To ask for helllllp with xmas dinner.

[LEMtheoriginal]

I am cooking for six - I've cooked Xmas dinner for 25 years and every year I feel trepidation. I'm a fairly capable person and reasonable cook.

I am not feeling 100% (bug) so want to keep things simple.

I have huge Turkey and a gammon that can't go in together.

Previously cooked ham in coke but dd2 doesn't like that and she will only be having gammon so conceding on that one.

So how should i cook it sans coke ? Just roast for the whole time or boil in water then blast in oven? Will probably cook it tonight

Do you have a slow cooker? I do my ham in there. Boil it first and then cook low for ages- I sometimes use coke, sometimes a spit of water with onion, bay leaf, cloves, cinnamon and mustard. Blast it for 10 minutes before serving covered in honey and mustard.

I always boil my gammon.

Cover in copious amounts of honey and roast here.

I’m going off piste this year and doing John Torode’s ham instead of my usual cola ham. He says to put it in a roasting pan, add a few cups of water, cover with greaseproof then seal with tinfoil, bake for 2 hours at 160 then lower to 150 and cook for a further hour. So I’m doing this today then I’ll bake with the glaze tomorrow. Fingers crossed.

Did the ham in slow cooker last year in coke wasn't great but could do with water I guess. Certainly be easier.

Rita I'm a bit nervous about recooking it but also have considered blasting tomorrow

If you’re not feeling well, don’t make yourself worse by doing too much.
It’s your Christmas too, hope you feel better soon

That’s my method every year, cook the ham the day before then re cook with the glaze on Christmas Day. It always turns out lovely. I just hope I don’t regret not doing old faithful cola ham, this method just seems to have a bit less faffing, just bung in over for 3 hours today then 40 mins or so tomorrow, no boiling in coke and veg and keeping water levels topped up.

I cook mine in water with a couple of carrots, a couple of halved onions, a stick of celery, a few bay leaves, parsley and peppercorns then cut the skin off, score the fat in a diamond pattern, stud with cloves and make a glaze with honey and Coleman's English mustard and pop in the over until the glaze is golden.

Gives lovely stock too.

I've just started my gammon. It's a 3.5kg beast so needs about 3 hours or so. I always boil it on the hob with onion, carrot, celery, bayleaf, peppercorns and a few cloves. Plus a potato cos my Mum told me to (It's supposed to absorb any excess saltiness). Then I cut the top layer of fat off, score it and cover in a mixture of wholegrain mustard and maple syrup and roast it in the oven for 30 mins or so until it's glazed. I'm sure it would be fine if you separated these two stages out. Or cook it today and reheat a few slices tomorrow in some of the reserved boiling liquid. I do this for DS and DP as they like a slice of gammon with their Christmas dinner.

I did my gammon yesterday- I do it in ginger ale rather than coke, with a glaze of half marmalade, half ginger preserve, sugar, mustard and ground cloves. Nigella recipe.
Would she like that?

I hadn't thought of doing the boiling bit today and then the roasting tomorrow. Isn't that risky in that 30 minutes of roasting tomorrow won't be enough to heat the gammon through again, so it will warm up a bit then cool down for leftovers.

Is that safe?

If I was doing the final glaze/Roast separately I would cook it for longer. Probably put the glaze mix on, loosely cover with foil and then take this off to get some colour on the ham for the last 30 mins.

Crisis that sounds fecking amazing but I won't risk it today. Will fed do that in future

I have a gammon underway as we speak, the same method as Hemanorshera.

I did my gammon yesterday, just a small one as only 2 of us, however, I cooked it in slow cooker for about 9 hours in cider and put a pineapple puree over it after scoring it, I don't like cloves so leave them out and then sprinkle liberally with light muscovado sugar, as I put it in the oven to blast for about 45 mins, I put a double layer or 2 of pineapple rings at the bottle of the dish

PS I should add I also cooked my turkey crown in cider as well but using different methods.

The spare pineapple is taken off and put aside in a freezer bag for the puree for next time so thats the ones from underneath the dish, it becomes the top of the dish the next time - hope that makes sense

I boil the ham in water, add a carrot, celery, onion, cloves and bay leaves. Simmer for 20 mins for each pound of meat and let it cool in the water.
Tomorrow I'll remove the rind dust in mustard powder, roll in brown sugar, stick a couple of cloves in and drizzle with honey then bang in a hot oven for 20 mins or until the sugar has caramelised.
I love ham.

I use the water for stick in the gravy or soup.
Win win.
(My friend cooks hers in cider. She claims that it's better than mine. She's wrong)

Stock not stick.
Whoops

Did mine yesterday. Roasted for 5 hours then peeled off the skin, scored the fat into diamond shapes and pushed a clove into centre of each diamond.
Then all covered with mix of mustard and brown sugar, then back in oven for 15 mins.

I will cook mine in cider. I also cook it in pineapple juice, it's lovely.

Cider makes great gravy, along with some other bits and pieces, @Clandestino always absolutely lovely, i dont use the cloves or the mustard but thats personal choice as i cant stand them

Ginger beer, onion, carrot, pepper, few herbs. 1 hour in pressure cooker. Now in the oven with cloves, Seville orange marmalade and muscovado sugar.
It's going to be eaten cold for Boxing Day

I'm so glad I saw this I never thought about how to cook my Gammon. Should I book it before roasting it then?