Spiced marmalade glazed gammon with Cumberland sauce

Categories: January

Ingredients

• 4kg piece boned and rolled middle gammon (smoked or 'green')
• 2 carrots, cut into chunks
• 2 onions, halved
• 2 celery sticks, halved
• 2 leeks, cut into chunks and washed
• about 48 whole cloves
• 1 tsp black peppercorns
• 5 fresh bay leaves
• 100g good-quality fine-cut marmalade, plus 8 tbsp
• 6 tbsp demerara sugar
• 1/4 tsp ground cloves
• 3 oranges
• 1 lemon
• 5cm piece fresh ginger, peeled
• 15g butter
• 3 shallots, halved and thinly sliced
• 2 tsp English mustard powder
• 350ml ruby port
• 350g jar redcurrant jelly
• 2 tbsp orange-flavoured liqueur, such as Grand Marnier (optional)

Directions

1. Weigh the gammon, then soak it in plenty of cold water for 8-12 hours, depending on the cure. Change the water every now and then, until you’ve got rid of the excess salt.

2. Put a trivet (metal stand) or an upturned heatproof plate into a pan large enough to take the piece of gammon and plenty of water. Place the gammon on the trivet or plate, making sure it is covered by at least 3 cm of cold water and bring it slowly to the boil. Taste the water to check it is not too salty, and change the water if necessary, until you are sure the excess salt has been removed. Then add the vegetables, 8 cloves, peppercorns and bay leaves. Lower the heat until the water is only simmering and calculate the cooking time from now based on 20 minutes per 500g. A 4kg ham will take 2 hours 40 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, make the Cumberland sauce. Using a sharp potato peeler, remove the zest from the oranges and lemon, then cut each strip lengthways into fine shreds. Drop into a small pan of boiling water and cook for 2 minutes, then drain and refresh under cold water. Leave to drain on kitchen paper. Halve the fruit and squeeze the juice. Set both aside.

4. Thinly slice the ginger and cut into thin strips. Melt the butter in a small pan, add the ginger and shallots and cook very gently for 5-10 minutes until soft but not browned. Add the mustard powder, then pour the orange and lemon juice through a sieve into the pan. Simmer until well reduced and syrupy. Add the port and some black pepper and simmer until reduced by half. Add the redcurrant jelly and 100g of marmalade. When melted, add the orange liqueur and a pinch of salt. Stir in the zest, take off the heat and leave to go cold.

5. When the ham has been cooking for the calculated time, remove from the heat and leave it to cool a little in the cooking liquor, until cool enough to handle. Then lift it out and carefully peel away and discard the skin, taking care not to pull away any of the fat with it.

6. Preheat the oven to 220˚C/fan 200˚C/gas 7. Using a small, sharp knife, score the fat into diamonds, taking care not to cut down too deeply to reveal the meat. Then cut a thin slice off the bottom of the joint so that it sits upright for glazing.

7. Line a roasting tin with a large piece of foil and put the gammon in the tin. Mix the remaining marmalade with the demerara sugar and ground cloves. Spread it over the outside of the gammon and then push a clove into the centre of each diamond. Roast for 20 minutes or until the fat is nicely browned and glazed. If serving hot, leave to rest for 15-20 minutes before carving. Otherwise leave for several hours to go cold. Serve thinly sliced with Cumberland sauce.

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