i wanted a ham and have bought a gammon joint by mistake

[Monkeyandanimal]

It was half price in tesco, finest wiltshire cured gammon joint, and the instructions say to roast it. MIL says i can treat it like a ham and soak it to remove saltiness, boil and then roast and glaze it like i would a ham. Will this work or will i ruin it ? I don't want it too salty and i really wanted ham; if i treat it like a ham will it behave like one?

[Madamecastafiore]

Is it not a ham?

[HDEE]

I thought a gammon joint WAS ham. What's the difference?

[stargirl1701]

I thought it was a gammon before it was cooked and a ham after it was cooked.

[MotheringShites]

I thought gammon becomes a ham once it's cooked. At least that's what Nigella says.

[VivaLeBeaver]

Its the same thing.

[Monkeyandanimal]

oh god, i don't know! The instructions have me confused...

[TravellingToad]

Is this a wind up?

It's the same thing!

[EmpireBiscuit]

Same thing - your MIL is right though, boil for am hour to remove salt.

[Monkeyandanimal]

Ha ha, TravellingToad, its not a wind up! When i was little we were served gammon in school and it was like a big pink pork chop and was so salty it was inedible! I mean i know its all much the same cut on a pig, but i wasn't sure if the curing process was very different according to the name on the end product IYSWIM! Now i feel very thick. And i'm normally quite intelligent and quite a good cook!

[ChoudeBruxelles]

Same thing? I did a large gammon the other day. Boiled for 20 a pound less half an hour and just roasted it for last 30 mins. Lovely

[Monkeyandanimal]

Ok, thanks all, a ham by any other name is still as delicious i guess! off to boil the thing!

[7to25]

Put it in cold water and bring to the boil. Throw away the brine then repeat.
Now roast the joint. Are you Irish?

[Lilymaid]

I think that a ham is really the back legs of a pig, cured - then cooked (or not cooked if it is Parma ham/Serrano etc). Gammon joints come from other parts of the pig - foreleg etc.
Agree that it is generally best to boil it (simmer rather than hard boil), then finish off in the oven if you want a nice moist meat.

[Trills]

If I cook "a ham" then what I buy is labelled as a gammon joint.

[rumbelina]

DH and I were wondering about this the other day. But whey do they sell 'gammon' and 'ham' joints then??

[rumbelina]

Or maybe they don't!

[ashamedoverthinker]

Well I had a gammon joint and I followed a bbc food recipe - it seems to have done a good job of converting it to a ham joint.

We ate it and it tasted like ham.

[ashamedoverthinker]

the joints labelled ham are already cooked and ready to eat no?

[NearTheWindmill]

A ham is huge. A gammon joint is part of a ham. Treat in exactly the same way. Generally if it's from the supermarket it shouldn't need soaking. I put mine straight in the oven, wrapped in foil, with coke poured over, a bayleaf and peppercorns. At the end I take it out rest it, shave off the rind, score, insert cloves, and slaver with a mixture of honey and english mustard.

[Tortoise]

Gammon/ham same thing. Nice cooked in the slow cooker .
Bloody Tesco substituted my boxing day gammon with beef! Now I have to hope small local co-op have some gammon left today!

[Monkeyandanimal]

No, i'm not irish but DH is.

[VivaLeBeaver]

I can remember trying to buy a ham years ago to do ham in coke. Went round all the supermarkets and couldn't find a ham. It was either MN or my mum told me it was a gammon joint I needed. Bloody nigella.

[Monkeyandanimal]

So it's not just me then Viva !

[VivaLeBeaver]

No.


I've just found a gammon in the fridge which is 4 days out of date. It smells ok, am going to cook it!

[hollyisalovelyname]

Best way to cook the ham please so it is moist.