Marmalade and Earl Grey Tea-Glazed Ham
I very rarely cook a ham, but when I do it’s so enjoyable that I wonder why I don’t do it more often! The sticky, fragrant glaze on the salty ham is utterly delicious. I generally cook more ham than I need so we can use it for a few days afterwards in sandwiches or pasta dishes.
Ingredients
Serves 6-8
- 2-3kg middle-cut unsmoked gammon, knuckle on
- 1 onion, quartered
- 2 carrots, halved
- 2 celery sticks
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 tsp black peppercorns
- 4 cloves
- 4 tbsp Earl Grey tea leaves, or 8 tea bags
- 200g marmalade
Method
Place the gammon in a large saucepan. Add the onion, carrots, celery, bay leaves, peppercorns and cloves. Cover with cold water, and place over medium heat. Bring to a gentle simmer, skimming off any scum that rises to the surface and cook for 1 ½ hours. Turn the heat off and allow the gammon to sit in the liquid for a further 30 minutes. Remove from the pan and leave until cool enough to handle. Strain off the liquid and keep it for soup (bearing in mind, it will be rather salty).
Once the ham is cool enough to touch, place it on your chopping board and cut away the skin, leaving a 1cm-thick layer of fat intact on the ham. Gently score the fat with criss-cross marks to create a diamond pattern.
Preheat the oven to 190C/170C/gas 5 and line a roasting tray with foil.
Pour 100ml water in a small saucepan and bring to the boil. Add the tea leaves or bags and remove from the heat. Leave to infuse for 6 minutes, then strain into a bowl. Add the marmalade to the bowl and mix well.
Transfer the gammon to the lined roasting tray and brush it liberally with the marmalade mix (keep a little back to use for a second glaze in the process). Place in the oven for 20 minutes, brush with the remaining glaze and return to the oven for a further 10 minutes, until the skin is crisp.
Remove from the oven, cover with the foil, and leave to rest for 20 minutes before carving.
This ham recipe can be found in Marcus Everyday, by Marcus Wareing.
