Home
Recipes
Ginger beer & tamarind ham

Ginger beer & tamarind ham carved into slices

Ginger beer & tamarind ham

Name: Ginger beer & tamarind ham
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 2 h 30 min
Total time: 2 h 50 min
Yield: 10
Ingredients: 3kg unsmoked gammon; 3 litres ginger beer (don’t use diet ginger beer or any that contain sweeteners); 100g ginger unpeeled and sliced; 4 spring onions each chopped into 3 pieces; 1 whole garlic bulb cut in half through the equator; 2 bay leaves; 1 tbsp pimento (allspice) berries; 1 tbsp black peppercorns; 2 tbsp tamarind paste (if it’s a concentrated paste, use 1 tbsp); 3 tbsp tamarind paste (if it’s a concentrated paste, use 1 tbsp); 2 tbsp caster sugar or honey; ½ tsp ground ginger; ¼ tsp ground nutmeg; 1 tsp Dijon mustard; 2 tsp cider vinegar

Melissa Thompson – Journalist and food writer

Save recipe

Serves 10

Easy

Prep: 20 mins

Cook: 2 hrs and 30 mins

plus overnight soaking and cooling

A star rating of 3.5 out of 5.2 ratingsRate

loading...

Let the spicy notes of ginger come into their own in this Christmas ham. It’s poached in ginger beer, then basted in a sticky tamarind glaze

Gluten-free

Skip to ingredients

Alternatives

Complete the dish

Showing items 1 to 3 of 3

Babka wreath grazing board with cheese & spiced cranberry jam

A star rating of 5 out of 5.4 ratings

Chocolate and clementine Christmas pudding

A star rating of 5 out of 5.3 ratings

Beetroot, pumpkin & carrot Christmas Eve salad

A star rating of 0 out of 5.0 ratings

Ingredients

Nutrition

Units:

MetricUS

3kg unsmoked gammon
3 litres ginger beer

(don’t use diet ginger beer or any that contain sweeteners)
100g ginger

unpeeled and sliced
4 spring onions

each chopped into 3 pieces
1 whole garlic bulb

cut in half through the equator
2 bay leaves
1 tbsp pimento

(allspice) berries
1 tbsp black peppercorns
2 tbsp tamarind paste

(if it’s a concentrated paste, use 1 tbsp)

For the glaze

3 tbsp tamarind paste

(if it’s a concentrated paste, use 1 tbsp)
2 tbsp caster sugar

or honey
½ tsp ground ginger
¼ tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp Dijon mustard
2 tsp cider vinegar

Keep the screen awake with cook mode on the Good Food app.

Nutrition: Per serving

kcal568
fat38g
saturates13g
carbs14g
sugars13g
fibre0.4g
protein43g
salt5.3g

Method

step 1

The evening before you want to serve, put the gammon in a large container and cover with water to soak overnight. Drain and cover with fresh water at least twice.
step 2

The next day, put the gammon in a large saucepan and pour over the ginger beer, topping up with water until fully submerged. Add the ginger, spring onions, garlic halves, bay leaves, pimento berries, black peppercorns and tamarind paste, and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer, cover and cook for 1 hr 30 mins. Turn the heat off and leave to cool in the pan, then transfer to a shallow baking tray lined with baking parchment. Reserve the cooking liquid.
step 3

Meanwhile, strain 800ml of the reserved cooking liquid into a saucepan to make the glaze. Cook over a high heat for 20 mins, or until reduced to about a quarter of its original volume. Add the tamarind paste, sugar or honey, spices, mustard and vinegar, and continue to cook until thick and glossy. Leave to cool slightly. Heat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4.
step 4

Cut the string off the ham and remove the skin. Trim any excess fat, leaving a ½cm-thick layer on the ham. Score it in a diamond pattern using a sharp knife. Brush over the glaze, then bake for 10 mins. Baste again and repeat until the ham is dark golden and all the glaze has been used, about 20 mins. Leave to cool before slicing and serving.

Recipe from Good Food magazine, December 2022

Comments, questions and tips

Rate this recipe

What is your star rating out of 5?1 star out of 52 stars out of 53 stars out of 54 stars out of 55 stars out of 5

Choose the type of message you'd like to post

CommentQuestionTip

Overall rating

A star rating of 3.5 out of 5.2 ratings

Get 3 months of Good Food All Access

Get 3 months of Good Food All Access for just £6. Find triple-tested recipes that take the stress out of deciding what to cook, spend less time planning, and more time enjoying the season.

Subscribe now