Cherry Cola Ham With Hot Honey Glaze
This cherry cola ham is tender, juicy & glazed with a sweet & sticky hot honey glaze. It’s super easy to make & is a great dish to serve at Christmas.
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This is the ultimate Christmas ham! It’s sweet, salty & delicious. Plus, it couldn’t be easier to make…
Making a perfectly cooked glazed ham can be broken down into 3 simple steps; an overnight soak in cold water (to make the ham less salty), a gentle poach in cherry coke to cook the ham then a roast & glaze to finish. Easy stuff right!?
If you’ve never had a cola ham before, you’re missing out on seriously tasty dish! When you cook a gammon in full sugar cherry cola (plus herbs & spices), not only does it infuse the meat with flavour but it also gives the ham a fantastic, caramelised crust once it’s roasted in the oven. Pair this with the sticky hot honey glaze & you’re onto a real winner. A cherry cola ham makes a fantastic Christmas centrepiece & any leftovers make an incredible sandwich!
For more festive recipes, take a look at our collection of Christmas recipes! There’s lots to choose from here, from festive main courses, classic desserts & all the trimmings.
What You’ll Need
- Gammon – You’ll need a 2.5kg boneless gammon joint for this recipe. I’d recommend getting one from your local butcher! You’ll see the terms gammon & ham used interchangeably in this post (a gammon turns into ham once it’s cooked).
- Cherry Cola – A full sugar cherry cola works best for poaching the gammon. I use Coca Cola but any brand will work.
- Hot Honey – We’re making our own hot honey glaze by combining honey with sriracha, tabasco, butter & a pinch of sea salt.
How To Make Cherry Cola Ham With Hot Honey
The full, printable recipe card for this ham can be found at the bottom of this post! Here’s a quick rundown of the recipe…
A Note On Soaking Gammon Before Cooking
If you’ve got a salty piece of gammon, it will need an overnight soak in cold water before being cooked to reduce the salt content. I’d recommend asking your butcher whether your gammon needs soaking or not (some cures don’t require a soak). If you’re not sure whether your gammon needs soaking, it doesn’t hurt to soak it anyway!
Poaching The Gammon In Cherry Cola
The first step when making a cherry cola ham is to poach your gammon joint in cherry cola until it is just cooked. This prevents the ham overcooking when we roast & glaze it!
To poach the gammon, we place it into a large pan with spices, bay leaves a sliced orange & enough cola to completely cover the meat. We then cover the pan with a lid, set it over a medium-high heat & bring it to a simmer.
Next, we turn the heat down slightly so that the cola is at a gentle simmer then poach the gammon until it reaches an internal temperature of 71°c/160°f. This will take around 1½ – 2 hours. Make sure to skim any foam from the pan as it forms.
Once cooked, we take the ham out of the cola then place it onto a rack set inside a foil lined roasting tin.
Hot Honey Glaze
To finish our ham, we’re going to be glazing it with a mildly spiced hot honey. To make this, we place honey into a small saucepan with sriracha, tabasco, butter & a pinch of salt. This gets cooked over a medium heat until thickened slightly.
The great thing about this glaze is that you can make it as hot as you like. Simply add in more hot sauce! It can also be made several days in advance & kept in the fridge.
Glazing The Ham
Before glazing the ham, we need to remove the rind/skin then score the fat in a criss cross pattern with a sharp knife. You’ll also need to preheat an oven to 200°c/392°f.
To glaze the cola ham, we brush a generous amount of the hot honey all over it then roast it in the preheated oven for 30 minutes, brushing it with more glaze every 10 minutes. Once roasted, the ham will be sticky, caramelised & a deep golden brown all over!
Before slicing, we need to let the ham rest for 20 minutes. For the cleanest slices, make sure to use a sharp knife!
Cola Ham Tips & Tricks
- Soak your gammon overnight in cold water before cooking, to make it less salty.
- Cook your gammon in full sugar cola, for the best caramelisation once roasted.
- Poach the ham until is just cooked, to avoid making it dry after roasting.
- For perfectly cooked ham, use a digital food probe to check the meat’s internal temperature.
- Brush your ham with the hot honey every 10 minutes whilst roasting, to build up a thick, well caramelised glaze.
- Rest your ham for 20 minutes before slicing, for tender, juicy slices.
Frequently Asked Questions
Gammon needs to soaked in cold water before being cooked, to remove some of the salt from when it was cured. However, it’s best to check with your butcher whether your gammon needs to be soaked as some cures don’t require it. If you’re not sure, it’s best to soak the gammon anyway.
