Exceptional gammon with cider and cinnamon

Gammon and coriander seeds have a time-honoured partnership, and have long been used to preserve meat. Our visit to a cider barn in Somerset inspired us to add some additional flavours. Using both cider and apple juice, and adding a bite of red chilli to the flavour of the coriander seeds, adds a real sparkle to this dish.

• serves

  6

• prep

  15 minutes

• cook

  1:45 hour

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• 1.2 kg (2 lb 10 oz) boneless gammon joint (we used unsmoked, but smoked would work too)
• 500 ml (17 fl oz) cider
• 1 litre (1¾ pints) cloudy apple juice
• 2 sharp green apples, cored and cut into rough chunks
• 2 x 8 cm (3¼ in) pieces cinnamon stick
• 3–4 fresh red chillies, seeds removed, cut into quarters
• ¾ tbsp coarsely crushed coriander seeds

Sauce

• ¾ tbsp demerara sugar, or to taste
• 1 tbsp cornflour

Glaze

• 3 tbsp sauce (above)
• ¾ tbsp demerara sugar
• ¼ tsp chilli powder

Soaking time 2 hours or overnight

Instructions

Soak the gammon in plenty of cold water in the fridge for at least 2 hours, or overnight. Drain well.

Place the gammon along with all the other gammon ingredients in a casserole dish. The liquid should cover the meat; if not, add a little water to just cover. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer gently, partly covered with a lid, for 1¼ hours. Turn the gammon carefully in the liquid every 20 minutes or so.

Preheat the oven to 220°C/425°F/gas 7. Remove the gammon from its cooking stock, transfer to a small roasting tin and set aside. The cooking stock will be used to make the sauce, so check that it has not become too salty from the gammon (if it has, add a little more water to dilute the salt). Boil, uncovered, over a high heat until it has reduced to about 500 ml (17 fl oz); this could take about 10 minutes of boiling.

Strain the liquid through a sieve into a clean pan, rubbing any pieces of apple through the sieve too so that the flesh is in the sauce; leave behind only the skins. Taste the sauce and adjust seasoning to taste. If you want it sweeter, add the demerara sugar; you almost certainly won’t need any salt.

Cut the rind from the gammon, leaving a thin layer of fat, and discard the rind. With a small sharp knife, score the fat into diamonds. Make a glaze by spooning about 3 tablespoons of the sauce over the gammon and then sprinkling with the sugar and chilli powder. Pour a splash of boiling water into the tin to stop the juices burning, and roast in the preheated oven for 15 minutes, until browned and caramelised. Keep warm while you finish the sauce.

Reheat the remaining strained sauce gently until it reaches a simmer. Blend the cornflour in a little cold water to a smooth paste, and stir about half of it into the sauce, stirring continuously. A creamy consistency is better than a very thick sauce, but if you prefer yours thicker, add a little more blended cornflour. To serve, place gammon slices on individual plates and pour over the sauce.

Recipe from The Incredible Spice Men by Cyrus Todiwala and Tony Singh (BBC Books, $49.99, hbk, available here)

View all the recipes from The Incredible Spice Men.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.