Sticky treacle-glazed ham

Sticky treacle-glazed ham

James uses the steam-roast method to cook his Christmas ham, so you don't need an enormous pan to boil it in

Difficulty and servings

Moderately easy

Serves 6 with leftovers

Preparation and cooking times

Preparation time

Prep 20 mins

Cook time

Cook 3 hrs

Plus soaking and cooling
Freezable

Method

  1. If you need to soak the ham, do so the night before. Heat oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4. Place the ham, skin-side up, in a deep roasting tin, then add enough water to cover the base of the tin. Scatter the orange wedges and cinnamon stick around. Cover the pan with a tight tent of foil, then cook the ham for about 2½ hrs. (If using a different weight of ham, you want 20 mins per 450g.)
  2. While the ham is cooking, mix the mustard, treacle and orange zest together with enough orange juice to make a mixture loose enough to paint over the ham.
  3. When the ham has had its time, remove the roasting tin from the oven and turn up the heat to 220C/ fan 200C/gas 7. Remove the foil, leave the ham until cool enough to handle, then pour away any liquid in the tin. Using a sharp knife, carefully cut away the skin to leave an even layer of fat. Use the tip of the knife to score the ham fat diagonally at 3cm intervals - first in one direction, then the other, to produce a diamond pattern. Liberally paint the glaze over the fat, then stud with the cloves at the points of the diamond shapes.
  4. Roast the ham for 30 mins until glazed and just beginning to char around the edges. Leave to cool and serve warm or cold, decorated with the bay and orange wedges, if you like, along with my delicious green bean salad and your favourite chutney.
Try

Pickled red onion & green bean salad

Place 200ml rice vinegar and 2 tbsp caster sugar in a pan. Bring to the boil. Tip 2 finely sliced red onions and 1 finely sliced green chilli into a bowl, then pour the hot vinegar over. Cover and set aside for 30 mins to pickle. Bring a pan of salted water to the boil, then add 600g green beans. Boil for 2 mins until just cooked, then drain and plunge into iced water. Toss with the pickled red onions, snipped chives and 1 tsp of the pickling liquid. Season to taste.

Per serving

707 kcalories, protein 78.0g, carbohydrate 6.0g, fat 42.0 g, saturated fat 16.0g, fibre 0.0g, sugar 6.0g, salt 9.97 g

Recipe from Good Food magazine, December 2008.

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Latest comments and suggestions

  • Binder photo NICOLA

    31 October 2010

    NICOLA rated and commented on this recipe

    4 stars

    a lovely succulent roast, meat very juicy. perfect for a winter sunday lunch, not just christmas.

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  • Binder photo NICOLA

    31 October 2010

    NICOLA commented on this recipe

    a lovely succulent roast, perfect for a winter sunday not just christmas. will definitely become a family favourite.

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  • Binder photo Pam

    28 November 2010

    Pam commented on this recipe

    We tried this recipe when it first appeared in GF and have been using it ever since. We have used apple juice and apples with cinnamon plus maple syrup or honey and mustard for the glaze. This method works for small joints as well as large adjusting the time as neccessary.

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  • Binder photo Pam

    28 November 2010

    Pam rated this recipe

    5 stars

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  • Binder photo Kt G

    02 December 2010

    Kt G rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    I first cooked my Christmas Gammon using this recipe in 2008 and shall be using it again this year. It results in a beautifully moist and succulent ham and the cold leftovers are as good as the hot gammon! Any leftovers also freeze well.

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  • Binder photo Vanessa

    30 December 2010

    Vanessa rated and commented on this recipe

    4 stars

    Beautiful succulent meat. I wouldn't cook ham any other way now.

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  • Binder photo DJW

    24 January 2012

    DJW commented on this recipe

    Best ham ever I have ever cooked usually use the maple and mustard recipe so I incorporated the 2 added a few mor spices to water, bay, corriander seeds, peppercorns and whole cloves along with the cinamon stick and orange. I did you the maple mustard glaze rather than the treacle. Will never boil a ham again!

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  • Binder photo DJW

    24 January 2012

    DJW rated this recipe

    5 stars

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  • Binder photo Emy

    18 July 2012

    Emy rated and commented on this recipe

    4 stars

    I changed it slightly, using Czech lager instead of water and adding a bay leaf and some juniper berries to the liquid. I saved the liquid and this made a nice thin gravy! I forgot to put the cloves on but it still tasted good. If I cooked it again I'd lower the temperatures; I used the fan instructions but it started to burn rather quickly during the roasting time.

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  • Binder photo iamali

    31 August 2012

    iamali rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    great recipe, very succulent ham. definitely a new fave

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  • Binder photo fairystoryteller

    18 March 2013

    fairystoryteller rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Made this as part of a big buffet for my daughter's 18th birthday and it went down a storm. My husband said it was the best ham he'd EVER tasted. The lovely orange flavour permeated the whole joint and it was very succulent. I didn't use cloves because I thought this would be too Christmassy. I will definitely make this again - it will become a regular for parties.

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Difficulty and servings

Moderately easy

Serves 6 with leftovers

Preparation and cooking times

Preparation time

Prep 20 mins

Cook time

Cook 3 hrs

Plus soaking and cooling
Freezable

Ingredients

  • 3.5-4kg/7lb 10oz-9lb boned rolled piece unsmoked ham
  • 2 oranges , 1 cut into wedges and finely grated zest and juice of the other
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • 2 tbsp English mustard
  • 85g black treacle
  • handful cloves
  • big bunch bay leaves and orange segments, to serve (optional)
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Per serving

707 kcalories, protein 78.0g, carbohydrate 6.0g, fat 42.0 g, saturated fat 16.0g, fibre 0.0g, sugar 6.0g, salt 9.97 g

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