I’m amazed I’ve never done this before. I’ve been buying mediocre ham from the shops and butcher’s for years. The best I’ve ever had had to be the stuff Dad used to smoke before Christmas years ago. Yesterday a new Good Food mag came through the door, with a festive, glazed ham on the cover. I showed it to Florek and said- this is a sign from God. 🙂

I looked up a few simple recipes, added a small, unsmoked gammon joint to my Sainsbury’s load due to arrive this morning and I thought, the worst that could happen I would have wasted 4 quid. But I didn’t waste it. The house still smells of cloves, but I think for Christmas I’ll make another one, festive, maybe with orange glaze or something, I’ll research the subject and do more of these, now that I know I can!!!

So the small, 750 g gammon went into the pot of cold water, enough of it to submerge the whole thing, alongside the whole onion, a carrot, 3 bay leaves, some peppercorns, a small rosemary sprig, celery stick and some cloves. When it came to the boil, I covered it and simmered for about 40 minutes. Took it out, glazed with half of the combination of honey( 70g), Dijon mustard, about 1,1/2 tsp and 2 tbsps of dark sugar. Roasted it in 200 degrees for 15 minutes, before reglazing it with the remaining mixture and then 15 minutes again.

What I ended up with is a succulent piece of ham, salty, with sweet glaze, juicy and wonderful. I’m looking forward to making some lunch with it tomorrow. Also, reviews say that the stock from poaching the ham will make a fantastic base for a soup. Mine’s saved and waiting. Good stuff!!