Cranberry Glazed Christmas Ham
This Cranberry Glazed Christmas Ham is a festive showstopper, perfect for holiday gatherings and is surprisingly easy to make. It's a delicious and impressive centrepiece for your Christmas Dinner Table.
Servings: 8 people
Calories: 395kcal
Ingredients
- 2 kg unsmoked gammon
- 400 g apple juice
- 500 g cider
- 1 large onion roughly chopped
- 2 sticks celery roughly chopped
- 1 head fennel roughly chopped
- 2 cloves garlic lightly crushed
- small bunch of parsley stalks
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 star anise
- 1 tablepooon fennel seeds
- 1 tablespoon black peppercorns
Glaze:
- 1-2 tablespoons cloves
- 150 g cranberry sauce
- 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- 2 teaspoons dijon mustard
Instructions
- Place the gammon in a very large saucepan and cover with water. Heat until the water is at a rolling boil.
- Remove the gammon and pour out the water, giving the pan a rinse.
- Place the gammon back into the pan and add all the ingredients (except the ones for the glaze). Top up with water to cover the gammon.
- Bring to a boil then reduce the heat to a simmer, cover and cook for 90 minutes (one and a half hours).
- Remove the gammon (which is now called ‘ham’ since it is cooked) from the liquid and allow to rest whilst you prepare the glaze.
- Pre-heat the oven to 200°C / 180°C fan assisted / gas mark 6 / 400°F.
- Remove the string from the ham. If it has a thick outer skin on top of the fat then cut that away so only the thick layer of fat remains beneath.
- Make a large diamond pattern into the fat with a very sharp knife, being sure not to pierce the meat. Then place a clove into each diamond.
- Blitz the ingredients for the glaze in a small bowl using an immersion blender until smooth. Then brush half of the glaze all over the ham.
- Place the ham in the oven on a foil lined roasting tin with a ladleful of the cooking liquid at the base of the pan. Roast for 30-35 minutes, basting the ham with the rest of the glaze twice (after 10 and 20 minutes) during the roast.
- Remove the ham from the oven and allow to rest for at least 10 minutes before carving and serving.
Notes
- For the initial boil of the ham you need 20 minutes per 450g (1lb).
- The ham is delicious hot or cold. Once cooked wrap up well and store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days before you want to serve it.
- Please note when you see ‘grams’ listed as opposed to ‘millilitres,’ or any other term of measurement, that is not incorrect. I weigh all of my ingredients, including liquids, for accuracy.
Nutrition
Calories: 395kcal | Carbohydrates: 19g | Protein: 50g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Trans Fat: 0.001g | Cholesterol: 113mg | Sodium: 3211mg | Potassium: 1091mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 13g | Vitamin A: 63IU | Vitamin C: 86mg | Calcium: 51mg | Iron: 3mg