Mark’s Marmalade Christmas Ham

Name: Mark’s Marmalade Christmas Ham
Yield: Makes about 750g (1lb 6oz) cooked ham
Ingredients: 1–1.2kg (2lb 4oz–2lb 12oz) boneless, unsmoked tied gammon joint (see Editor's Note); 250–300ml (1–1⅓ cups) apple cider; 2 Tbsp. Clementine and Whisky Marmalade; 1 tsp. honey; 1 Tbsp. Dijon mustard; 2 tsp. orange juice or water; 6–8 cloves (optional)

By Kylee Newton

November 8, 2021

Photo of a marmalade glazed ham on a sheet pan with slices cut out and arranged on a cutting board with a knife.

Photo by Laura Edwards

I live across the world from my family, so I’ve formed a new family in the UK. My Christmas traditions have changed; however, my mother-in-law is a dream and has adopted some of my mum’s traditions, just so I get a little taste of home at the festive season. My husband joins in by making a marmalade ham for the ham, cheese, and tomato grilled croissants my mum would make every Christmas morning, when we would drink Buck’s Fizz and sit around on the floor to open all our gifts.

Use any marmalade—we just love ours with clementine and whisky; clementines encapsulate the idea of Christmas for me.

Editor’s note: This glazed ham recipe calls for an unsmoked gammon joint. This is a cured—but not cooked—ham cut from the hind leg. Ask your butcher for help finding the right cut.

Cook's note

Try with any marmalade or jelly you might have in your condiment ghost town: orange, lime, grapefruit, lemon marmalades; or grape, quince, or apple jellies.

Recipe information

Yield
Makes about 750g (1lb 6oz) cooked ham

Ingredients

1–1.2kg (2lb 4oz–2lb 12oz) boneless, unsmoked tied gammon joint (see Editor's Note)

250–300ml (1–1⅓ cups) apple cider

2 Tbsp. Clementine and Whisky Marmalade

1 tsp. honey

1 Tbsp. Dijon mustard

2 tsp. orange juice or water

6–8 cloves (optional)

Preparation

Step 1
Preheat the oven to 200°C (180°C fan/400°F/gas mark 6).
Step 2
Rinse the gammon in cold water. Pour the cider into a roasting pan, then top up with boiling water to a depth of about 3cm (1in). Place the gammon on a rack that sits above the surface of the liquid, making sure the liquid isn’t touching the meat. Wrap a large piece of foil loosely over the meat like a tent, ensuring there is an airtight seal around the edges of the pan but that it doesn’t touch the meat (creating a sort of steam balloon around the gammon).
Step 3
Bake in the middle of the oven for 50–55 minutes per 1kg (2lb 4oz) of meat. Remove from the oven, remove the foil and rest until cool enough to handle. Snip off the string and use a very sharp knife to slice off the tougher skin without removing any of the fat. Score a criss-cross pattern into the fat at 2cm (¾in) intervals. In a small bowl, mix together the marmalade, honey, mustard and orange juice and generously cover the scored fat with the mixture. Push the cloves, if using, into the scored fat in an intermittent fashion.
Step 4
Return the gammon to the oven and bake uncovered for a further 25 minutes or until the glaze is golden. Rest the meat for at least 1 hour before slicing. You can make this a few days ahead of Christmas to lighten the cooking prep on the day—it will keep in the fridge for up to 1–2 weeks.