Coca Cola Ham

by Barry Lewis

Prep time
10 mins
Cook time
180 mins

Ingredients

2.5kg ham / gammon joint (unsmoked)

1 onion

1 carrot

1 celery stick

1 cinnamon stick

Good grind black pepper

Approx. 2l extra water

150ml maple syrup

2tbsp wholegrain mustard

2tbsp white wine vinegar

Heaped tsp paprika

This coca cola ham is phenomenal! Yep, that is all you need to know… this recipe was inspired off the back of the recent Dr Pepper pulled pork recipe video and it did not disappoint. The recipe can be made in the slow cooker on medium heat or in a large saucepan like I have used during the recipe video.

First up grab a nice big saucepan and sit the gammon / ham joint (mine was 2.5kg) into it. Top up with a 2 litre bottle of coca cola and then add in a stick of celery, an onion, a carrot, a cinnamon stick plus a good season with pepper. If the cola does not completely cover the ham, top up with water.

Place on the hob and bring the pan to a simmer. Then let it steadily simmer for 2 ½ hours. If the water level reduces and exposes the ham at any point, top it up with water to cover the ham and keep it completely submerged.

Towards the end of the simmering make the glaze in a bowl by combining the mustard, vinegar, maple syrup and paprika, mix together.

Carefully drain off the fluid from the pan (make a funky soup with it if you wish), and then sit the ham into a roasting tin. The very top layer of fat will cut off easily with a knife, so cut that off ensuring you make it quite flush. Score some lines diagonally into the top of the ham, this will form cracks for the glaze to sit in.

Pour half the glaze on top and bake for 20 minutes in a pre-heated oven at gas mark 5 or equivalent (see conversion chart). Remove from oven and top with remaining glaze, then bake for a further 30 minutes. Glaze it a good 3 or 4 times during this baking time.

Remove from the oven and leave to rest in the roasting tray for 10 minutes or so, then slice up and serve! It’s actually even better tasting the next day after chilling overnight in the fridge. Also you can freeze leftovers if you wish…. Enjoy this coca cola ham recipe!