Christmas ham

[didireallysaythat]

I need help

I love the idea of a ham on Xmas day. I'm cooking for 4-10 - no idea really. What sort of ham, what weight and how do you prepare and cook it ?

It's the only special thing I'll cook so I'd like to do it right. Previous ham experience is those reformed things in a slow cooker with coke. Nice but a bit processed.

TIA

Thank you all so much.

And Viking I wish you all the best with you future hams.

Now off to google the dimensions of a ham that feeds 6+ to see if it will fit in my stock pot.

Ooh. This is a timely thread. I was pondering over this yesterday. My dear old Dad always bought a huge boneless ham from our local butcher (about 12-14lber). Bloody gorgeous. He shared it out between us over the christmas period. He died in January so no Family ham this year. I need to find a completely different (much smaller) recipe for us this year - and start a new tradition.

I buy a big piece of gammon from Waitrose - only place I can usually get a big enough piece that's British - I never buy foreign pork - and bake in the oven with an orangey/spicy/mustardy glaze for the last half hour - strip the skin off, score the fat in diamonds first. Recipe has it decorated with slices of orange and cloves, which does look lovely, but I don't always do that.
Would never be without it at Christmas since it keeps so well and provides easy meals after The Day, including breakfast.

This is the recipe I use: www.myfussyeater.com/the-easiest-slow-cooker-christmas-ham-gammon-red-cabbage-salad/

Added bonus of not taking up much time in the oven when the turkey needs to be in there (I put it in when the turkey has come out).

It's so nice that my DC request or randomly during the year and my DM, who provides the most amazing Christmas meals, has asked me to bring it this year as we are going to hers.

Actually, I'm just digging out the slow cooker now to do a version of it for dinner tonight...

We do the Delia ham as mentioned by a PP. has always been awesome.

I've seen some gammon joints in Lidl anyone tried them? And are they any good?

Heman, that must have been HUGE! Inspired by this thread DH is making us marmalade glazed ham today, its only 5lbs and big!

It was! It lasted right through Christmas and up to New Year. And fed 4 families + their guests very nicely!

One word of advice to add to the above - make sure you have a big enough pan. With lid!!

Actually. Come to think of it I had to collect the ham last year as Dad was too ill to do it. He was disappointed that it was just a smidge over 10lbs (4.5kg) in weight !

My mum glazes with black treacle and it comes out absolutely wonderful. She does the scoring with the cloves too. I'm no help, sorry. All I know is that it's boiled forever in a pan and then glazed and baked for ages and it's a top tasting ham :)

I always do the Nigella one - boiled in coke before baked with treacle and cloves over it. I do it when I go to visit my family and they demand love it. Tempted to switch to marmalade this year for a change.