Simple Slow Cooker Gammon Recipe (Slimming Friendly)

Name: Simple and delicious slow cooker gammon :) Recipe | Slimming World Friendly
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 8 h
Total time: 8 h 10 min
Yield: 6 servings
Ingredients: 1 kg unsmoked gammon joint; 300 ml apple juice; 2 white onions, halved through the middle; 10 whole black peppercorns; whole cloves; 1 star anise; 2 dried bay leaves; 1 tbsp wholegrain mustard; 2 tbsp runny honey; 1 tbsp soft brown sugar; 0.5 tsp Chinese five spice; 1 tbsp cornflour, slaked with 1 tbsp cold water

Source video by What's For Tea? on YouTube. This recipe was adapted with strict source-fidelity rules.

This is a melt-in-the-mouth slow cooker gammon for a relaxed Sunday or a budget-friendly Christmas. A 1 kg unsmoked gammon joint sits on a bed of halved onions and poaches in 300 ml of apple juice with peppercorns, cloves, a star anise and bay leaves. After six hours on High it is rested, brushed with a honey, mustard and brown sugar glaze, then blasted in a hot oven for twenty minutes to take on a sticky crust. The poaching liquor strains down into a quick cornflour-thickened gravy. Serve carved or pulled, with whatever sides you fancy.

Slow cooker notes: Source is already a slow cooker recipe, no adaptation required. Oven glaze step is part of the original method.

Ingredients

Gammon

1 kgunsmoked gammon joint

Poach

300 mlapple juice
2white onions, halved through the middle
10whole black peppercorns
whole cloves
1star anise
2dried bay leaves

Glaze

1 tbspwholegrain mustard
2 tbsprunny honey
1 tbspsoft brown sugar
0.5 tspChinese five spice

Gravy

1 tbspcornflour, slaked with 1 tbsp cold water (add late)

Method

Switch the slow cooker on to High. Optionally warm the pot with boiling water and tip it away.
~5 min
Lay the halved onions in the middle of the slow cooker pot to make a trivet for the gammon.
~1 min
Sit the gammon joint on top of the onions.
~1 min
Pour over the 300 ml of apple juice. Add the peppercorns, cloves, star anise and bay leaves, and give the liquor at the bottom a gentle stir.
~2 min
Lid on. Cook on High for 6 hours, or Low for 8 hours.
~360 min
While the gammon cooks, stir the mustard, honey, brown sugar and five spice together in a small bowl to make the glaze. Cover and set aside.
~3 min
Lift the gammon out with tongs onto a foil-lined ovenproof dish. Let it rest for 10 to 15 minutes, then trim off any remaining fat.
~15 min
Brush the glaze all over the joint and roast in a hot oven for 20 to 25 minutes until brown, sticky and slightly charred.
~25 min
Strain the slow cooker liquor through a sieve into a saucepan and bring to a simmer for 10 to 15 minutes to reduce.
~15 min
Slake the cornflour with an equal tablespoon of cold water and whisk into the simmering stock. Continue to simmer until the gravy reaches the thickness you like.
~5 min
Rest the glazed gammon for another 10 to 15 minutes before carving or pulling. Serve with the gravy.
~12 min

Frequently asked

Can I use a bigger gammon joint?

Yes. Just scale the glaze up to match (the rest of the poach liquor copes with extra). Cook for an extra hour or so on High per additional kilo and check it is tender before glazing.

Smoked or unsmoked?

Either. Unsmoked gives a cleaner, sweeter result against the honey glaze; smoked carries a deeper, more festive flavour.

Do I have to oven-glaze it?

If you want that sticky, slightly charred crust, yes. You could skip it for a softer, pure-poached gammon, but you will lose the showpiece finish.

Can I use cider or cola instead of apple juice?

Apple juice is what the cook uses. Cider or cola are well-established gammon-poaching liquids that would also work; flavour will shift accordingly.

Can I make this ahead?

Yes. Poach a day ahead, cool the gammon in the fridge wrapped in foil, and reheat with the glaze under the oven on the day you want to serve.

Extraction notes (transparency): Clove quantity not stated precisely ('just a few cloves for extra flavour'); set to null. All other quantities explicit in transcript.