Spiced Pineapple Ham
A sweet & sticky spiced pineapple ham, that has been poached in Cornish pineapple cider before being glazed in maple syrup & pineapple jam.
Great in a sandwich or with egg, chips & parsley sauce.
Prepping & Cooking The Ham
When you buy your gammon, ask your butcher for a 2kg boneless gammon joint with both the rind & string left on.
The first step in making this ham is to soak it in water in the fridge overnight. This draws any excess salt out of the meat, improving the final flavour. If your short on time, a quick rinse under plenty of cold water will do the trick.
The next step is poaching. To do this we make a cooking liquor out of pineapple cider (Cornish Rattler is what I use), vegetables, orange, garlic & plenty of fresh herbs. The soaked gammon is submerged in this liquid then poached gently until it reaches an internal temperature of 60°c.
The poached ham is then removed from the poaching pan & left to cool slightly then the rind is removed, the fat scored with a sharp knife then studded with cloves.
Next, the glaze. In a pan, we combine, pineapple jam, cider, orange, maple syrup & sugar then reduce until sticky. The ham then gets roasted for 45 minutes in a hot oven, getting brushed with glaze every 5-10 minutes.
Serving The Ham
Once the ham is cooked & glazed, it can be sliced & served hot or cooled down as a whole joint then sliced cold. It’s good either way!
More Dinner Recipes
- Oxtail Ragù, Pappardelle & Burrata
- Toad In The Hole With Caramelised Onion Gravy
- Oxtail Lasagne
- Guinness Braised Short Rib Stew & Dumplings
- Cheesy Butternut Orzo
- Smoked Pork Belly
Spiced Pineapple Ham
Equipment
- Large Saucepan
- Roasting Tin
- Wire Rack
- Digital Scales
- Digital Food Probe
Ingredients
Ham
- 2 kg Boneless Gammon Joint Rind & String On
- 1 Litre Pineapple Cider (I use Rattler) Keep 100ml Separate For The Glaze
- 3 Sticks Celery
- 2 Carrots
- 2 Onions
- 1 Bulb Garlic Cut In Half
- 2 Oranges
- Rosemary & Thyme 10 Sprigs Of Each
- 2 Bay Leaves
- 1 Cinnamon Stick
- 1 Star Anise
- 1 tsp Mixed Spice
- 1 tsp Ground Ginger
- 1/4 tsp Black Peppercorns
To Glaze
- 150 g Maple Syrup
- 100 ml Pineapple Cider
- 75 g Dark Brown Sugar
- 2 Oranges Zest & Juice
- 3 tbsp Pineapple Jam
- Cloves To Stud
Instructions
- Poaching The GammonPlace the gammon in a container & completely cover with cold water. Cover & leave in the fridge overnight.
- The next day, roughly chop all of the vegetables & juice the oranges (keep the orange skins).
- Place the soaked ham in a large pot & add the vegetables, oranges (juice & skins), garlic, herbs & all of the dry ingredients. Pour over the cider, topping up with cold water if necessary (the gammon needs to be completely covered in liquid). Place a lid on your pot.
- Over a high heat, bring the gammon to a boil, lower the heat & allow to gently simmer until a food probe inserted into the gammon reads 60°c (skimming the stock when necessary). The ham should take around 1 hour to poach.
- Once cooked, remove the ham from the cooking liquid & place on a metal rack that’s sat in a foil lined roasting tray. Leave to cool slightly whilst you make the glaze.
- Preheat an oven to 190°c.
- Making The GlazePlace all of the glaze ingredients (apart from the cloves) into a saucepan. Cook over a medium heat until the sugar has dissolved & the glaze has reduced roughly by half.
- Pass the glaze through a fine sieve before using.
- Glazing The HamUsing a sharp knife, remove both the string & the skin from the ham, leaving a thick & even layer of fat. Lightly score the fat in a criss-cross pattern & stud each scored diamond with a clove.
- Brush the ham generously with glaze & roast in your preheated oven for 15 minutes.
- Take the ham out of the oven & brush with more glaze.
- Return to the oven & bake the ham for a further 30 minutes, brushing with glaze every 10 minutes.
- Once the ham is cooked, leave it to rest in the tray for at least 20 minutes. Transfer to a chopping board & slice. Alternatively, the ham can be refrigerated as a whole joint then sliced & served cold.
Notes
To glaze, roast in the centre of the baking oven.