To soak your gammon, place it into a container/pan & fill it up with cold water. Dump the water out & refill (repeat this a couple of times) then chill in the fridge overnight. The next day, discard the water & continue with the recipe.
Gammon is cured with salt & requires cooking before being eaten whereas ham has already been cured & cooked, so is ready to eat. Once gammon is cooked, it becomes ham.
If you’re going to be roasting your gammon, you’ll need to gently poach it until it is just cooked (an internal temperature of 71°c/160°f) as it will finish cooking in the oven. If you’re not going to be glazing/roasting your gammon, poach it until it reaches an internal temperature of 75°c/167°f.
To avoid making your gammon dry, it’s important not to overcook it! A digital food probe comes in handy here (gammon is cooked once it reaches an internal temperature of 75°c/167°f). Make sure to let your ham rest for 20 minutes before slicing as well.
To reheat cherry cola ham, place the ham into a baking dish with a splash of water, cover with foil then bake at 180°c/356°f, until it reaches an internal temperature of 75°c/167°f. Alternatively, cut your ham into slices then fry in a pan until caramelised.
A cherry cola with the full amount of sugar (not reduced) is best for poaching gammon as it helps it caramelise when you roast it. I used coca cola but any brand will work.
Cooking Cherry Cola Ham In An Aga
With all of my recipes, I include cooking instructions for conventional ovens, fan ovens & also Agas. Here’s how to cook this recipe in an Aga…
Poach the gammon on the simmering plate then bake on the floor of the roasting oven. If your pan fits in the simmering oven, pop it in there once the gammon has been simmering for 10 minutes (it might take a bit longer to poach like this).
Equipment Used
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More Christmas Recipes To Try!
- Sausage Roll Wreath With Honey Glazed Camembert
- Individual Christmas Baked Alaskas
- Barbecued Pig In Blanket
- Leftover Christmas Dinner Pie
- Leftover Turkey Caesar Salad
- Mulled Cider Roasted Pork Belly
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Cherry Cola Ham With Hot Honey Glaze
Equipment
- Digital Food Probe
- Large Saucepan
- Small Saucepan
- Pastry Brush
- Large Roasting Tin (With Rack)
Ingredients
Cherry Cola Ham
- 2.5 kg Boneless Gammon Joint (Soaked If Necessary – See Notes)
- 2 Litres Cherry Coca Cola
- 1 Orange (Sliced)
- 2 Bay Leaves
- 1 Cinnamon Stick
- 1 Star Anise
- 10 Black Peppercorns
- 10 Cloves
Hot Honey Glaze
- 200 g Honey
- 20 g Sriracha
- 20 g Unsalted Butter
- ¼ tsp Tabasco
- A Pinch Of Sea Salt (Or Use Salted Butter)
Instructions
Cherry Cola Ham
- Place the gammon into a large pan then add in the cherry coke, sliced orange, bay leaves, cinnamon, star anise, peppercorns & cloves.The coke needs to completely cover the gammon. You can top the coke up with water if needed.
- Cover the pan with a lid then set over a medium-high & bring to a simmer.
- Turn the heat down slightly then gently simmer the gammon for 1½ – 2 hours, until it reaches an internal temperature of 71°c/160°f. Skim any froth from the liquid as it appears.Make sure to keep the liquid at a gentle simmer at all times – don't let it boil! I'd recommend checking the internal temperature of the gammon at frequent intervals after around an hour. The gammon needs to be just cooked once poached, as it will finish off in the oven.
- When your ham is almost ready, preheat an oven to 200°c/180°c fan (392°f/356°f).
- Remove the ham from the cooking liquid & place onto a metal rack that’s sat inside a foil lined roasting tray. Set to one side whilst you make the glaze.
Hot Honey Glaze
- Place the honey, sriracha, butter, tabasco & salt into a small saucepan then set over a medium heat.
- Cook the glaze, stirring regularly until the butter has melted then bring to a simmer & cook for another 3-4 minutes, until thick.
Glazing The Ham
- Using a sharp knife, remove both the string & the skin from the ham, leaving a thick & even layer of fat then lightly score the fat in a criss-cross pattern.
- Brush the ham with a third of the glaze then bake in the preheated oven for 10 minutes.
- Once the ham has been baking for 10 minutes, take it out of the oven & brush over half of the remaining glaze. Return to the oven & bake for another 10 minutes then repeat this process once more, bring the total baking time to 30 minutes.After 30 minutes of baking, the ham should be nicely caramelised. If it needs more colour, bake it for another 5 minutes or so.
- Once cooked, let the ham rest for 20 minutes then slice to serve.
