Ham in Coca Cola with a Maple & Mustard Glaze

As is tradition in our household, I once again cooked a nice big juicy piece of gammon on Christmas Eve. Now I know I should have taken a better photo when the gammon was sliced, I'm a rubbish food blogger, you need not tell me that but I like this snap because it shows how wonderfully sticky and burnished it was once it came out of the oven. You all know what sliced ham looks like anyway I'm sure.

Even when I find a recipe I like, I never seem to stick to the same one, always liking to try a different one out every year however I have learned that I tend to like them cooked in Coca Cola. They just don't seem the same boiled in water.  This recipe was from BBC Good Food and was a good one. I had to tweak a few things, mainly I think it needs more liquid and I also like to stud with cloves before I roast it but that's personal preference I guess.

This was really yummy and saw us through for a good few days. Lovely thick cut ham with some cheese and my own plum chutney!

Ham in Coca Cola with a Maple & Mustard Glaze

Ingredients

2kg unsmoked boneless gammon joint 

3 litres of Coca Cola (don't use diet)

1 carrot, roughly chopped

1 onion, peeled and quartered

1 stick celery, roughly chopped

1 cinnamon stick

1/2 tbsp black peppercorns

1 bay leaf

For the glaze;

150ml maple syrup

2 tbsp wholegrain mustard

2 tbsp red wine vinegar

pinch of ground cloves

whole cloves for studding

Method

Pop the gammon in a large pan and cover completely with the Coca Cola. Add the carrot, onion, celery, cinnamon stick, black peppercorns and bay leaf to the pan and bring everything to the boil. Turn down the heat and simmer for around 2.5 hours (check the weight of your ham to make sure this is the right cooking length) topping up with more Cola or boiling water if necessary - the gammon needs to stay fully covered with liquid.

Carefully pour the liquid away and allow the ham to cool a little. Whilst the ham is cooling heat the oven to 190c/170c/gas mark 5.  Carefully life the ham into a roasting tin (lined with foil if you want to avoid the sticky mess that the glaze can leave behind) and then cut away the skin to leave behind a nice even layer of fat. Score the fat in a criss-cross pattern and stud each corner of the diamonds with cloves.

In a jug, mix together the glaze ingredients. Pour half of the glaze over the fat and roast for 15 minutes, then pour over the rest of the glaze and return to the oven for another 30 minutes, basting halfway through. 

Remove the ham from the oven and allow to rest for around 10 mins before spooning more glaze over the top. 

Your ham is now ready to eat!