Gammon Ham

Asked by Debbi_44. Answered on 1st December 2015

Full question

Hi Just wondering if I could use a fresh leg or piece of pickled (brined) pork for the Ham In Coca Cola recipe? Gammon is just not available in central NSW. Thank you.

Would you please tell me what the Australian substitute for gammon is? I've researched a little but still not sure if the gammon you use is raw or cured? Alybing.

Our answer

Gammon is a cured but uncooked ham. It is fairly easy to find in the UK but may be more difficult in some other countries. Unfortunately we would not advise using a fresh leg of pork, sometimes called an uncured or fresh ham, in Nigella's Ham In Coca Cola recipe (from Nigella Bites and on the Nigella website) as the flavour and texture will not be the same.

It can be easier to find whole fully cooked hams, particularly around Christmas. If this option is available to you then you can reheat the ham following the producer's instructions. If possible add a little cola to the pan while reheating and baste the ham occasionally with the cola. Once the ham is heated through you can remove any skin and glaze the ham following the glazing instructions in the recipe. If you are not using cola to reheat the ham then just use 2 tablespoons from a can or bottle.

You may also like to look at the recipe for Slow Cooked Black Treacle Ham (from Simply Nigella and on the Nigella website). This also has instructions on how to adapt the recipe from a gammon to a fully cooked ham.