Why it's a good idea to cook a ham on Boxing Day, and the best ways to cook it.
Cooking a Boxing Day ham is a great thing to do. Partly because it’s really easy to cook a ham, and it doesn’t require an awful lot of attention. But the best bit is that you can make the leftovers, along with turkey and whatever else you have, into easy meals during the gap between Christmas and New Year, when you’d prefer to have your feet up with the family.
A straightforward way to cook a ham
Soak it and bake it. That's it! Soak it for 12-24 hours in cold water – you can put it in a big pan in the sink last thing on Christmas Day. Remove from the water, then cover with fresh cold water, chuck in a couple of bay leaves, cloves and whatever else you fancy in and bring to the boil.
Boil it for around 40 minutes per kilo (see packaging for more precise instructions, as recommendations differ). When that’s done, remove it from the pan and season with a couple of grinds of fresh black pepper and bake in the oven for 25 minutes at 220C. Serve with trimmings left over from Christmas, or let it cool down and make sandwiches from the cold cuts.
Cook it in cola
I prefer this method to boiling the ham in water. Again, soak your ham for 12-24 hours in cold water, then simply put it in the pan and cover with cola drink (don’t use a diet version, the sugar is important). Follow the instructions as above from here.
The advantage of cooking the ham in cola is that it keeps the ham really moist and complements the saltiness of the ham. Don’t worry, it won’t overpower the flavour and you won't end up with candied ham…
The traditional one
Honey-glazed ham (pictured top) is a more traditional option, but it’s by no means boring. Martin Ng’s recipe calls for the gammon to be boiled with cinnamon, parsley and bay leaves with vegetables (reserve the stock if you want to make a soup later).
The glaze is made with Demerara sugar, sherry vinegar, honey and a couple of tablespoons of Madeira wine, and the ham is then cooked in the oven until the glaze sets and the ham is roasted evenly.
The fancy Christmas one
Lotte Duncan recommends cooking this one on Christmas Eve but, as she also mentions, it’s great to eat cold over the next few days. She cooks her ham in cider and apple juice, and adds in vegetables during the boiling stage, which makes a nice stock. It’s a good idea to hold onto this, says Lotte, as you can blitz some vegetables and cube up some of the leftover meat to make a delicious soup. Pea and ham soup also works!
Her recipe also calls for ingredients for a sticky glaze with mustard, ginger, ground cloves and cinnamon that forms a beautiful crust on the whole ham. This is a real stunner.
The unusual one
To be served with braised lentils, Maria Elia’s blueberry and cardamom-glazed ham is a rather different beast. Cooked in blueberry juice topped up with water and seasoned with cardamom pods, this ham is topped with a honey, mustard and blueberry glaze.
The lentils are cooked in the ham stock, so they’re full of flavour, and are mixed with fresh blueberries just before serving. A real rulebreaker!
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