Ham in Coca-Cola

Gammon simmered until tender in Coca-Cola, then finished with a sticky treacle, sugar and mustard glaze and roasted until burnished.

Ingredients

• 2kg mild-cure gammon joint
• 1 onion, peeled and halved
• 2 litres Coca-Cola (not diet)

For the glaze: handful of cloves

• 1 heaped tablespoon black treacle
• 2 teaspoons English mustard powder
• 2 tablespoons demerara sugar

Directions

1. Put the gammon, skin-side down if it fits, into a large pan with the halved onion and pour over the Coca-Cola.
2. Bring to the boil, then reduce to a gentle simmer, cover loosely and cook for about 2.5 hours (calculate roughly 1 hour per kilo).
3. Preheat the oven to 240C/220C fan/gas mark 9. Lift the gammon out and let it cool a little, then carefully cut off the skin, leaving a layer of fat.
4. Score the fat into a diamond pattern and stud each diamond with a clove.
5. Mix the treacle, mustard powder and demerara sugar into a paste and spread it over the fat.
6. Roast in a foil-lined tin for about 10-15 minutes until the glaze is dark, sticky and blistered. Rest before carving.

Notes

Adapted from Nigella Lawson’s famous Ham in Coca-Cola (Nigella Bites / nigella.com).