Gordon Ramsay honey glazed ham

This Gordon Ramsay honey glazed ham can be prepared ahead and leftovers will be enjoyed for days after your main feast. 

Served hot with roast potatoes and veggies or sliced once cool for sandwiches, this honey glazed ham is a delicious crowd pleaser. You could also shred it and make it into a pie filling or serve alongside other cold cuts and your favourite cheeses as part of a grazing platter.

This ham can be cooked at any time of year and is delicious with slaw and salads in Summer too. We also like to enjoy it with chips and a side of fried eggs for dipping.

Ingredients

• 3kg unsmoked boneless gammon joint

• 4 medium carrots, peeled and roughly chopped

• 1 leek, cleaned and roughly chopped

• 1 onion, peeled and roughly chopped

• 1 tsp black peppercorns, lightly crushed

• 1 tsp coriander seeds, lightly crushed

• 2 cinnamon sticks, broken in half

• 2 bay leaves

• handful of cloves

For the honey glaze:

• 100g demerara sugar

• 50ml Madeira wine

• 25ml sherry vinegar

• 125g honey

Method

1. Put the gammon in a large saucepan and pour on enough cold water to cover. Add the carrots, leek, onion, peppercorns, coriander seeds, cinnamon sticks and bay leaves. Bring to the boil, turn down to a simmer and cook for 3 hours, topping up with more boiling water if necessary. Skim off the froth and any impurities that rise to the surface from time to time. If cooking in advance, let the ham cool in the stock overnight. Otherwise, allow it to cool a little, then remove from the pan. Strain the stock (and save for soup etc).

2. To make the glaze, put the sugar, Madeira, sherry vinegar, and honey into a pan and stir over a low heat. Bring to the boil, lower the heat and simmer for 3–4 minutes until you have a glossy dark syrup. Do not leave unattended, as it will easily boil over.

3. Preheat the oven to 170C (150C fan, Gas 3). Lift the ham into a roasting tin. Snip and remove the strings and then cut away the skin from the ham, leaving behind an even layer of fat. Lightly score the fat all over in a criss-cross, diamond pattern, taking care not to cut into the meat. Stud the centre of each diamond with a clove. Pour half of the glaze over the ham and roast for 15 minutes.

4. Pour on the rest of the glaze and return to the oven for another 25–35 minutes until the ham is golden brown, basting with the pan juices frequently. It also helps to turn the pan as you baste to ensure that the ham colours evenly.

5. Remove from the oven and allow to rest for 15 minutes before carving.

Watch how to cook this Gordon Ramsay honey glazed ham

Top tips for making this Gordon Ramsay honey glazed ham

Gordon says: “Any leftover ham can go into a variety of dishes. And please don’t throw away the ham stock – it is great for soups, stews, risottos and sauces, so freeze it in batches.”

How does Gordon Ramsay make honey glazed ham?

This recipe is one method that Gordon uses for cooking a glazed ham and it has proved very popular over the years. His glaze is made from a combination of sugar, Madeira wine, sherry vinegar and honey.

He boils the ham first with a combination of herbs and spices but you can adjust this to your preference. For example the cinnamon can be swapped from some star anise and you could add some coriander stalks or sprigs of thyme to the liquid if you like.

If you’re serving the ham hot, it’s best to boil it the day before and roast on the day but it can also be cooked and baked two days before if you’re serving it as a cold cut.

What can I use instead of honey for a ham glaze?

You can swap for maple syrup if you prefer the taste. It will have a looser consistency but will still create a lovely sticky, sweet glaze.

Do you put the glaze on ham before cooking?

Half the glaze is poured over the ham for an initial cook time of 15 minutes. The remaining glaze is then poured over and the ham is cooked for a further 25 - 35 minutes. The glaze has a high sugar content and if you leave it on longer than the recommended cook time it can blacken and singe to much. It should be dark and glossy, not burnt.

Why is ham stock special?

Because hams tend to only be cooked for special occasions, the rich, salty, fresh stock is a rare treasure, and absolutely brilliant for making soups with.

You can replicate the flavour with stock cubes, and it's great to get extra meals out of what would otherwise be thrown away. Save some scraps of the ham as well and combine it with cheap, filling vegetables or pulses for a very low cost but delicious meal. Potatoes, peas or lentils are all great options.

Christmas with Gordon by Gordon Ramsay (Quadrille, £26.99) - View at Amazon

With this book you can create a full Christmas feast with recipes from Gordon. He has options for starters, sides and desserts too.

For another special alternative main, check out this Gordon Ramsay beef Wellington or the classic Gordon Ramsay turkey. Gordon Ramsay's Brussels sprouts with pancetta would make a great accompaniment to any main course and no Christmas or Sunday feast is complete without a generous portion of Gordon Ramsay's roast potatoes.