This has to be one of the most tender gammons I have ever cooked. I always remove that elastic net off the gammon and leave the skin on to protect it. You take the skin off after the baking and then glaze the gammon. This is great as a hot dish served with real roast potatoes, a green vegetable or two and a smooth apple puree. For us it works wonderfully as a cold meat with lovely fresh sourdough bread, iceberg lettuce and some homemade fruit chutney.
What you’ll need
1.5 kg gammon boned, this is a leg joint
2 cloves
2 bay leaves
340 ml Castle lager
3 Tbs apricot jam
2 Tbs moskonfyt or honey
1 Tbs Dijon Mustard
What you’ll do
Set the oven at 170C and have the shelf in the middle. Use a suitable size dish which contains the gammon well and place the gammon in it. Use the cloves to fasten the bay leaves to the surface, you will have to prick a small whole with a skewer as the skin is very tough. Pour over the lager and place in the oven uncovered. You will need to cook it for 2 hours and 30 minutes, check with a skewer to be sure it is cooked.
Remove from the oven and raise the temperature to 220C. Carefully remove the skin and score the fat on the joint in a diagonal pattern. In a small bowl mix the jam and the moskonfyt or honey and thin it down with a little of the liquid form the baking. Paint the glaze over the meat and return to the oven to brown, painting more glaze over it necessary.
Serve hot with roasted potatoes, a green vegetable with an apple purée or mustard and lots of cold beer.
