An easy honey roast gammon recipe with a simple honey glaze made with runny honey, English mustard, and crunchy demerara sugar.
The moist gammon joint is perfect for Christmas lunch, Boxing Day buffets, or a gammon roast dinner, served with air fryer roast potatoes, Yorkshire puddings, apricot stuffing, and cauliflower cheese!
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The whole family loves this honey roast ham recipe, especially the sticky glaze, It's great for special occasions, and the leftovers are delicious in air fryer toasted sandwiches.
👩🍳 You might also like my slow cooker roast beef recipe too!
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✔️ Why you'll love this recipe!
- The honey roasted gammon recipe is easy to make, as it only requires a few ingredients and can be baked in the oven.
- The sweet sticky honey glaze for gammon adds a delicious flavour, making it a perfect choice for Christmas and roast dinners.
- Leftovers can be frozen or used in this delicious gammon and pea pasta recipe.
🛒 Ingredient notes
Gammon - you can use either a 2kg smoked or unsmoked joint. I usually soak the gammon in water to get rid of any excess salt, but you can skip this step if you prefer your food salty.
Apple Juice - the liquid used for boiling the gammon. It gives it a lovely sweet flavour. You could also use pineapple juice, orange juice, or cider.
Bay Leaves - for flavour and seasoning.
Glaze - made with runny honey, English mustard (or substitute for wholegrain mustard or dijon mustard), and demerara sugar.
🔪 How to cook a honey roast gammon joint
The recipe card with ingredient quantities and detailed instructions can be found at the bottom of the post
One: Soak the gammon in fresh cold water for a minimum of 2 hours, but preferably overnight.
Two: Place the gammon in a large pan, skin side up, and pour in the apple juice, topping up with water until the top of the gammon is completely covered in liquid. Pop in the bay leaves.
Three: Bring the gammon to the boil then reduce the heat so the liquid is just simmering. Cook uncovered for 1 hour 30 minutes (top up with more water if needed). Lift the gammon out onto a chopping board.
Four: With a sharp knife carefully cut away the skin, leaving a thin layer of fat. Score the fat with a small sharp knife into a diamond pattern. Place the gammon joint into a foil-lined roasting tin.
Five: Mix together the glaze ingredients (honey, mustard, and demerara sugar) and pour three-quarters of it over the gammon (use a pastry brush to spread it evenly over the layer of fat). Bake for 15 minutes in the oven.
Six: Take the gammon out of the oven and pour over the rest of the glaze. Return to the oven for a further 15 minutes until the glaze is sticky and golden brown. Allow the gammon to rest for at least 15 minutes, before carving it into slices.
Top Tips
- To prevent the glaze from burning your roasting tin, line it with foil, or alternatively, use a disposable foil roasting tray.
- Save the ham stock for use in risottos.
- Allowing the gammon to rest is important as it allows the moisture to redistribute throughout the joint, making it moist and tender.
🍴 What goes with honey roast gammon?
Delicious sides that go with honey glazed gammon:
- Carrot and Swede Mash
- Air Fryer Parsnips
- Air Fryer Green Beans
- Roasted Brussels Sprouts
- Slow Cooker Red Cabbage
- Air Fryer Stuffing Balls or Sausage Meat Stuffing
- Creamed Cabbage
- Cheesy Leeks
- Polenta Roast Potatoes
- Air Fryer Pigs in Blankets
- Apple Sauce, Cranberry Sauce, Gravy, Cumberland Sauce, or BBQ Sauce
Leftover ham can be used in sandwiches, leftover gammon pasta, spaghetti carbonara, pasta bakes, gammon, egg & chips, and risotto.
📖 Variations
- Swap the demerara sugar for light brown sugar.
- Use maple syrup instead of honey.
- Add cloves to the top of the gammon.
- Add a dash of sherry vinegar to the glaze.
- Boil the gammon joint in water rather than apple juice, and add a cinnamon stick, peppercorns, and coriander seeds for extra flavour.
