gammon also freezes well. I slice mine and freeze it in portions for two or four people. This makes it easy to scale up or down depending on who’s eating. Midweek, when it’s just me and my husband, we can add a couple of slices to our lunch, a pasta or soup. When my son and daughter pop back home, I can serve it with roast potatoes and veg for a lovely “one I made earlier” roast dinner.
I usually buy a horseshoe gammon from Smithfield butchers —I’ve been a customer for 31 years, their meat is excellent and the gammon is phenomenal. That said, with the love and attention you put into cooking this recipe, any gammon you find locally will be delicious.
Cooking the Gammon
I boil or pressure-cook my gammon. There’s only a 20-minute difference between the two methods. Once cooked, I bake the gammon with its glaze in a 200°C oven for about 15 minutes, or until the glaze bubbles and coats the meat.
Boiling and Pressure Cooking Times
The formula for cooking gammon is simple:
- Boiling: 20 minutes for each 450g, plus an extra 20 minutes.
- Pressure Cooking: A straight 20 minutes for each 450g
The Glaze
Over the years, I’ve tried a few glazes. My favorites are an Orange marmalade glaze and Stephanie’s treacle glaze. Both are absolutely delicious. It’s important to stay nearby while the glaze is baking so you can baste the meat often. This keeps the glaze from burning and builds up that lovely shiny layer. Just lift spoonfuls of the glaze and drizzle it back over the gammon every so often..
Glaze the gammon using Stephanie treacle glaze.
Fun fact if you gave ever wondered what the difference is between a gammon and a ham, wonder no more. Gammon is a cured joint that is sold raw and it has either been smoked, cured or brined and ham is the same joint but is sold cooked.
- For the Gammon:
- 4kg gammon
- For the Cooking Liquor:
- 2 red onions (quartered)
- 2 sticks celery (10cm pieces)
- 1 leek (sliced)
- 1 tsp coriander seeds
- 1 cinnamon stick (broken in half)
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 carrots (washed, topped and tailed)
- 6 peppercorns
- Optional:
- 2 clementines (peeled, halved) – added halfway through cooking
- For the Glaze:
- 8 tbsp soft brown sugar
- 8 tbsp treacle
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- 4 tbsp maple syrup
- Optional for Glazing:
- Pineapple rings (drained)
- Glace cherries
- or Just a handful of cloves for studding
- Toothpicks (soaked in water)
- Boil the Gammon:
- Add the spices and vegetables (onions, celery, leek, cinnamon, bay leaves, carrots, and peppercorns) to a large pot, then place the gammon on top. Cover with cold filtered water until the gammon is fully submerged.
- Bring the water to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat to a simmer.
- Simmer for about 3 hours (for a 4kg gammon), or until the internal temperature reaches 70°C.
- Check periodically to ensure the gammon stays submerged, topping up with water as needed.
- Prepare for Roasting:
- Once the gammon is cooked, carefully remove it from the pot and let it cool slightly.
- Trim off some of the fat, leaving a thin layer, and score the fat in a diamond pattern to help the glaze stick. Allow the gammon to cool completely before glazing.
- Glaze the Gammon:
- Preheat the oven to 200°C (180°C fan).
- In a small bowl, mix together the brown sugar, treacle, Dijon mustard, and maple syrup.
- Optional Decoration:
- You can stud the gammon with cloves in each of the diamond cuts in the fat.
- If using, secure the pineapple rings and cherries with soaked toothpicks over the top of the gammon.
- Roast the Gammon:
- Place the cooled gammon on a foil-lined roasting tray and spoon the glaze over it, ensuring it’s well coated.
- Roast for about 30 minutes, basting every 5 minutes with the glaze that runs to the bottom of the tray, until the gammon is golden, shiny, and caramelised.
- Serve:
- Remove the gammon from the oven. If you've used toothpicks, carefully remove them before transferring the gammon to a serving dish.
- Pour any remaining glaze over the sliced gammon. Enjoy!
