If you were doing gammon in the slow cooker....

[rainywinterday]

What would your recipe be?

Gammon plated with the turkey for Xmas dinner but I want to cook it on Xmas eve in the slow cooker - want a simple easy recipe...help! Normally just cook it in coke but not sure if that's the right recipe for xmas dinner?!

@WhiskersPete I don't really measure, just about a quarter of a bag full on top of one of those small joints.

Silly question but how much coke, or juice, or whatever... do you cover the joint fully in liquid?

Coke too.

Fully cover. When you think it’s cooked (6 hours?) mix a small glaze up of honey, grain mustard and soy sauce. Take the ham out, slather In the glaze, flash roast for 20 mins then cover in foil and tea towel for a while before carving up.

Nigella with cola.

Mustard and honey - no liquid. Finish off in the oven.

Enjoy!

Having the in laws over on Sunday . Had got coke for the ham but looking at these ideas I may be changing . Also if I could jump on this thread - best ideas for leftovers . I got huge one so I could make something else with it the next day .

Silly question but how much coke, or juice, or whatever... do you cover the joint fully in liquid?

I would bet money that ever single poster does it slightly differently, google will bring up loads of recipes.

Covering with liquid will give a traditional boiled gammon texture of meat, sugar or mustard and honey will give you a glaze, nothing will give you fall apart meat, a small amount would give you a sort of steamed texture.

Slightly off topic but does anyone think pulled pork in coke would work? I have a big piece of pork shoulder for Christmas eve which will be done in slow cooker.

I do mine in the slow cooker in cider, with onion, a few peppercorns, some allspice berries, a couple of cloves and bay leaves. Then brown off in the oven with a glaze. I like honey, brown sugar, rum, cinnamon and a little mustard in mine. I often make it up as I go along tbh.

Cook pork shoulder in cherry coke, ketchup and a bit of mustard powder and you get a lovely barbecue sauce flavour.

Maple syrup and a sprinkle of brown sugar. Done and dusted for us

sashh Covering with liquid will give a traditional boiled gammon texture of meat, sugar or mustard and honey will give you a glaze, nothing will give you fall apart meat, a small amount would give you a sort of steamed texture.
I never knew this! Is this true of all meats? We all like a falling apart piece of beef / pork / ham and I always put liquid in the slow cooker as I think meat would weld to the base. have I been doing it wrong for all these years? I usually glaze and finish in the oven but only for the last 20 mins.

No coke or sugar in the cooking water here, soak overnight, slow cook in water with an onion, bayleaf and peppercorns then glaze with a mixture of redcurrant jelly and dijon mustard before 20 mins in the oven to caramelise.

Tip a heap of brown sugar on it, add a teaspoon of grain mustard. Turn it sporadically while cooking and use juices as sauce.
I use unsmoked gammon for less saltiness.

@sashh thank you, that’s v helpful.

Thank you Mumsnet!

Starheart I cook gammon specifically to have it cold! Well chilled in the fridge overnight, then cut wafer thin with an old fashioned slicer. This gives huge amounts of gammon slices which I parcel into foil and freeze. Obviously only works for boneless meat

Ham stock, a couple of quartered onions, a couple of chunky chopped carrots and a bit of chunky chopped celery. 2 bay leaves and some peppercorns. Pop gammon in and leave till cooked

Once gammon is cooked, strain the water into a pan. Add carrots, onions and red lentils and you have the most amazing lentil soup that you can freeze down for January dinners

VirginiaCreeper I rarely add liquid to joints of meat.

Shoulder of lamb is great in the SC because the fat melts and bastes the meat, once you have cooked it this way you will never go back to the oven unless you are short of time.

If I'm doing chicken I make a cross out of folded foil and put it under the chicken so it can be lifted out whole.

You will find that most meats release juice and fat that you can then use for gravy.

VickyBHF

You do all know you can make steamed puddings int the slow cooker don't you?

Right so after 25 years of doing the ham in a stockpot with the usual bits and pieces then roasting, tonight I am going to use the slow cooker.

should I

1 Just add brown sugar and maybe a few cloves.
2 Add onions, carrots, celery and spices, no stock
3 Add ginger beer or cider as a stock

Going to put it on low at midnight then check it at 8am tomorrow.

I do mine with apple juice, onion, maple syrup, star anise, garlic and cinnamon.

Watching as I’m trying this for the first time

Do you need to soak the joint to get rid of the salt or can you just boil it for 30 mins first?

What would be the cooking time for a large gammon joint?

I add a small amount of liquid (just covering the bottom) sometimes cherry coke, sometimes ginger beer. Brown sugar, mustard, cloves and a pinch of cinnamon.
Once done I bake it in a hot oven for 15/20 minutes with a glaze of honey and mustard

We do this every year allrecipes.co.uk/recipe/8254/easy-slow-cooker-ham.aspx with a lot less cloves as found them a bit overpowering.

Is there a way to do it in the slow cooker where it doesn't fall apart? I like it to be carveable - if that's a word.

I usually soak overnight, boil in whatever (coke/cider/applejuice ) trying orange juice and cinnamon this year, then roast