Ingredients

Step by step

1. Remove the gammon from the fridge 30 minutes before you begin, to allow it to come up to room temperature; leave the string on. Put the onion, 5 cloves, bay leaf and peppercorns in to the slow cooker, sit the gammon on top, skin-side up. Pour in the cider; secure the lid and cook on low for 6 hours.
2. Lift the gammon out onto a board and pat dry (the cooking stock can be used for soups). Leave to cool slightly for 10 mins. Preheat the oven to 200°C, fan 180°C, gas 6. Snip off any strings or casing, then carefully remove the skin using a sharp knife, leaving a decent layer of fat behind. Score the fat in a criss-cross pattern.
3. Make the glaze: put the sugar, honey, treacle, vinegar, cider and 5 cloves into a medium pan and heat gently until the sugar has dissolved. Increase the heat and bubble until reduced, thick and syrupy: about 8-10 minutes (it does need to be quite thick). Fish out the cloves; discard. Leave to cool for a couple of minutes.
4. Transfer the gammon to a roasting tin lined with foil and roast in the oven for 5 minutes. Remove the ham from the oven, brush the fat all over with the mustard to coat, then stud with cloves. Brush with about 3⁄4 of the glaze and roast in the oven for 10 minutes, then remove from the oven and drizzle over the remaining glaze (reheat this gently if it has set up too much on cooling). Finally, sprinkle with 1-2 teaspoons of demerara sugar and return to the oven for a further 10-15 minutes until the fat is crisp and caramelised, keeping an eye on it so that it doesn’t burn. Leave the ham to rest for at least 15 minutes before carving into slices and serving.
   Tip

   No slow cooker?
   In step 1, cook the gammon in a large deep pan on the hob, simmering gently for 25 mins per 450g weight (2 hrs for a 2kg gammon, 2 hrs 20 mins for 2.5kg). Follow the remaining recipe steps.