Sugar plum Christmas ham
Serves: 12-14
Prep time: 35 minsTotal time: 
Recipe photograph by Martin Poole
Sugar plum Christmas ham
Made with sugary plums and port, and spiced with cardamom, this rich, sticky glaze is the perfect partner for salty ham
Serves: 12-14
Prep time: 35 minsTotal time: 
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Nutritional information (per serving)
Calories
310Kcal
Fat
13gr
Saturates
4gr
Carbs
18gr
Sugars
18gr
Fibre
1gr
Protein
30gr
Salt
3.7gr
Sarah Akhurst
Our Food Director Sarah is a food obsessive, and spends most of her time scoping out the latest food trends, experimenting in her own kitchen, or making her family wait to eat while she photographs every dinner she makes for the 'gram! A complete Middle Eastern food junkie, she is never far from a good shawarma marinade, a pinch of Aleppo chilli or a sprig of dill
See more of Sarah Akhurst’s recipes
Sarah Akhurst
Our Food Director Sarah is a food obsessive, and spends most of her time scoping out the latest food trends, experimenting in her own kitchen, or making her family wait to eat while she photographs every dinner she makes for the 'gram! A complete Middle Eastern food junkie, she is never far from a good shawarma marinade, a pinch of Aleppo chilli or a sprig of dill
See more of Sarah Akhurst’s recipes
Ingredients
- a 2kg gammon joint (smoked or unsmoked)
- 1 onion, quartered
- 12 cardamom pods, lightly bashed
- 5cm root ginger, roughly sliced
- 12 plums
- 150g dark brown sugar (we used Billington’s)
- 4 tbsp port
- 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
Step by step
To store
Leftover cooked ham can be kept in the fridge for up to 5 days, well-wrapped.
- Put the gammon joint in a large pan and cover with cold water. Add the onion, 6 cardamom pods and the ginger. Bring to a low simmer then cover and cook for 1½ hours.
- While the gammon is cooking, make the glaze. Destone half the plums then roughly chop them. Put in a pan with the sugar, port, balsamic vinegar and crushed seeds from the remaining cardamom pods. Place over a medium heat and cook for 20-25 minutes, until the plums have completely disintegrated, and the mixture has a sticky jam-like consistency. Blitz with a handheld blender until smooth.
- Preheat the oven to 200°C, fan 180°C, gas 6. Remove the ham from its cooking liquor and set aside until cool enough to handle. Remove the skin, leaving a thin layer of fat, and then score a diamond pattern across the surface of the fat.
- Halve the remaining plums. Sit the ham in a roasting tray and put the plums around the sides. Brush all over with a good layer of the spiced plum jam, including the plums, and roast for 25 minutes, adding another layer of glaze halfway through the cooking time. When the glaze has started to caramelise and the plums are soft, remove from the oven and leave to rest. Serve with the plums and extra plum jam on the side.
