This slow cooker gammon joint is slow-cooked with apple cider and apples, then glazed with a maple mustard sauce and the crackling is crisped up under the grill. This is the perfect ham to make for a lazy Sunday.
Honestly, this whole slow cooker week has been amazing, but I may just want to take a minute to really talk about this gammon joint. Just a few super basic ingredients and a few hours and you have a show stopper of a Sunday roast or a Christmas lunch. If you feel like skipping turkey this year, may I recommend that you try this instead.
I also just want to highlight just how economical this slow cooker ham is. This joint is 1.7kg and only cost £7.71. This joint will easily feed 6 people! An amazing alternative to turkey this year, if you are on a tight budget.
Slow Cooker Gammon
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Ingredients needed
Gammon joint (deboned)- Smoked and sweet cured, but you can make this same recipe with an unsmoked joint if you prefer.
Cider and chicken stock cube- Forms the cooking liquid for the gammon.
Apples, carrots, garlic and onion- Add so much flavour to the gammon as it slow cooks.
Maple syrup, English mustard and mixed spice- Forms the glaze for the ham
How to- (step by step)
Step 1 & 2- This really is the simplest but most show-stopping dinner. Unwrap the gammon joint from the plastic but leave it tied with the string. This helps it keep it's shape while it cooks. Place it in the slow cooker with the chopped apples, carrots, onion and garlic. Pour the cider and vegetable stock over the gammon and cook on high for about 3 hours or on low for 5 hours.
Step 3 & 4- Mix the ingredients for the maple glaze and set aside. Turn on the grill (broiler) to heat up. When the gammon is cooked remove it from the slow cooker and place it on a tray. Cut the strings off and using a very sharp paring score the skin of the gammon in a diamond pattern without going all the way through. Drizzle the gammon with the maple glaze (you can use honey here too) and place under the grill for about 10 minutes, or until the skin is crispy and dark golden.
Slice and serve. That's it. That's how easy this maple gammon is. But I've got some tips and tricks below that you need to know about.
Slow cooker gammon tips a tricks
- You don't need to soak the gammon before cooking it. Some recipes will instruct you to, but it's not necessary. Just go easy on the seasoning. Ham is naturally salty, especially smoked and cured like this particular one.
- Once the gammon has been cooked, it only needs to go under the grill for the glaze to get sticky and the crackling to crisp up. Some recipes say to bake the ham for about 30 minutes for that to happen. Your ham is already cooked. Doing this will only dry it out and it takes too long. Under a hot grill for about 10 minutes is all you need to do. Keep an eye on the ham to make sure that the glaze doesn't burn. Due to the high sugar content, maple syrup burns very quickly.
- If you want to skip the cider that's absolutely fine. Just add in a little extra stock to compensate for the liquid. Actually, you can slow cook this gammon just in water if want to. It obviously won't have the same level of flavour, but you'll still end up with a lovely gammon joint
How to tell when it's cooked
The best way to tell if a gammon joint is cooked is by using a thermometer. The internal temperature of the gammon should be 70c when it's cooked.
If you don't have a thermometer, you can insert a paring knife into the gammon. If you have difficulty pulling out the knife or if the meat feels spongey, it needs longer. The gammon will be firm once it's cooked through.
You'll probably have leftovers if you're lucky. Store in the fridge for up to 3 days or you can freeze for up to 3 months. Perfect for sandwiches, or having with fried eggs. Or, like me, maybe you just steal slices and eat them cold every time you pass by the fridge!
I've probably said this every day this week, but this might be my favourite slow cooker recipe yet!
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Recipe
Slow Cooker Gammon (Maple Glazed) Recipe
Ingredients
- 1.5 kg smoked gammon deboned (about 1.5kg)
- 2 apples roughly chopped
- 1 onion roughly chopped
- 2 cloves garlic peeled
- 1 carrot roughly chopped
- 330 ml cider or apple juice
- 750 ml chicken stock made with a stock cube
- Glaze
- 115 ml maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon English mustard
- 2 teaspoons mixed spice
Instructions
- Unwrap the gammon, but leave the strings tied. Place the gammon joint in the bowl of your slow cooker. Roughly chop the onions, carrots and apple and place around the ham. They’re just used to flavour the cooking liquid for the gammon.
- Pour the cider and chicken stock into the slow cooker and cook on high for about 3 hours, or on low for 5-6 hours.
- Mix the maple syrup and mustard and mixed spice in a small sauce bowl. Whisk well.
- Remove the gammon from the slow cooker and place on a baking tray and remove the string. Score the skin of the gammon. Pour half the glaze over the cooked gammon and place under the grill for 5 minutes. remove and pour a little more of the glaze on the ham and place back under the grill for another 5 minutes.
- Slice the gammon and serve with more mustard and drizzle with the last of the glaze.
Notes
Nutrition
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