All About Christmas Ham

Chef Adrian takes us through the finer points of perfecting the Christmas ham, and offers a few great ideas for using up any leftovers the next day.

COOKING YOUR HAM:

• Soak your ham in cold water for 12 – 24 hrs then drain before cooking.
• Simmer for 20 mins per LB (454g)
• Remove the outer layer of fat, score and add cloves.
• Then roast in the oven for the last 30 mins with a glaze.

What should you add to the pot when boiling the ham?

Try a few of the following:

Cloves, black peppercorns, a couple of Bay leaves, chopped Celery, Carrot & Onion, Thyme Sprigs, an orange studded with cloves or an apple cut in half.

Different Glazes for ham:

• Brown sugar, Honey and Mustard Glaze
• Cola Glaze
• Pineapple & Ginger Glaze
• Marmalade & Ground Ginger Glaze
• Orange & Soy Glaze`

Chef Adrian

What to do with Christmas Leftovers.

• Try making a pie with puff pastry – Simply chop your leftover cooked turkey, veg and gravy into a pie dish.  Cover with the puff pastry and cook into the filling is hot and the pastry is golden.

• Use cooked turkey or ham leftovers in quiches.

• Use cooked turkey in a salad with mixed leaves, tomatoes and a dressing.

• Use your leftover ham with pasta, simply chop the cooked ham into bite size pieces & add a tin of chopped tomatoes to a pan, heat through, then chop up any fresh herbs that didn’t get used in the stuffing and add to the pan.  Serve with some cooked drained pasta and enjoy.

• Leftover turkey is great in sandwiches when teamed up with stuffing and cranberry sauce.