Slow Cooker Gammon Best Ever Ham

The results are a ham joint packed full of flavour and tenderness, with a honey, mustard and brown sugar glaze for a delicious crunch, all made with simplicity and convenience. There is nothing better than turning to your trusty slow cooker when it comes to the festive season, when the kitchen gets busy, the oven gets full and time becomes precious. We have a few secret weapons when it comes to making this slow cooker ham that’s PERFECT for (but not not exclusive to) Christmas time… I kid you not, this is the most sweet, tangy and satisfying hunk of ham to feed your family and friends with. What’s not to love?! ❗️A quick note to say: This recipe is NOT JUST FOR CHRISTMAS. While yes, I use it every single year without fail at Christmas (because what is the festive holiday with a ham, I ask you?) BUT I also make it at other times of the year too. Gammon is a very cost-effective and tasty meat, and this boneless joint would be perfect for any Sunday lunch or a regular family dinner of ham, egg and chips! There are so many ways to use cooked ham during the week for meals too – in sandwiches, salads, pasta dishes, pies, soups and loads more!

Why you’ll love this Slow Cooker Ham recipe

⭐️ Delicious hot or cold You could also try out my Campfire Stew if you have a ham joint for the slow cooker. ⭐️ Doesn’t take up oven space for too long ⭐️ Budget friendly showstopper to bring to the table! I decided to play around with it a little and see if I could simplify it for busy lives. I tried it in the slow cooker (or crock pot if you’re in America) and it was a definite winner. You can leave it all day if you like, without it needing too much attention, leaving you to get on with other things and free up space in the oven. While gammon in the slow cooker tastes amazing and is unbelievably tender, I realised if I was going to do this properly, it would have to be finished off in the oven. This is where the all-important honey glaze comes in. After a half hour short burst in the oven, you’ll see how we can have the best of both worlds with this foolproof recipe that you can use again and again! It’s personal preference really, just adjust your timings accordingly. I also prefer to use smoked ham rather than unsmoked as it gives great depth of flavour. However, just choose the best quality (ideally British) ham you can find in the local supermarket. Again, in terms of taste it’s personal preference. Use which bacon you’d buy as a guide. This slow cooker gammon recipe uses 500ml of cider and 1ltr of apple juice. You can vary the amount of apple juice depending on the size of your slow cooker. It also allows the fat to crisp up and looks attractive once it’s cooked. To do this, simple take a sharp knife and slice in lines at an angle across the joint, then do the same in the opposite direction, making diamond shapes as you go.

How to tell if it’s cooked

If you are unsure of how to tell if your ham is cooked, you could invest in a meat thermometer. This is the one I have found to be the most reliable and I use it all the time for many recipes. It’s not the cheapest option but it’s better than many I’ve tried.

Substitutions

Cider – If you’d prefer not to use alcohol for your gammon’s bath in the slow cooker, you can use the whole amount of liquid as apple juice instead

This is why we’re calling it both Slow Cooker Ham and Slow Cooker Gammon in this recipe, because different people call it different things. At Christmas it tends to be called ham and the rest of the time gammon (I think?!)