Hairy Bikers Honey and Mustard Gammon Recipe

Hairy Bikers honey and mustard gammon simmers a 2kg joint with vegetables, then roasts it under a glaze of runny honey and English mustard. So the recipe from their Christmas Party special on BBC Two serves 10 in just over 3 hours, at around 325 calories a portion.

Billed as “a festive classic” on BBC Food, their roast gammon gets 4.8 stars out of 5 from 155 ratings. And the glaze is just equal spoonfuls of runny honey and English mustard, brushed on in two stages.

Simmering the joint before it goes in the oven matters most, to my mind, because the glaze only gets 20 to 25 minutes. So it’s worth the time, since the BBC tips say boiling before roasting is “almost certain to result in a more succulent ham”.

Hairy Bikers Honey and Mustard Gammon Recipe

Author: Alex Saidani Cooking Method:Roasting Cuisine:British Courses:Dinner

Difficulty:BeginnerPrep time: 30 minutesCook time:2 hours 10 minutesRest time: 30 minutesTotal time:3 hours 10 minutesServings:10 servingsCalories:325 kcal Best Season:Summer

Description

A tied, unsmoked joint is poached gently with onion, carrot, celery, bay and peppercorns until tender. Then the rind comes off, the fat is scored and studded with cloves, and the sticky glaze turns it glossy in a hot oven.

Ingredients

For cooking the gammon

• 2kg unsmoked boneless gammon joint, tied
• 2 onions, halved
• 2 carrots, unpeeled, cut into 5cm pieces
• 2 celery stalks, cut into 5cm pieces
• 4 bay leaves
• 12 black peppercorns
• small handful of cloves

For the glaze

• 4 tbsp runny honey
• 4 tbsp English mustard

Instructions

1. Bring to the boil: Put the gammon in a large lidded saucepan, big enough to hold it covered in water, and pour in cold water. Then bring it to the boil over a high heat and drain off the water.
2. Simmer: Add fresh cold water with the onions, carrots, celery, bay leaves and peppercorns, and bring back to the boil. Then cover and simmer gently for 20 minutes per 500g, so 80 minutes for 2kg, turning the joint halfway if it pokes above the water.
3. Cool and heat the oven: Lift the gammon out and leave it to cool for 15 minutes, straining and keeping the cooking liquid for soup if you like. Meanwhile, heat the oven to 200°C/Fan 180°C/Gas 6 and line a large roasting tin with foil.
4. Score and stud: Cut off the rind, keeping as much fat as you can, then score the fat in diamonds without cutting into the meat. Then push a clove into the centre of each cross and sit the joint in the tin with the foil coming halfway up its sides.
5. Glaze and roast: Mix the honey and mustard and brush half over the top and one side of the gammon, then roast for 10 minutes. Brush the rest over the top and the other side, and return it for 10 to 15 minutes more, turning the tin round.
6. Check and rest: It’s ready when the fat is glossy and the meat is piping hot, or holds 70°C for 2 minutes, as the BBC tips advise. And cover it loosely with foil if it browns too fast, then rest it for 15 minutes.
7. Serve: Warm the juices from the foil gently in a small pan while you carve. Then serve the slices on a platter with the warm juices spooned over.

FAQs

How long do I boil a gammon joint?

Allow 20 minutes per 500g at a gentle simmer, so a 1kg joint needs 40 minutes and a 1.5kg joint an hour. And the glazing stays the same whatever the size.

Boiling isn’t essential, though, since BBC Food’s tips give a baked, oven-only method of 25 minutes per 500g at 180°C/Fan 160°C/Gas 4. In that case it’s covered in foil with 200ml of water in the tin, then glazed for 25 minutes at 200°C/Fan 180°C/Gas 6.

Do I need to soak the gammon first?

Usually not, since BBC Food’s tips say supermarket gammon is unlikely to need it, though a butcher’s ham might. So to check, fry a small piece for a couple of minutes each side and taste it.

If it’s very salty, soak it in cold water in the fridge for 8 to 12 hours. But even then it’s a salty dish, with 4.9g of salt in each serving, so I’d keep the sides lightly seasoned.

Can I use smoked gammon?

Yes, I’d say smoked works, since their gammon ham with a cherry glaze from British Classics takes either smoked or unsmoked, though it tastes stronger.

And because joints vary in saltiness, the fry-and-taste test from the soaking question is worth doing first.

Can I cook it ahead and serve it cold?

Yes, and the BBC tips say to chill the cooked joint whole and covered, without carving ahead, or the meat can dry out. Then take it out 30 minutes before carving, or reheat slices covered, over 200ml of just-boiled water, at 200°C/Fan 180°C/Gas 6 for 20 minutes.

Leftovers freeze for up to a month, wrapped tightly in foil, then defrost overnight in the fridge for a pasta bake or soup. And if you keep the cooking liquid for a soup like their pea and ham soup, taste it first, because it can be very salty.

What should I serve with it?

The BBC tips suggest mash and parsley sauce with carrots and broccoli, or cold slices with salad and a jacket potato. So for the sauce, their gammon steaks with parsley sauce from Meat Feasts has one to borrow.

Or for a different glaze on a bigger joint, their marmalade gammon simmers it in orange juice first, then roasts it under honey and marmalade.