Cooking a Boxing Day Ham??

[OhCobblers]

I've never done it before but am determined to do it this year!

I've heard that the "Nigella Bottle of coke" one is good but i don't have the right book. Would you agree that that is a good one to do or do you have an alternative one you'd like to share??

TIA

Here's Nigella's ham in coke

It really is lovely!

I'm thinking of trying this, what would you have to accompany the ham, vegetables etc?

on boxing day to go with the ham would be cold turney, cheese, pickles , bread, salad

turkey

Mmm sounds great thanks, a lovely 'picky' meal then. I'll definitely give it a go I think.

A friend of mine raves about this. I tried it - ok but much the same as any other ham, and loads of sticky gloop all over the place. Tried again, in case something had gone wrong - same result.

My favourite ham recipe is just to boil for about half the cooking time and then finish off in the oven, but don't bother with all the other stuff - tastes just as nice and stays moist.

Yum.

I'm going to try this as well. Now, not being a cook, can you tell me what I'm supposed to do with the liquid. (..'but do NOT throw away the liquid') as Nigella doesn't mention it again!

What about the Delia one with molasses?

I'm not really a fan of coke, but I do a gammon joint in the slow cooker in apple juice, or apple and XYZ juice (apple and elderflower was delicious) - it doesn't actually take all that long, you have to keep cutting a wee sliver off to check, as it gets juicier and juicier, then sort of "goes past it" and gets a bit rubbery. I find about 3-4 hours gets it just right, for a kilogram joint. Just get a litre carton of juice and tip it in, pop the meat on, pop the lid on and turn it on high. After 2.5 hrs start tasting every 15 - 30 mins.

I think I might give this a go too. Can someone give me an idea of how long the ham will keep for once it's been cooked generally?

Hocus - you're right about the liquid, she does rather leave you hanging on that one!

I'm a big ham boiler...have used apple juice (which you can then use to cook red cabbage), lemonade, cranberry juice, cider, water infused with honey and lemon...but my all time fave is cola.

It breaks the ham down so it stays juicy and imbues it with a sweet sticky flavour. Yum.

Lola - you can keep the ham up to a week, but obviously it will become drier as time wears on and need to be used in other dishes towards the end. DH likes an omlette with chunks of cola ham in it.

And a great xmas dish is turkey and ham pie...which you will have in spades.

Don't want to come over all bossy, but I'm a ham enthusiast so I thought I'd give you my ham lifespan.

Day 1 - eat hot with potatoes and salad (or red baggage) and crusty bread.
Day 2 - eat cold with left over turkey, salad, cheeses and pickles. And of course...crisps.
Day 3 - as day two.
Day 4 - Turkey and ham pie hot with peas and saute potatoes.
Day 5 - cold pie with salad and left overs.

I do the ham in coke in the slow cooker - I literally just put it in, cover it in coke and let it go. It's awesome!

No worries about the bossiness wordfactory - I like a bit of structure!

I think your list could be made into a a cut-out and keep guide for the fridge door over Xmas!

Red baggage! was that a predictive text?

red cabbage?

This is for a 1kg piece of ham. Ish. I do it on Christmas eve and then forget about it till Boxing day.

Prep - Soak the ham over night, get rid of the water, bring to the boil in new water, and get rid of that. Rinse the ham under the tap. Lots of people don't do all this but the one time I didn't, it tasted really salty.

Cooking -
Put ham in the pan with 1L apple juice, 1L cranberry juice, 1 cinnamon stick (halved), 1tsp ground allspice and 1 onion (cut into halves).Fill up so it is covered with water if needed.
Bring to boil and then cook at a fast simmer for 60min per kg +15min
Take out and let it cool.
Slice a bit off the ham for soup.
Wrap the ham in a foil "tent", stick in fridge.
Keep the liquid - it is ham stock.

Squash and ham Soup -
Put half a butternut squash, and a red onion (peeled and cut in halves) on a baking tray and drizzle with olive oil.
Bake at 180 for 30 minutes.
Scoop squash out of its skin.
Put the squash, onion, some diced ham and 1L ham stock in a pan and simmer for an hour or so.
Mash/blend

I've tried the coke (and like it) and also the cider, which I think I prefer.
I'll have to root out the recipe as I'll be doing it for christmas this year again.

I have done Nigella's ham in coke wo years in a row and its lovely. I use her brown sugar and treacle glaze/crust, too. Really good.

I do it on Christmas Eve - fills the house with a lovely smell. In the past we have eaten it for Cjristma Eve dinner, with braised red cabbage and roasted root veg. Last year we had it with eggs benedict for Christmas breakfast and the rest on Boxing Day with bubble and squeak and soft fried eggs. Yum.

two years in a row

I do Nigella's ginger glazed ham which is boiled in Ginger Ale and then glazed in the oven with ginger conserve. Much, much nicer than the Cola ham (which I also like, btw)

Yes! I agree with IfYouSeeKay, the ginger ham is the best thing in the world and we are going to be having it more than once in the next month. I can post the recipe later on if you like, because it is too good to miss!

thank you so much for all suggestions - i've decided i have to give the Ham in Coke recipe a go!!
However, not sure what ham/gammon to buy and do i soak overnight no matter what??
THanks again

I dont soak the gammon joint overnight, I simply cover with cold water, bring to boil, discard water and rinse under cold tap before getting on with the recipe itself.

Check the recipe for type of gammon. Some of the recipes are for a joint with the bone I but I have always cooked boneless unsmoked or mildly smoked gammon joints, followed the recipe as stated regardless and still ended up with delicious ham :)