What you need
- 1.5kg boneless gammon joint
- 1 onion, thickly sliced
- 2 bay leaves
- 500ml liquid: water, apple juice, dry cider, cola or ginger beer
- 2 tbsp honey or marmalade, and 1 tbsp mustard, for glazing (optional)
Method
Set it up
Lay the onion and bay in the bottom of the slow cooker and sit the gammon on top. Pour the liquid around it. It should come about halfway up the joint and doesn't need to cover it.
Cook
Put the lid on and cook on low for 6 hours 30 minutes, or on high for about 4 hours. Try not to lift the lid, because each peek costs you around 15 minutes.
Check
Push a thermometer into the thickest part. It should read 70°C. If it doesn't, put the lid back on and give it another 30 minutes.
Glaze (optional)
Heat the oven to 200°C (180°C fan, gas 6). Lift out the joint, take off the skin, score the fat and brush on the glaze. Roast for 20 minutes until it's sticky.
Rest
Rest for 15 minutes before slicing.
The slow cooker is the hands-off way to cook gammon. You put it on in the morning and come back to a joint that's tender all the way through, with no pan to watch on the hob. The only thing it can't do is glaze, so that's a quick 20 minutes in the oven at the end.
Timings by weight
| Joint weight | On low | On high |
|---|---|---|
| 750g | 4 hr 15 min | 2 hr 35 min |
| 1kg | 5 hr | 3 hr |
| 1.5kg | 6 hr 30 min | 4 hr |
| 2kg | 8 hr | 4 hr 50 min |
| 2.5kg | 9 hr | 5 hr 25 min |
Slow cookers vary a lot, and older ones tend to run cooler. The first time you use yours for gammon, check the temperature an hour before the end.
What to cook it in
Water is fine. Apple juice or dry cider gives a gentle sweetness. Cola and ginger beer make it darker and stickier, which is good if you're glazing. See gammon in cola for that version.
Smoked or unsmoked
Both work the same. Smoked is better if you're not going to glaze, because the flavour carries the joint on its own.
Straight answers
Should gammon be covered with liquid in the slow cooker?
No. Halfway up is enough, because the lid traps the steam. Too much liquid just dilutes the flavour.
Can I put a frozen gammon joint in the slow cooker?
No. Defrost it fully in the fridge first. A slow cooker heats up too gradually for frozen meat to be safe.
Is low or high better for gammon?
Low gives a more tender, sliceable joint. High is fine when you're short of time, but the meat is a little firmer.
What size gammon fits in a slow cooker?
A 3.5 litre slow cooker takes up to about 1.5kg. A 6 litre one takes up to about 2.5kg. The lid must close properly.
Updated 10 November 2026