Recipe: Gin & Tonic Gammon

We always had a tradition in our house – when dad brought the first lot of broad beans, my mum would head to the butchers for gammon and dinner was an affair of potatoes, broad beans, gammon and cheese sauce.

I’ve kept this little tradition going, even after moving out and even after mum died, so when dad brought over broad beans, or I grabbed some from the grocers or farmers market, I’d immediately head off, buy some thick slices of gammon and make up a cheese sauce.

This year, I’m a little late to the party. No fat green bean pods from my brother or dad, and I haven’t been aware enough to spot any while out and about. Luckily one of the chaps from work unexpectedly reminded me when he offered me a bag of beans from his garden, and for once, I opted to forgo tradition, bought a gammon joint, and reached for the gin.

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Gin Tonic Gammon

Prep Time 1 day

Cook Time 2 hours

Servings 6

Author Charlie H-S

Ingredients

For the ham

• 2 kg Gammon joint
• 1 lemon
• 1 lime
• 400 ml tonic water
• 75 ml gin

For the glaze

• 2 tbsp of the cooking liquid
• 3 tbsp marmalade

Instructions

1. Always check with your butcher whether your gammon needs soaking overnight first - ours did, so we popped it in some cold water and left it overnight in the fridge.
2. The next day, after draining, I returned it to the pan and prepared it for a nice hot bath.
3. Add the gin, tonic, sliced citrus and top it off with cold water.
4. Put it on a medium heat, and bring it to the boil.
5. Let it simmer gently for 1.5 hours (20 minutes per 450g, plus 20 minutes).
6. When done, remove it from the heat, and remove the meat from the pan and place it in a suitable roasting tin or dish.
7. Wait a few minutes, until the meat is comfortable to handle, and in the meantime mix the marmalade and a little of the cooking liquid together - just enough to loosen the marmalade.
8. Pre-heat the oven to Gas Mark 5/190°C.
9. Once cooled a little, use a sharp knife to remove the skin from the ham, leaving a layer of fat, thick enough to score in a diamond pattern.
10. Brush the gammon with half the glaze and put into the oven for around 15 minutes.
11. Repeat the process and leave it for another 15 minutes, or until the glaze is shiny and golden.
12. Remove from the oven and leave to 15 minutes before serving.

Recipe Notes

I used my last drop of Haymans Gin for this recipe, but it would work really well with Sipsmith, Gin Mare, Brokers Gin, or anything that isn't too sweet.
If your gammon needs soaking, but you haven't time to leave it overnight, pop it in some cold water, bring it to the boil, then simmer for 5 minutes before draining it. It might not pull quite as much salt from the meat, but it will do the job.
The liquid left after cooking is great for use in stews and soups.