Easter Baking - Part 3 - Another Ham

Like Carly, I also cooked a ham for Easter Sunday, but in Cider. The recipe was very similar to her ham in coke but instead of coke, a litre of cider and once slow cooked in a pan, I spread wholegrain mustard, dark muscovado sugar, cinnamon, mixed spice and a little honey swell as being studded with cloves, before going into the oven for 15/20 minutes, spreading any leftover glaze halfway. It was nice but out of the two options, I would prefer the coke option for its extra sweetness, but none of the ham went to waste, the leftovers were used in a mash topped pie and a simple ham and leek pasta bake later on in the week.

I served the ham with roasted vegetables and cheesy mustard mash which was really tasty - Recipe can be found here . I will definitely be making this version again!

Cat x

Easter Cooking - Part 1 - Ham

Ham has long been a popular Easter eat with good reason; it's versatile and tasty as both a main meal and for leftovers days after in sandwiches, pies or with the simple egg and chips!

Cat first inspired me to try her version- ham cooked in cider. Me and my foodie partner in crime at home Fallon then discovered Nigella Lawson's ham in coke recipe and our household unanimously voted this recipe as their favourite so now it is a holiday staple.

First select a good quality uncooked smoked gammon joint which will feed everyone at your table. I prefer to buy as big a joint that I can afford as it will then make more than one meal. This Easter I cooked a 2.7kg joint for us ( 2 girls and 2 very hungry men) and a 75g joint for my parents as a gift.

Start by bringing the joint to the boil in cold water. Once the ham is at boiling point drain the water and rinse the scum off. Then place a handful of peppercorns, 3-4 bay leaves and 2-3 quartered red onions in the pan with the ham and cover with coke. The 2.7kg needed about 1.5 litres in my pan. Bring to the boil and simmer, topping up with boiling water from the kettle when required. ( The meat should always be covered).
Allow approximately 30 mins cooking time per 500g.
When ready the meat will have begun to fall off at the edges and be firm. The coke also makes the meat quite dark.
Next if serving straight away or if serving cold, transfer to a baking tray and cover with 3 teaspoons of mustard and 2-3 tablespoons of brown sugar
(depending on size of joint) marinating all over to create the glaze. Bake at 180 degrees for 10-15 mins until the glaze darkens. I find the joint cuts best when cool so allow to rest if serving warm.

To serve we like to make baked Anglesey eggs which is basically hard boiled eggs covered in a cheese and leek sauce topped with mash!

Delicious!

Carly x