What Cuts Of Gammon Are Suitable For Coca Cola Ham?

Our answer

Nigella's Ham In Coca Cola (from NIGELLA BITES) cooks a gammon ham by simmering it in coca cola. This dish is particularly popular at Christmas and over the holiday season. A gammon ham is a leg of pork that has been cured (either by dry salting or brining), may be smoked or unsmoked, but needs to be cooked thoroughly before it is eaten. It is difficult to find these outside of the UK. In the US a fresh ham is actually a fresh pork leg that is not cured, smoked or cooked, so it is not the same thing and would be more suitable for roasting.

In the US you can find some salted/cured uncooked hams via mail order. These tend to be country hams that are often smoked and can be quite salty. We would suggest instead that you buy a fully cooked ham from your butcher or supermarket. You may need to pre-order the ham but ask for one that is boneless and not spiral cut. Reheat the ham in the oven following the supplier's instructions but adding about 1cm/half an inch of coca cola to the roasting pan. Baste the ham with the coca cola from time to time and top up the pan with extra coca cola if necessary. Once the ham is hot glaze it following the instructions in the recipe.