- Make honey glazed gammon without mustard. Just mix together the honey and sugar for the glaze, and omit the English mustard.
- Make honey roast gammon in your slow cooker or instant pot.
🥡 Storage
Store - Wrap the cooled cooked gammon in clingfilm and store in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Reheat - Slices of gammon can be reheated in the microwave.
Freeze - The cooked gammon can be frozen in slices or as a whole joint. Defrost in the fridge before using.
❓ Frequently asked questions
For large gammon joints (1.5kg plus), to ensure the ham stays moist, it's best to boil the joint first, before roasting it in the oven. Smaller gammon joints (1.5kg or less) don't need to be boiled first, but I always prefer to for moist tender meat!
1kg - 45 minutes
2kg - 1 hour 30 minutes
3kg - 2 hours 15 minutes
4kg - 3 hours
The gammon joint is then oven roasted for 30 minutes (regardless of the size of the gammon joint) until golden brown.
I prefer not to cover the gammon in foil when roasting it, to allow the sticky glaze to become golden brown in colour.
Clear runny honey is best to use for the honey glaze, as it mixes easily with the other ingredients. Set honey wouldn't be suitable for this recipe.
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Recipe
Easy Honey Roast Gammon
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Equipment
- Large Saucepan
- Chopping Board
- Knife
- Foil
Ingredients
- 2 kg Gammon Joint smoked or unsmoked
- 500 ml Apple Juice
- 2 Bay Leaves
For the glaze
- 5 tablespoon Honey clear runny honey
- 1 tablespoon English Mustard
- 2 tablespoon Demerara Sugar
Instructions
- Soak the gammon in fresh cold water for a minimum of 2 hours, but preferably overnight.2 kg Gammon Joint
- Place the gammon in a large pan, skin side up, and pour in the apple juice, topping up with water until the top of the gammon is completely covered in liquid. Pop in the bay leaves.500 ml Apple Juice, 2 Bay Leaves
- Bring the gammon to the boil then reduce the heat so the liquid is just simmering. Cook uncovered for 1 hour 30 minutes (top up with more water if needed). Lift the gammon out onto a chopping board.
- Preheat the oven to 180°C (160 fan/ Gas 4/ 350F) and line a roasting tin with a double layer of foil.
- With a sharp knife carefully cut away the skin on the gammon, leaving a thin layer of fat. Score the fat with a small sharp knife into a diamond pattern. Place the gammon joint into the foil-lined roasting tin.
- Mix together the glaze ingredients (honey, mustard, and demerara sugar) and pour three-quarters of it over the gammon (use a pastry brush to spread it evenly over the layer of fat). Bake for 15 minutes in the oven.5 tablespoon Honey, 1 tablespoon English Mustard, 2 tablespoon Demerara Sugar
- Take the gammon out of the oven and pour over the rest of the glaze. Return to the oven for a further 15 minutes until the glaze is sticky and golden brown. Allow the gammon to rest for at least 15 minutes, before carving it into slices.
Notes
- To prevent the glaze from burning your roasting tin, line it with foil, or alternatively, use a disposable foil roasting tray.
- Save the ham stock for use in risottos.
- Allowing the gammon to rest is important as it allows the moisture to redistribute throughout the joint, making it moist and tender.
- Swap the demerara sugar for light brown sugar.
- Use maple syrup instead of honey.
- Add cloves to the top of the gammon.
- Add a dash of sherry vinegar to the glaze.
- Boil the gammon joint in water rather than apple juice, and add a cinnamon stick, peppercorns, and coriander seeds for extra flavour.
Shashi
My mom loves ham so definitely saving this to try out next week!
Rachna
Gammon looks so delicious. Such an easy glaze. Definitely going to give it a shot.
Toni
I really love how easy this is to prepare! Plus, the honey glaze is so perfect! Thanks so much for sharing your recipe!
Juliane
Been really wanting to try this!! SO excited 'coz we finally can make it this weekend!!