Ham. How do you do yours? And when?

[Ihatemytoes]

I'm attempting a Christmas ham for the first time this year. Any foolproof recipes appreciated! I plan to serve it at a small gathering we're having on Boxing day si I'd like to get it right! Thanks in advance.

I do mine

Boil ham with 2 bay leaves a couple of gloves and some black pepper corns about 8 for a couple hours.

When cooled I take the skin and most of the fat off.

Heat about 3rd of a cup of orange juice and squirt of runny honey and some mustard. Pour over gammon and bake for about 30mins.

Nigella ham in coke - very easy and I do day before. Can't post link but google - you can't go wrong!

I do Nigella's ginger glazed ham

I do a ginger glazed ham. Soak ham overnight in cold water. Drain. Calculate cooking time (I think 20 mins/lb + extra 20mins at end. Boil in fresh water for half cooking time. Drain. Remove skin, score fat in diamond pattern and place clove in centre of each diamond. Line a deep roasting tin with 2 long lengths of strong tin foil (make a + pattern, ie one piece going left-right, one piece going other way). Place gammon in centre of foil/roasting dish, and pull tin foil up , then cover with your ginger marinade. I used to have exact measurements or this but just do it by eye now - about 3/4 of a jar of ginger preserv & 2 cups of dk brown sugar, mix together then smear on top of your gammon. Then pour 1/4pint of ginger ale in around the gammon taking care not to wash the glaze off. Pull tinfoil up and scrunch together above the gammon to make an airtight seal. Try to keep the tinfoil off the top off the gammon, you want some air inside (this is why you need long lengths and strong tinfoil). Bake in oven 180C for remaining cooking time. 20 mins before end of cooking time remove from oven, open foil (take care hot steam), baste, and return to oven for glaze to darken. Allow to cool. Pour juices into a jug/bowl and allow to cool, then refrigerate, serve with the gammon (should form a jelly). Sounds complicated, but it's really not, and it looks and tastes awesome.

I am also doing a ham for the first time (gulp)

Am planning to do Nigella's fully festive ham, boiled in cranberry and apple juice with some spices then baked under a redcurrant glaze studded with cloves.

For Boxign Day tea. I normally do shepherd's pie, not sure what came over me!

Ham is lovely. I do the same sort of thing as Imabadmum, except with a mix of marmalade and grainy mustard.

Like the sound of Thr ham with gloves

I do the nigella ham too, if and when we get a ham.

I do the nigella festive ham its boiled in red wine with fennel, then glazed with red current jelly, paprika and cinnamon and studded with cloves it's so nice!

I stick mine in the slow cooker with apple juice, honey, cloves, cinnamon, spice, bay. And just leave it. Turn halfway through and add more honey.

Nigella-stylee - coke instead of water, a clove studded onion and a bay leaf. I like smoked ham best. Boil, turn down, cover and simmer for the hours it says on the label. Take out, let cool, smother in mixture of brown sugar, mustard powder and dark tracel and stud with cloves, and whack in a hot oven for short time - Nigella has a similar recipe for the glaze online (I toy with quantities a bit) and also ginger or cherry glazes.

It.is.DIVINE.

*treacle

DH is doing ours and won't countenance the cola one. I am gutted because I've had it at a friend's house and it is truly divine. Plus, the quantities seem really simple: ham, bottle of cola, onion. I'm doing it next year...

I'm slow cooking my ham in apple juice. Can't do anything more interesting as parents are dead fussy eaters. What is everybody doing with their ham. I'm thinking new potatoes, potato gratin and green beans but not sure.

I'm doing a slow cooker version of nigella's fully festive ham, so in the slow cooker with equal quantities apple juice and cranberry juice, some cloves, cinnamon and all spice.

I am cooking mine Christmas morning and having it with the turkey (16 guests), and to serve Boxing day breakfast with a poached egg on top. Also goes nicely with the cheese and pickles for tea.

Thanks all. I think I'm going to go for either the ginger glaze or the ham in coke. thanks again.

Oh Claire, you have just found me a menu for 27th. We will still have lots of ham and friends coming to stay. Ham, gratin potatoes and green beans will be lovely and not left over ish!

OK, so i am going out to buy the ham tomorrow, should have bought it on wednesday but I got confused.

Do you buy a ham and roast it, or a gammon? There were lots of gammon joints and no ham, and this is the first year I have done it, so I got confused

and how many kilos do you get? We are 7 on christmas day (2 small kids) and we will start ham on christmas eve and eat it in sandwiched until it runs out, need enough left for meal for 7 on 27th???

bumping for the morning

We have Nigella's ham in coke with dauphinoise potatoes and green beans on Christmas Eve, which means yummy ham leftovers to go with turkey leftovers on Boxing Day lunch.

Ham in coke, honey and whole grain mustard glaze for boxing day.......can't wait.