How Can I Make Sure That My Home-Cooked Ham Is Not Dry?

Our answer

A gammon is cured but uncooked piece of pork. Once it is cooked it becomes a ham. Probably the most popular of Nigella's recipes to cook a gammon is Ham In Coca Cola (from NIGELLA BITES). Here the ham is simmered in coca cola and then finished in the oven.

Simmering the ham in liquid usually means that it is quite difficult for the ham to dry out. But you do need to cook it at a gentle simmer, as if you boil a ham too briskly then it can also become dry. Overcooking the ham can also cause it to become dry. It can help to take the ham out of the fridge an hour before you start to cook it, so that it loses its chill and cooks more evenly. Normally we suggest 1 hour of simmering time per kilo of ham, plus an extra 15 minutes added to the total cooking time if the ham is cooked directly from the fridge. But the cooking time can vary according to the shape of the ham and whether it has a bone in. So a digital or instant read meat thermometer insterted into the centre of the ham is the most reliable way to check if the ham is cooked. It should reach an internal temperature of 70c. The internal temperature will continue to rise as the ham stands during glazing and again in the oven, but should mean that the ham is not overcooked and dry.