Full question
I cooked the gammon in black treacle at Christmas with great success but recently I cooked it using the optional quicker method, though for a shorter time at a slightly lower temperature. However the exterior was burnt, though I managed to rescue some of the inside. Where did I go wrong?
Our answer
Nigella's Slow-Cooked Black Treacle Ham (from SIMPLY NIGELLA) is cooked in a tightly sealed parcel of foil so the gammon ham should steam in its own juices and stay moist. There is a very slow method that takes up to 24 hours, or a shorter cooking time at a higher temperature if you can't tie up your oven for a whole day.
We suspect that the foil parcel may not have been sealed quite tightly enough. If there are any gaps then the moisture will evaporate and the ham will start to dry out. As this happens, the sugars in the treacle will caramelize more easily and could start to catch a little. Make sure that the edges of the foil parcel are very tightly scrunched together so that there are no gaps at all and if necessary use an extra piece of foil. It may also be worth carefully checking the ham halfway through the cooking time and if it looks like the moisture has evaporated then add a couple of splashes of water and re-seal the foil very tightly. We would also mention that the temperatures given are for a regular oven and if you are using a fan oven you may need to adjust the temperature of the oven (usually down by 20c, but check your oven handbook for exact instructions) and the cooking time may be shorter.
Tell us what you think
Thank you {% member.data['first-name'] %}.
Explore more questionsYour comment has been submitted.