Gammon, can you serve it cold?

[iwasyoungonce]

I know what a silly question this must be, but I've never cooked gammon before. Only ever eaten at my Nan's as a child, and we ate it hot with pease pudding.

Do you serve Gammon cold on Boxing Day? I have a Gammon joint currently defrosting. What do I do, cook it on Boxing Day morning, then let it cool, slice it up and put it in the fridge?

Or will my guests all say "cold gammon? WTF?"

TIA.

Of course. Gammon is just ham with airs and graces!

I often make gammon slow cooker-ed in coke for Sunday lunch. Children happily take cold slices on sandwiches to school on Monday.

Yes. It's called naice ham.

Thank you! Do you have to baste it or anything? Or just shove it in the oven?

I soak, boil and then bake mine with a nice glaze on top (honey, marmalade, treacle, whatever).

It's even nicer cold

If you want to coat it in something, just mix up a bit of honey and any kind of mustard.

You can also just shove it in the oven. I wouldn't turn my nose up at that

Soak in cold water? For how long?

Boil? How long for?

I think I can work out the glazing bit.

I love every one of you for responding to such a dull post about gammon, btw. Thank god for Mumsnet.

Cooked gammon is ham!

Unless you slice it, before you cook it, then it's still gammon!

I boil a piece of gammon on Christmas eve. We have it warm for dinner and then it goes into sarnies, salads, pasta and all sorts, afterwards. I don't even confine it to Christmas - it's something I'll cook all year round. M&S sometimes have 750g pieces in their 3 for a tenner offer. You end up with 3 times as much meat as you'd get cooked ham for the same price!

Thanks ouryve. I can't believe I didn't know that cooked gammon is ham! I think it's because DH has always claimed to hate gammon. He loves ham, so he's clearly an idiot. I blame him.

Soak it overnight (or a good few hours) in a pan of cold water.

Boil it in plain water, or you can use another liquid like apple juice, cider or coke. Use spices in the pan to add flavour - I've just done mine in cider with apples, coriander seeds, cinnamon sticks, and a chopped chilli.

Once cooked, remove the skin from the joint. Leave a thin layer of fat, and then glaze it and bake for 15-20 mins.

You only need to soak it if you think it might be too salty. You can do that by standing it in a bowl of water, and changing the water every few hours, for a day or so. I don't do it, but some do.

I do mine in a slow cooker in a bit of cider. Om nom nom nom.... Falls apart.

You can just shove it in the oven. I'd do it on a low temperature, say gas mark 2, for about 3 or 4 hours. Cover with foil so it doesn't dry out too much. If you put a glaze, or some kind of coating on it, take the foil off for the last half hour, and crank the temperature up for 30 mins, to give it a bit of a crust. But a glaze isn't essential.

Shoving it in the oven is absolutely fine.

I've never had pease pudding but yes, I imagine that's gorgeous wiht it.

Depends how big it is really. Simmer it for a good hour if it's a bit big, to get rid of any salt, then tip the water out and refill it with fresh water and boil it again. It will be pretty much cooked by now but a nice honey and mustard glaze and ten-fifteen minutes in a hot oven to set the glaze will be yummy.

You can add onions and cloves to the second lot of water, some people think it flavours it a bit more.

I'm doing mine tomorrow. We'll have an easy ham and something tea, and then cold with salad etc Christmas night.

Oh yes remove the rind, obviously, before putting the glaze on.

You'll find several different ways of doing it, because basically, you can't go wrong

Thank you all so much! I'll cook it tomorrow. Think I'll go for the boil then glaze and oven method.

I'm very grateful for the advice, Merry Christmas to you all!

I soak it for a couple of hours, or longer, depending on when I remember to put it in! Then boil it for 20 min per lb, plus 20 min. Let stand for about 10 min. I don't bother putting it in the oven. We eat some straight away for dinner and the rest cold on sandwiches, or chopped and mixed into pasta, or in a quiche.