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Fully Festive Ham

Nigella Lawson

Recipe courtesy Nigella Lawson

Show: Nigella FeastsEpisode: Food to Go

Rated: 4 stars out of 5Rate itRead users' reviews (12)

  • Cook Time:

    5 hr 0 min

  • Level:

    Intermediate

  • Yield:

    8 to 10 servings

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Times:

Prep
20 min
Inactive Prep
--
Cook
5 hr 0 min
Total:
5 hr 20 min
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Ingredients

Ham:

  • 7 1/2 pounds gammon (ham)
  • 8 cups cranberry juice
  • 8 cups apple juice
  • 2 cinnamon sticks, halved
  • 2 onions, halved but not peeled
  • 1 tablespoon allspice berries

Cranberry glaze:

  • Approximately 30 cloves
  • 4 tablespoons cranberry jelly, or 6 tablespoons cranberry sauce
  • 1 tablespoon honey
  • 1 tablespoon English mustard powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions

Put the ham into a large saucepan and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil and then immediately drain and rinse it in a colander, to remove any excess saltiness. Alternatively, leave the ham soaking in cold water overnight.

Rinse the saucepan and put the ham back in, and add all remaining ingredients. If the fruit juices do not cover the ham then add some water; it really depends on how snugly your ham fits into the saucepan.

Bring the pan to a boil and then cook at a fast simmer for about 3 1/2 to 4 hours. Partially cover the ham with a lid if the liquid is boiling away too much and the top of the ham is getting dry.

Once the ham is cooked, remove it from the hot and now salty juice, and sit it on a board. If you want, you can actually cook this far ahead of schedule and then let it get entirely cold before glazing and roasting it. If that's the case, then cook it for about 1/2 hour less and then just let it get cold in the cooking liquid.

On the day of cooking, preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

When the ham is cool enough to touch then cut and peel the rind off the cooked ham, making sure to leave a thin coating of the white fat on the ham. Score the fat into a diamond pattern with a sharp knife, and stud the points of each diamond with a clove.

Heat the remaining glaze ingredients together in a saucepan until the jelly or sauce melts into the honey, mustard, and cinnamon to make a smooth but syrupy glaze; it needs to be thick enough not to run off the ham completely as it cooks in the oven.

Sit the ham on a piece of foil in a roasting tin, which will give you an easier time later washing up, as the sugary glaze will burn as bits of it do inevitably dribble down the ham. Pour the glaze over the clove studded ham so that all of the scored fat is covered. Cook the ham for 15 minutes or until the fat is colored and burnished by the sugary glaze.

If the ham is completely cold prior to glazing, then cook for 40 minutes at 350 degrees F, and turn up the heat to 425 degrees F for another 15 minutes. These timings are based on the ham being cold at room temperature, not refrigerator cold.

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Read more Comments & Reviews (12)

Comments & Reviews

  • recipe Fully Festive Ham
    Debra Chelsea, AL 10-31-2009

    Flag

    To those wondering what went wrong....

    Rated: 5 stars out of 5
    I've researched hams and very quickly found that Gammon is a CURED ham but is NOT cooked. Those using smoked and partially... cooked hams will end up with a mess. Brand of ham in the USA will have different results. Smithfield is going to be one of the best as they do not 'vacuum tumble' to cure their hams. They do it the old-fashioned way...TIME. Be aware of the ham you are buying to make this recipe, otherwise be prepared to be unhappy with your results.Read more
  • recipe Fully Festive Ham
    Laura Grass Valley, CA 12-21-2008

    Flag

    what went wrong!!!

    Rated: 1 stars out of 5
    I just finished boiling the ham....it looks terrible and the taste is okay, but the texture is like chewy..it reminds me of... corned beef. I like my ham firm. I can only hope the glaze makes it alright. Either way I will review it again on my guests comments after dinner, my mom in law is coming, wish me luck.Read more
  • recipe Fully Festive Ham
    Rinoa Bayside, NY 12-12-2008

    Flag

    Hullo, hope this isn't too late for Wendy!

    Rated: 5 stars out of 5
    This recipe looks amazing, and I'm making it this Christmas! ^.^ I want everything to turn out awesome and not to mess up.... After I read your post, Wendy, I did alot of research, and from what I read gammon in the United Kingdom is basically the same as a fresh ham in the U.S. (except it's probably not as salty). Fresh ham is uncured, unsmoked pork shoulder or hind leg, rind and fat intact! I THINK it'll come out really lovely using the fresh ham. I know what a couple of you guys mean by the ham turning out like pulled pork, it's happened to me before. Won't happen this time! Good luck and merry Christmas!Read more
  • recipe Fully Festive Ham
    Anonymous 07-19-2008

    Flag

    Simple, even for a first-time chef!

    Rated: 5 stars out of 5
    This was my first attempt at a full ham; it was EXTREMELY easy and (dare I say?) fool-proof. A wonderful Sunday evening... dinner--simple, elegant, and very very tasty. And it left me enough time to make a few sides as well, without significant stress. WONDERFUL!Read more
  • recipe Fully Festive Ham
    Laura Barnhart, MO 03-21-2008

    Flag

    Fabulous ham

    Rated: 5 stars out of 5
    I've been asked to make this ham for all family functions since finding this recipe. I use cherry jelly and love it paired... with the powdered mustard. I've also had the ham (on occasion) turn out similar to pulled pork. I guess when using different size hams its hard to guestimate the times.....but still the best ham in town.Read more
  • recipe Fully Festive Ham
    Kacey Norton, OH 08-05-2007

    Flag

    Ham Clarification

    Rated: 4 stars out of 5
    I'm guessing the ham needed is a smoked country ham.
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