- Serves 8 (plus leftovers) - Ready in 7.5 hours -
Gather together…
2kg unsmoked gammon joint, with the fat removed.
1 onion, quartered (or a handful of chopped onions if you keep a stash of them in the freezer ready-to-use like I do).
1 satsuma, peel only (if using an orange instead, then only add half the peel or it will be too bitter).
2 Cinnamon sticks (or use 1 tsp of ground Cinnamon).
3 cloves.
1 tbsp honey / syrup.
1 tsp mustard.
Plus:
Up to 2 litres of boiling water from the kettle.
Serve with…
Cheat's roast potatoes (i.e. use tinned peeled potatoes - approx. 700g of drained-weight potatoes for 4 people - preheat the oven to 220 C (200 C fan) or Gas 7, drain the tinned potatoes and shake them about, HARD, in a metal colander to fluff the surface / run the prongs of a metal fork over them, place spaced-out on an oven tray, drizzle in rapeseed / olive oil and a generous sprinkle of salt and roast at the top of the HOT oven, for 30 minutes).
Green salad leaves.
Shop-bought Pease Pudding (try a local butcher's shop).
Slices of nice white buttered bread (ideally just out of the bread maker), or use defrosted sliced panini for ease - as panini can be kept in the freezer until needed as they defrost well, without 'freezer burn'.
Get cooking…
1. Get the 2 kg gammon joint out of the fridge and let it rest at room temperature for 30 minutes (if you have the time, or just while you are prepping the other ingredients, if you are pushed for time).
2. Boil a full kettle of water.
3. Put the gammon joint into the slow cooker and around it place the quartered onion and the peel from one satsuma. Down the sides, add the spices - 2 Cinnamon sticks (or 1 tsp of ground Cinnamon), 3 cloves. 1 tbsp honey / syrup and 1 tsp mustard.
4. Put the slow cooker in position of where it will remain during cooking, so you don't have to carry it once full of boiling water. Ideally it will be situated under an extractor fan or near an open window.
5. Pour over the just-boiled water (as much as fits in, but leaving a gap of 2cm at the top of the slow cooker). Swirls the water gently to mix the spices.
6. Put on the lid and cook in the slow cooker on HIGH for 1 hour.
7. Then cook in the slow cooker on LOW for 6 hours until the gammon is really, really tender. TURN the joint over with tongs once during cooking, do this very carefully so you aren't splashed with scalding water!
8. Half an hour before the gammon is due to be ready; drain, fluff up, drizzle in oil and roast the tinned potatoes.
9. Once cooked, remove the ham ('gammon' is the raw meat, 'ham' is the cooked meat) from the slow cooker carefully with tongs (and a fish slice too, preferably held by someone else) and put it on a serving dish. Cover the ham loosely with foil.
10. Leave the remaining liquid in the slow cooker to cool and then put the liquid into a disposable container and finally into the outside bin - do not pour the liquid down the sink, the fat globules will block the pipes eventually!
11. Peel off any string mesh from the meat and peel off the layer of fat (if present) and discard.
12. Serve the ham with the roast potatoes, nice white bread and butter, green salad leaves and Pease Pudding from your local butcher.