Ginger Glazed Ham

In the run up to Christmas, be sure to leave enough space in the fridge for a beautiful, roasted ham done in my favourite styley - cooked in ginger beer and glazed with a punchy, mustardy ginger preserve (thanks Nigella).

This is the perfect alternative when we are all turkeyed out.  I'll cook it most probably on Christmas Eve and it can then sit quite happily in the fridge as we pick away at it.  And if you get sick of the sight of it (as hard to imagine as that is), slice or cube the leftovers and freeze them in useful portions for the New Year.  Makes me feel hungry just thinking about it ...

Ginger Glazed Ham

Print Recipe

Be sure to leave enough space in the fridge for a beautiful, roasted ham - cooked in ginger beer and glazed with a punchy, mustardy ginger preserve.

Barely tweaked from Nigella

• Author: Rachel Page
• Prep Time: 20 mins
• Cook Time: 3 hours 50 mins
• Total Time: 4 hours 10 mins
• Category: Dinner
• Method: Oven + Hob
• Cuisine: Christmas

Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• 3-4kg boneless gammon joint - you could go bigger but you may not have a pan large enough to fit it
• 4 litres ginger beer or ginger ale
• 350g chunky ginger preserve
• 2 tablespoons hot english mustard
• 100g soft dark brown sugar
• ½ teaspoon ground cloves

Instructions

1. Place the gammon in a large pan over the hob and pour the ginger ale or beer over it. You need the ham to be just about covered with liquid, so top it up with water if you need to.
2. Bring to the boil, then lower the heat to keep the joint bubbling gently for 3½ hours. Keep an eye on it - you will need to top up the liquid periodically.
3. Towards the end of cooking, preheat the oven to 220ºC/200ºC Fan/425ºF (gas mark 7).
4. Put the chunky ginger preserve, mustard, sugar and ground cloves in a small bowl and mix well.
5. After the ham has had its time (you can check that it's ready by inserting a meat thermometer - it should read 71ºC / 160ºF), gently lift it out of the pan and place it in a foil-lined roasting tin. Ignore the advice to line it with foil at your peril - I speak from experience - the tin will be a swine to clean afterwards if you don't ...
6. Now carefully cut away any string and the skin, leaving behind a thin layer of fat.
7. Spread on the glaze and place in the hot oven for 20 minutes until browned and gorgeous. Slice thinly and enjoy.

Keywords: festive, family, leftovers