What you need
- 1.5kg boneless gammon joint, smoked or unsmoked
- 1 onion, halved (no need to peel)
- 1 carrot, cut into chunks
- 2 bay leaves
- 10 black peppercorns
- 3 tbsp honey, marmalade or soft brown sugar, for the glaze
- 1 tbsp English or wholegrain mustard
- A small handful of cloves (optional)
Method
Check the salt
Read the label. Most supermarket gammon is mild and needs no soaking. If it's a traditional cure or says to soak, cover it with cold water and leave it in the fridge overnight.
Simmer
Put the joint in a big pan with the onion, carrot, bay and peppercorns. Cover with cold water, bring it up to the boil, skim off any scum, then turn it down so the water barely shivers. Put a lid on, slightly ajar. A 1.5kg joint needs 1 hour 30 minutes.
Heat the oven
About 20 minutes before the simmering is done, heat the oven to 200°C (180°C fan, gas 6).
Score and glaze
Lift the joint out onto a board. When it's cool enough to handle, cut off the skin and leave a thin, even layer of fat. Score the fat in a diamond pattern, push a clove into each diamond if you like, then brush over the honey and mustard.
Roast
Put it in a foil-lined roasting tin and roast for 20 minutes, basting once, until the glaze is dark and sticky at the edges. Keep an eye on it for the last five minutes, because sugar burns quickly.
Check and rest
The thickest part should read 70°C on a thermometer. Rest it for 15 minutes before carving, then slice it thinly across the grain.
Gammon is one of the easiest big joints you can cook, and one of the easiest to get wrong. Put it straight in a hot oven and you get something tough and salty. Simmer it first and it stays tender, and the glaze becomes the fun part rather than a rescue job.
How long to simmer it
Twenty minutes per 450g, plus twenty minutes. In metric that's about 45 minutes per kilo, plus 20.
| Joint weight | Simmer for |
|---|---|
| 750g | 55 min |
| 1kg | 1 hr 5 min |
| 1.5kg | 1 hr 30 min |
| 2kg | 1 hr 50 min |
| 2.5kg | 2 hr 15 min |
| 3kg | 2 hr 35 min |
These times are for the simmering only. The 20 minutes of glazing comes on top, then the rest. For any other weight, use the calculator on this page.
Keep the water at a gentle simmer, not a rolling boil. A hard boil tightens the meat and pushes the moisture out, which is where dry gammon comes from.
Smoked or unsmoked
Use whichever you like the taste of, because the method is exactly the same. Smoked has a deeper, bacon-ish flavour that stands up well to a sharp glaze like marmalade. Unsmoked is milder and suits honey and mustard.
The glaze
Anything sweet and sticky works. Honey and mustard is the classic. Marmalade is brilliant, and a couple of spoonfuls of dark brown sugar with a splash of the cooking liquor is the cheapest of the lot. There are more on the gammon glazes page.
Brush on half before it goes in the oven and the rest halfway through. One thick coat at the start tends to slide off and burn on the tray.
Serving
Hot, it's lovely with mash, parsley sauce or Cumberland sauce, and some greens. Cold, it's even better in sandwiches with plenty of English mustard. A 1.5kg joint feeds six people generously as a hot dinner, with enough left over for sandwiches the next day.
Storing leftovers
Wrap it well and keep it in the fridge for up to three days, or freeze it in slices for up to two months. Get it into the fridge within two hours of cooking, sooner if the kitchen is warm.
Straight answers
How long does a 1kg gammon joint take?
Simmer it for about 1 hour 5 minutes, then glaze it for 20 minutes at 200°C. Allow 15 minutes' rest on top.
Do I need to soak gammon before cooking?
Usually not. Most gammon sold in UK supermarkets today is mildly cured. Soak it only if the pack tells you to or it's a traditional dry cure, and if you're unsure, simmer a thin slice in water and taste it.
Should I cover gammon when it goes in the oven?
Not for glazing. It's already cooked through from the simmering, so the oven is just there to caramelise the glaze, which needs dry heat. If the edges are catching before the middle is glossy, lay a loose sheet of foil over the darkest parts.
How do I know gammon is cooked?
Use a meat thermometer in the thickest part, away from any bone. It should reach 70°C and stay there for two minutes, which is the Food Standards Agency's guidance for pork. Gammon stays pink when it's cooked because of the cure, so don't judge it by colour.
Can I cook gammon the day before?
Yes. Simmer it, cool it quickly, and keep it in the fridge overnight. The next day, wrap it in foil and heat it at 180°C (160°C fan, gas 4) for about 30 minutes per kilo. Then unwrap it, glaze it and roast it for 20 minutes at 200°C, until the middle reads 70°C.
What do I do with the cooking water?
Keep it. Once it has cooled, skim off the fat and it makes a good stock for pea and ham soup. Taste it first, because it can be salty.
Updated 10 November 2026