There’s no cut of meat quite like a gammon joint. That melt in the mouth texture combined with its naturally salty flavour makes it irresistible to most palates. But you might be wondering how to boil a gammon joint. Well, look no further! Read on as we give you a fool-proof guide to achieving some pretty delicious results.
Firstly, it’s important to decide your approach. This post will be mostly centred around how to boil a gammon joint, but lots of people use other methods. One of the other most common ways to cook gammon is to boil and roast it, or to simply just roast it.
How to boil a gammon joint
- First things first, you’ll need something big enough to cook it in. If you don’t have anything to hand, one of our Retro Saucepan’s should do the trick.
- – You’ll want to leave enough room to cover it with water and herbs of your choice. (Alternatively, use cider or fruit juice instead of water to give it an extra bit of flavour).
- – Next, bring it to the boil and then allow to simmer.
- – The standard length of time is to boil for 20 minutes per 450g of gammon and then an additional 20 minutes.
What to season your gammon with
There are endless combinations of things to season your gammon with. Here are some of our favourite things to compliment your ham:
- – Cinnamon
- – Coriander
- – Peppercorn
- – Bay leaves
- – Nigella seeds
- – Rosemary
- – Mustard seeds
But get creative and find the combination that suits your tastebuds best!
How to boil and roast a gammon joint
To achieve a nice crispy skin on the gammon, you might want to boil and bake the joint. Similarly to boiling, it is a very simple process:
- – Boil the gammon for half of the time previously stated.
- – Cover in tinfoil (try to reserve some of the stock to either drizzle over the gammon when roasting or to compliment a homemade gravy).
- – Place on a baking tray in the oven at 180 degrees for the remainder of the cooking time.
- – 20-30 minutes before the end of the cooking time, remove the tinfoil.
How to glaze a gammon joint
If you want to achieve that lovely shine around your gammon joint, you’re going to want to glaze it. For the best results, you should follow the boil and roast method. 20 minutes before the end of the baking time, glaze it in a sauce of your choice. Most people opt for honey but there are plenty of other delicious options to choose from, such as:
- – Orange and soy sauce
- – Marmalade
- – Maple syrup
- – Honey and mustard
- – Coca-Cola (bear with us – it works)
But similarly to seasoning your gammon joint, the world of glazing is and endless journey of combinations waiting to be explored. Be sure to let us know if you found any interesting or delicious.
Final thoughts on how to boil a gammon joint
If you follow the steps that we have outlined, you should now know how to boil a gammon joint or even part boil/part roast to perfection – ready to compliment a variety of dishes. Try them as part of a roast dinner, or more traditionally with chips, eggs and pineapple. The great thing about gammon is that it is still really tasty when it’s cold, so it works great on sandwiches up to five days after it’s been cooked, or even as part of a buffet spread. However you enjoy it, make sure you do it in style by pimping it out with a variety of spices or sweet additions. One final pro tip – always stud the joint with cloves when roasting as it will compliment the end product beautifully.
