- - about 3kg smoked gammon (not previously frozen in the supermarket)
- 2 - carrots, roughly chopped
- 2 - celery stalks, roughly chopped
- 1 - onion, quartered
- 1 - bouquet garni*
- 400ml - ginger ale or apple juice
- - GLAZE
- 125ml - apple jelly
- 45ml - honey
- 15ml - Dijon mustard
- 15ml - castor sugar
1 Place the gammon, vegetables and bouquet garni in a large roasting bag inside a deep roasting dish and add the liquid. Seal the bag, prick a few holes in the top and roast for about 2½ hours in a preheated oven at 180°C. Remove from the oven and allow the meat to rest for 20 minutes on a chopping board. Set aside 125ml of the cooking liquid.
2 Use a sharp knife to remove the skin from the meat in a single piece. Be careful not to remove the fat layer, but only the hard skin on top of it. Now score the fat in a 2cm diamond pattern without cutting through the fat into the meat. Press a clove into each diamond for a tasty garnish. Return the gammon to the roasting dish.
3 Make the glaze Mix the apple jelly, honey, mustard and cooking liquid that you’ve already set aside.
4 Brush the glaze generously over the meat and roast it further so that the layer of fat can get crispy – about 45 minutes or until the glaze is golden brown and caramelised. Brush regularly with the glaze.
Tip Add a couple of apple quarters and baby onions to the dish 20 minutes before it’s finished roasting.
5 Sprinkle a thin layer of castor sugar over the glaze and roast for another 15 minutes or so – it sets the glaze, making it wonderfully shiny and crisp. Garnish with pomegranate rubies.
