I’m using an interesting ingredient in this slow cooker gammon to give it a lovely sweetness, as well as helping to keep it nice and tender.
I could ask you to scroll down to find the answer, but I won’t do that to you!
It’s Coca Cola! Yep cooking gammon in coke might seem a little bizarre, but it works so well!
It takes minimal effort to prep this recipe, with the slow cooker is doing most of the work. We’re also going to finish it off with a quick honey mustard glaze to give the gammon a sweet sticky finish.
Jump to:
Take some nice thin slices of this tender sweet slow-cooked gammon and serve it on some buttered fresh bread, it tastes fantastic 😋
📋 Ingredients
To make this slow cooker gammon you’re going to need:
- Gammon joint – I’m using a 2.5kg smoked Gammon. You can use smoked or unsmoked, your preference – what kind of bacon do you like? Go with the same preference.
- Full Fat Coca cola (not diet coke) – enough to completely cover the gammon – I use about 3 litres.
- Spices including, cinnamon, ground ginger, allspice and ground black pepper.
What’s the difference between Ham and Gammon?
Gammon is a joint of pork that’s been cured (by smoking, brining or salting), similar to that of bacon, and is sold raw. Ham has either been dry-cured or cooked.
🍖 Technically once you’ve cooked your gammon it becomes ham!
👩🍳 How to make it
Full recipe with detailed steps in the printable recipe card at the end of this post.
- Start by removing the gammon joint from its packaging and remove any butcher twine or netting.
- Add the gammon to the slow cooker (or crock pot), pour over coke, and add the spices.
- Slow cook for 4.5 hours on high or 6 hours on low.
- After that, we’re going to remove the gammon, remove the skin, score the fat layer, and cover it in a simple honey mustard glaze.
- Bake it in the oven at 190C (375F) for 20-25 minutes
👩🍳PRO TIP Line your baking tray with foil because the glaze may bake onto the tray making it difficult to clean off later.
Don’t want to use the slow cooker?
If you don’t want to use the slow cooker then you can try my baked ham.
🍽️ What to serve it with
I like to serve this as a centerpiece of a buffet that the whole family can dig into. Scroll down for some more buffet ideas, but you could serve it like this:
- On a sandwich with some fresh bread
- Take thin slices and turn them into ham and cheese stuffed croissants < a Christmas Breakfast favourite!
- As an accompaniment to salads such as my Pasta Salad.
- Or go for that British classic of gammon and pineapple (I like to add a fried egg) and some chips (fries)
If you have any leftovers then why not make them into a tasty Turkey and Ham Pasta Bake
🍲 More Festive Buffet Recipes
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Slow Cooker Gammon Recipe
The ingredients might sound weird but trust me this slow cooker gammon is tender and has a nice sweetness. Minimal prep time and the slow cooker is doing most of the work.
INSTRUCTIONS
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Place the gammon joint in the slow cooker, add cola, cinnamon, ginger, allspice and pepper.
2 kg – 2.5kg (4.5-5.5lb) gammon joint, 3 litres (~100 fl oz) full fat cola, 1 cinnamon stick, 1 tsp ground ginger, ½ tsp allspice, ½ tsp ground black pepper
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Cook on high for 4.5 hours or low for 6 hours. (See Note 1)
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Remove from slow cooker, discard all but 2 tbsp of the cooking liquid. Place on a chopping board. Leave to cool for 10 minutes.
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Preheat the oven to 190C/375F and line a baking tray with foil.
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Using a sharp knife, carefully remove the skin from the ham joint. Leave as much of the fat as possible behind.
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Score the layer of fat in diamond patterns using a sharp knife.
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In a small bowl, mix together the glaze ingredients, plus 2 tbsp of the cooking liquid, until combined.
100 g (½ cup) light soft brown sugar, 4 tbsp honey, 2 tbsp Dijon mustard, ½ tsp ground cinnamon, ¼ tsp ground cloves
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Spoon ¾ of the mixture on top of the ham. Place in the oven and cook for 20-25 mins, basting with the remaining glaze in the last 10 minutes of cooking.
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Remove from the oven and rest the meat for 10 minutes before carving.
✎ Notes
- If you’re worried about there being a line on the gammon where it’s submerged in the liquid then you can turn it halfway through the slow cooking stage, although I didn’t find this to be a problem.
Nutritional information is per serving. There are approx. 12 servings in this recipe.
Nutrition
Calories: 256kcalCarbohydrates: 15gProtein: 37gFat: 5gSaturated Fat: 2gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0.03gCholesterol: 103mgSodium: 157mgPotassium: 623mgFiber: 0.4gSugar: 14gVitamin A: 16IUVitamin C: 0.1mgCalcium: 34mgIron: 1mg
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