Angela Hartnett's best-ever Christmas ham
- Angela Hartnett
Published: November 21, 2025 at 9:27 AM
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Serves 15 - 20
Easy
Prep: 10 mins
Cook: 10 hrs - 12 hrs
A star rating of 4.1 out of 5.33 ratingsRate
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Also known as 'Basil's Christmas ham', Basil is one of our neighbours. He always says to me that food is the enemy, and that he hates to cook, but every other year or so he has a post-Christmas party where his ham is the star of the show, followed by Christmas pudding or mince pies. This is my variation on his recipe.
Dairy-free
Egg-free
High-protein
Low sugar
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Ingredients
Nutrition
Units:
MetricUS
-
4-5 kg unsmoked gammon
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2 carrots
halved
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1 onion
peeled and quartered
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1 leek
chopped into large chunks
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1 bay leaf
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2 thyme sprigs
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2 heaped tbsp demerara suagr
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1 tbsp English mustard
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Nutrition: per serving
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kcal325
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fat19g
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saturates6g
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carbs3g
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sugars3g
low
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fibre0.1g
-
protein46g
high
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salt4.64g
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Method
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step 1
You can soak your gammon before cooking to remove some of the salt, if you like. If your gammon is from a butcher, ask if it has been pre-soaked. To soak the gammon, submerge in a large pan of cold water in the fridge. Leave for 8-10 hours, or overnight.
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step 2
When you're ready to cook, drain the ham and transfer it to a clean pan, large enough to hold the ham, with the carrots, onions, leek, bay leaf and thyme. Cover with fresh water, cover with a lid, place the pan over a medium heat and cook the ham for up to 2 hours. The time will depend on the size of your ham - the usual rule of thumb is 20 minutes per 450g. Make sure you keep it topped up with extra water during cooking.
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step 3
Remove the ham from the stock and then strain the liquid into a jug. Leave the stock to cool, then transfer it to an airtight container and refrigerate it for up to 3 days or freeze it for 1 month - you can use it as stock for soups and risottos. Discard the vegetables and herbs in the sieve.
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step 4
Allow the ham to cool and remove the skin, but not the fat. Score the fat into a criss-cross pattern to form diamonds all over.
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step 5
Heat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan/Gas 6.
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step 6
Mix together the sugar and mustards and use a pastry brush to evenly coat the ham all over. Transfer the ham to a roasting tin and roast it for 30 minutes, until the meat is cooked through, tender and nice and sticky on the outside. Leave to cool before slicing. It's delicious served with parsley sauce.
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A star rating of 4.1 out of 5.33 ratings
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