There’s something so special about a proper Sunday roast, right? If you want to switch things up from the usual chicken or beef, this slow-cooked gammon is an absolute showstopper.
The secret here is boiling the meat in a mix of apple and cranberry juice before it ever touches the oven. It sounds like a lot of liquid, but trust me on this. It makes the pork unbelievably tender and infuses it with a subtle sweetness that balances out the salty gammon perfectly. Plus, the sticky cranberry-garlic glaze at the end? Unreal.
What You Need
This makes plenty of food for a family gathering (easily feeds 6 to 8 people). Here is your shopping list:
3 lb gammon roast
½ Gallon apple juice
½ Gallon cranberry juice
1 tsp Italian herbs
2 Tbsp cranberry jelly or jam
2 Tbsp honey (the original recipe missed this in the ingredient list, but you definitely need a splash for that perfect sticky glaze!)
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
How to Make It
1. The slow fruit-juice boil
Grab your biggest, heaviest pot. Put the gammon inside and pour in all of the apple juice, cranberry juice, and the Italian herbs. Bring it to a very gentle boil and just let it simmer away for 4 to 5 hours.
2. Peel and prep
Once the meat is fully cooked and tender, carefully lift it out of the pot. You need to remove the tough outer skin, but be super gentle! Try to leave as thick a layer of the fat on the meat as you possibly can—that fat is going to render down and get amazingly crispy in the oven.
3. Melt the glaze
In a small saucepan, mix together your honey and cranberry jelly. Heat them up on the stove just until they melt together into a smooth, syrupy liquid that you can easily paint onto the meat. Stir in your finely chopped garlic at the very end so it stays punchy.
4. Paint and roast
Grab a pastry brush and paint that gorgeous glaze all over the fat of the gammon. Pop it into a moderate oven (around 350°F) for about an hour until the outside is golden, bubbly, and sticky. Make sure to check on it and baste it with the pan drippings a few times while it bakes.
5. The ultimate leftover hack
Serve this up hot with a big tray of roasted root vegetables. And whatever you do, do not throw away the bone or the leftover scraps! Save them in the fridge and use them the next day as the base for a killer homemade pea and ham soup.
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