I cook this ham every Christmas, twice. Sometimes even thrice (so Shakespearean!). I serve it on Christmas day, on the buffet next to the Turkey. Any left-overs make the BEST holiday breakfast toasties, loaded with mustard of course.

It took me a long time to decide on my best recipe for gammon. A lot of trials and hundreds of sandwiches later, I present to you my absolute favourite. The maple syrup glazed ham. I cook the ham in apple cider for hours, glaze it with a delicious mixture of mustard, orange marmalade, port and maple syrup, then roast it in the oven until sticky and gorgeously caramelized. Foolproof and absolutely delicious.

Ingredients:

• One smoked gammon, 2-3 kg
• 6 cups apple cider
• 5 cm piece root ginger
• 1 large onion, halved
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 tsp black peppercorns
• 5-6 thyme sprigs
• water as needed
• a few whole cloves

For the glaze:

• 1 garlic clove
• 1/2 cup orange marmalade
• 1/2 cup Dijon mustard
• 1/2 cup “koumantaria” or Port
• 1/2 cup maple syrup
• 1 orange, juiced and zested
• 1/4 cup soft brown sugar

Method:

Place gammon in a large pot. Add the rest of the ingredients and as much water is needed to totally cover the ham. Bring to a boil, cover the pot, lower the heat and simmer for 3 hours. You can do this the day before. Leave the ham in the pot with it’s juices until cool and ready to glaze.

When you are ready to roast, preheat oven to 220 C, fan. Make the glaze by combining all ingredients together in a blender or food processor.

Using scissors, remove twine or net from the ham (if any). Remove most of the fat (it will probably stick on the twine anyway). Stick a few cloves here and there for that extra Christmassy flavour. Place ham in a baking pan (a one-use aluminum pan will save you a lot of scrubbing afterwards). Pour over all the glaze and add 1/4 cup water around it. Bake for 30-40 minutes, basting 4-5 times with the pan juices until gorgeously caramelized. If glaze seems to burn in the pan, just add some more water. Don’t make it too runny though. You want a jam-like consistency.

Serve glazed ham with the delicious sauce (pan juices) on the side. Happy, delicious Christmas.