to be annoyed at the ham supermarkets sell

[StealthPolarBear]

It is almost all "formed", which, as a vegetarian I don't know but believe that is not a good thing.
It took me ages to find some that was just cooked sliced ham in Sainsbury's yesterday, and I've had similar in Tesco.
I know the answer is to buy from the butcher and I have been trying to but it's not always practical

I buy the cheapest ham possible. It's still ham. There's not much taste difference exactly and I can't afford the taste difference anyway. I haven't done a gammon thing before either. Our local 99p store has started selling ham though, and I'm a bit about that

Have any of you "I buy a joint and cook it myself" league actually read the ingredients on the average gammon joint?

That is also formed with added water! I thought I was being smart til I read that, turns out that THAT is the reason it is usually kept in shape with that weird papery wrap thing.

I go to my local butcher, no added water and prices comparable to supermarket.

www.tesco.com/groceries/Product/Details/?id=268880284

Nice if you have one, no local butcher near us!

I get a free range joint from Waitrose which is better quality than that Tesco one.

Thing is, if you're buying a joint from the supermarket to boil, there are several types. The ones with most added water tend to be labelled bacon joints. You need to get a gammon joint to reduce the added water.

Sorry, cheap ham is rank. I still feed it to Dc sometimes (they dont' care), but it's just not nice.

Butcher does the only ham that I rate. Slice it there & then. We don't get thru enough to make it viable to cook our own.

Didn't know that Fry! Thanks. I buy the tesco value one but not sure if it has added water?

I mean I buy the gammon, not the bacon

To the question "do you really think meat eaters are that stupid?" As a meat eater I hope not but some people are unbelievebly thick uninfoormed on such issues. Please see the eppisode of "a league of their own" where Jamie Redknapp says

He is like a proper harcore vegitarian he wont even eat fish... he is like vegan about it

Response

I am not a vegan I eat eggs and drink milk. I am a vegitarian

When you boil a gammon, doesn't the water come out? Sorry if that sounds thick but you can only half fill the slow cooker with liquid as so much is emitted by the meat.

Yes, the meat will shrink, but how much will depend on how much was there in the first place.

Blackholes I don't use a slow cooker so I don't know whether it is different to just boiling it on the hob, but I've never had a problem with masses of water coming out. Yes it shrinks but the pan doesn't overflow or anything.

I often soak mine for an hour to get some of the salt out, and then change the water and bring it to a simmer, and then put it in the oven to roast. We have it hot and then the leftovers are ham for sandwiches.

M&s do nice ham

Formed ham gives me the creeps.

Go to the butchers or deli counter in Waitrose or Sainburys and ask if they have any ham off cuts- the bits left over when they cant cut any more slices off the bone. You will get real ham at a fraction of the price of the hand carved slices.

I'm not that bothered about the price. It just didnt occur to me that the deli counter would sell real ham - I assumed it would be the same as the pre packaged stuff!

I'm planning on doing a gammon this week after this thread, thanks! Still would like to know how long it's ok to keep in the fridge though?

I'll also look for one with a low water content!