What a crazy year this has been and now the silly season is here and most of us will be having a very quiet Christmas - We may not be able to celebrate with family but we can celebrate with food!
When we lived in the UK, Christmas dinner would take 2 days to prepare.
Day 1 would be for massaging the turkey with enormous amounts of butter, stuffing it with 2 different stuffings and prepping the veggies. Brussel sprouts, mashed carrot & swede, parsnips, roast potatoes, boiled potatoes, broccoli and cauliflower cheese. I was sometimes lucky enough to have help, my hungover sister, what a great help, it would take her 2 hours to peel a carrot!!! I’m not even joking!
Day 2, Christmas day there would be chipolata sausages to wrap in bacon, celery & Stilton soup, bread sauce & the gravy to make. Mum always put the turkey in the oven, Dad did his bit, he was guaranteed entertainment and would always trip over a dog while carrying a huge cauldron of potatoes to the Aga.
The best part about a huge feast is all the leftovers - Turkey, ham, homemade pickled onions, crusty bread, Stilton, strong cheddar and Jacobs cream crackers. Add to this a good bottle of port, a tin of Quality Street, a Terrys chocolate orange and a Christmas cake the size of a small car and Christmas is complete!
Even though it’s just for Carl and myself I still make a huge feast and I wanted to share my favourite ham recipe which is Cola ham (we use Gammon but you can use smoked ham too just remember it is already part cooked so won’t take as long).
Slow cooking is by far the easiest way. My friend always cooks hers from frozen. She said she takes it straight from the freezer, puts it in the slow cooker in the morning and in the afternoon it’s done and delicious! You can’t get easier than that!
Tips
You can precook your gammon and glaze it just before you need to serve it - I never do this because Carl eats it all before I get a chance to glaze it! The upside of that is the whisky maple glaze is great on ice cream lol! -It’s my new favourite glaze!
You will need a longer glazing time for a precooked cold ham. Approx 45 mins from a room temperature.
Before carving your cooked ham, let it rest 15 minutes to redistribute juices and firm up the meat.
Cola Ham
Ingredients
1 onion (peeled and cut in half)
2 litres coca-cola - must be the full sugar stuff and this is the only time I buy cola & it is Christmas
Cloves for studding the fat
Directions
Put the gammon in a pan, add the onion, then pour over the Coke.
Bring to the boil, reduce to a good simmer, put the lid on, though not tightly, and cook for 2 hours. Or Cook in the slow cooker on high for 4 hours.
If the gammon's been in the fridge right up to the moment you cook it, you will have to give it a good 15 minutes or so extra so that the interior is properly cooked.
Make your favourite glaze.
Score the fat with a sharp knife to make fairly large diamond shapes, and stud each diamond with a clove.
Carefully apply your glaze
Finish in a 450F oven for about 10 mins until glaze is bubbly.
Oven-baked Smoked Ham
Ingredients
Glaze of your choice
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degree F
Score the fat.
Put ham in a roasting pan cut-side down.
Brush with your favourite glaze.
Tent it with foil.
Bake it for 20 minutes per pound.
Every 20 minutes or so, brush the ham with more glaze and baste it with the pan juices.
To finish, remove the foil tent, brush the ham with glaze and pan juices one more time, and turn the oven to broil.
Broil for about 3-to-5 minutes until the outside glaze is deliciously caramelized -- but watch it closely so it doesn't get too dark.
Whisky Maple Glaze
Ingredients
¼ cup melted butter
¼ cup of maple syrup
¼ cup of whisky - I used salted caramel whisky, it was delicious
Salt and pepper
Directions
Whisk together ingredients
Carefully pour over ham
Honey Mustard Glaze
Ingredients
1 heaped tablespoon honey
2 teaspoons English mustard powder
2 tablespoons turbinado or brown sugar
Directions
Carefully spread the honey over the fat.
Gently pat the mustard and sugar onto the sticky fat.