A festive ham

For me Christmas is all about family and I love doing a really special Christmas feast. The Americans know exactly how to do a festive ham and both Christmas’ we were out there; we bought one of their beautiful hams. For our first Christmas in Germany we bought a prepared ham, well it was a gammon joint to be honest which isn’t quite the same thing. I cooked it according to the package directions and was most disappointed, it was almost inedible, and there was no way I was about to start fridge picking at the cold meat in the middle of the night, after all what is the point in cooking a massive ham if you aren’t going to pick at it, for the whole Christmas period?

The forth Christmas was spent at my Mum’s and a usual the ham, gammon, was cooked to perfection, she always gets Christmas dinner spot on. Christmas 2012 I did this one and to be fair we all really enjoyed it, I would have picked at it for days, but my sister requested left overs to take home, so that she could pick! I don’t mind too much because money is tight for everyone and if I can afford to give her a little extra so that she can have something tasty too then why not……. I did miss having the cold ham in the fridge though that year. This recipe does take several hours to make and is probably best spread over the space of two days.

 

Festive Ham

3.5kg gammon

2l cranberry juice

2l apple juice

2 cinnamon sticks, halved

2 onions, halved but not peeled

1tsp juniper berries

2 star anise

For the glaze

4tbsp cranberry jelly

1tbsp runny honey

1tbsp English mustard powder

½ tsp ground cinnamon

1. Place the gammon in a large saucepan, cover it with cold water and bring it to a boil. Drain the water away and rinse the gammon under running cold water.
2. Put the gammon into a crock pot, along with the cranberry and apple juices, and all the spices, on a high setting and allow to cook for about 4 hours.
3. Remove the gammon from the crock and allow to cool completely. Then use a sharp knife to remove most of the fat, leaving a very thin layer over the ham. Preheat the oven to 200˚C/400˚F.
4. Score the fat into diamond shapes. Heat the remaining ingredients into a smooth glaze and let it boil into a syrupy like consistency.
5. Line a roasting pan with foil, put in the ham and pour the glaze over the top to cover the ham, baking for 40 minutes.