Baked ham is a Christmas essential – this one is slow-cooked with spices, then finished off to give a soft, crunchy crackling. And then of course, leftovers are a must! If you’re looking for more Christmas recipes, we’ve got plenty for you to try for the perfect festive celebration.
You don’t have to wait until Christmas to make this ham with crackling recipe. If you’re expecting a crowd at the weekend, you can put this in the oven and leave it to bake for 4 hours. It’s very little effort, as long as you get yourself prepped on time and get the ham in the oven on time.
Use any leftovers to make sandwiches the following day – use mustard, gherkins and salad to make a really special sandwich.
Ingredients
- 1 piece boneless gammon, around 4kg, the skin scored
- 3 whole star anise
- 10 black peppercorns
- 3 medium onions, peeled and halved
- Sea salt
Method
Heat the oven to 150C fan, gas 3. Double-line a large roasting tin with a large piece of foil, big enough to wrap up the ham in a “tent”. Put the ham in the centre, with the spices and onions around it. Sprinkle the skin with the salt, scrunch the foil to seal then bake for 3 hours. The internal temperature should read 60C when measured with a digital thermometer.
Increase the oven temperature to 210C fan, gas 8. Cover any exposed bits of ham with foil so only the skin is left unwrapped. Return the ham to the oven to cook for a further 20-25 minutes, until the majority of the skin has crackled and is crisp.
When you’re happy with the crackling, remove the ham, take off the foil and rest it uncovered for 30 minutes. This is delicious served with our cherry and cranberry relish.
Top Tip
You can bake the ham to the end of step one up to 3 days ahead and leave it uncovered in the fridge until you're ready to complete the recipe
