PINEAPPLE-GLAZED GAMMON, EGG & CHIPS
The combo of gammon, egg and chips brings back a lot of memories for me. Here a gammon joint is coated in a pineapple glaze that doubles up as a chutney. The gammon is delicious hot or cold, especially when served with oven-baked chips, fried eggs and peas. This classic continues to be a real crowd-pleaser, and what’s more, you’ll have plenty of gammon left over to enjoy over the next few days.
SERVES 4
4kg gammon joint
1 litre pineapple juice
1 celery stick
1 carrot
1 onion, peeled and studded with a few cloves, plus a handful of cloves for the gammon
3 bay leaves
4 tbsp pineapple jam
2 tbsp Dijon mustard
3 tbsp maple syrup
salt and black pepper
FOR THE CHIPS
5 Maris Piper potatoes, peeled and cut into chips
salt and pepper
olive oil
TO SERVE
fried eggs
boiled garden peas
1. Put the gammon in a very large pan and add cold water to cover completely. Cover and bring to the boil, then remove from the heat and carefully drain off all the water. Gammon can be quite salty so this step helps to remove some of the salt.
2. Top the pan up with all the pineapple juice, adding water until the gammon is covered. Add the celery, carrot, clove-studded onion, bay leaves and a good grind of black pepper. Slowly bring to a steady simmer and cook, uncovered, for 2½ hours, skimming off the foam on the top from time to time and adding more water to ensure the gammon is covered at all times.
3. To make the glaze, mix together the pineapple jam, Dijon mustard and maple syrup in a bowl. Taste and tweak to your liking. You’ll only need half to baste the gammon, so store the rest in a small jar in the fridge and use as an accompaniment.
4. When the gammon is ready carefully remove from the heat and drain away the liquid. Sit the joint on a large roasting tray and preheat the oven to 180°C/160°C fan/350°F/Gas mark 4.
5. Using a sharp knife remove the rind from the joint, leaving the white fat showing. Score criss-cross lines across the top to create squares and push a clove into each square. Using a pastry brush coat the gammon well with the glaze. Bake on the middle shelf for 50 minutes, basting it at least twice during this cooking time until golden and sticky on top. Carefully remove from the oven and allow to cool briefly before placing on a board and carving up.
6. Meanwhile, cook the chips. Pat them dry with a tea towel, scatter over a baking tray and season well with salt and pepper. Drizzle with olive oil and place on the top shelf of the oven, 10 minutes after you have started cooking the gammon. Bake for 40 minutes, turning over halfway through until golden brown.
7. Just before serving cook the peas according to the packet instructions and fry the eggs to your liking. Poached eggs also work well with the yolk running over the gammon!
8. Serve slices of the gammon with the chips, eggs, peas and some of the reserved pineapple glaze in the fridge. Store any leftover ham in the fridge for another day – you’ll have some great sandwiches to boast about at work, that’s for sure!
VIRGIN TIP
You can trim the rind off the gammon at the start, but it is so much easier to remove after boiling; it literally just peels off.