Rick Stein’s Cornwall: Baked Ham recipe

As seen in series two episode three of Rick’s Stein’s Cornwall on BBC2 – Rick’s High Tea baked ham recipe is a delight served with proper old fashioned English salad cream, boiled eggs, new potatoes and a simple salad for everyone to dive into. Classic cookery, done right.

Happy cooking.

Serves up to 10

Ingredients

1x 2.8kg smoked gammon, boned and rolled
600ml cider
Water to cover
1 ½ tsp black peppercorns
6 cloves
½ tsp chilli flakes
4 bayleaves

For the glaze

2 tbsp English mustard
1 egg yolk
1 tsp cornflour
1 tsp honey
3-4 Tbsp fine dried breadcrumbs

Method

Some gammon can be quite salty, to test it, cut a thin slice from the end of the raw joint and add it to a pan of simmering water, cook for about 5 minutes then taste. If too salty, soak the joint in cold water overnight and drain.

Put the gammon in a large pan or stockpot and add the cider and then enough water to cover the meat. Then add the peppercorns, cloves, chilli flakes and bay leaves and bring up to a boil, skim any foam from the water and discard, immediately turn down the heat so that the water is barely simmering and cook for about 1 ½-2 hours or until the internal temperature when tested with probe in the centre of the meat registers 65c. Then turn off the heat and allow the meat to cool in the water. Remove from the liquor, but do not throw it away.

Preheat the oven to 200c/180c fan and in a small bowl mix the mustard, egg yolk, cornflour and honey. Using a sharp knife, remove any string from the meat and the rind, leaving about 3-4mm of fat. Brush the ham with the glaze and then sprinkle over the breadcrumbs and if necessary use the back of a spoon to press the breadcrumbs into the glaze to make them stick. Transfer to the preheated oven for 10-15 minutes until golden brown. Allow to cool completely before slicing.  

Serve with 

New potatoes tossed in butter
Lettuce
Tomatoes
Cucumber
Celery stalks
Spring onions
Hard boiled eggs

For the old fashioned English Salad cream

1 level Tbsp plain flour
4 tsp caster sugar
½ tsp salt
2 eggs
100ml vinegar (moscatel or sweet sherry vinegar)
100-150ml double or whipping cream
A drop or two of tabasco or lemon juice, optional

Start by boiling the vinegar in a pan to reduce by half.  Whisk the reduced vinegar with all the remaining ingredients except the cream in a glass bowl, set it over a bowl of just simmering water, but don’t let the bowl touch the water.  Stir over the heat with a wooden spoon for about 5 minutes until thickened.  Remove from the heat and allow to cool, stir in the cream and check seasoning, add tabasco or lemon juice and serve or store in a jam jar in the fridge, if too thick you can let it down with a tablespoon or two of water.