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roasted marmalade ham

main courses | serves 10 +
If you’ve got a family dinner or a party coming up, or you want to reinvent the Sunday roast, there’s nothing outrageous about buying a ham and cooking it this way. You can feed loads of people and still have some left over for sarnies.

First of all you want to place the gammon in a large but snug-fitting pot. Cover it with water, then throw in your veg, bay leaves, peppercorns and bouquet garni. Peel the zest from the oranges and add to the water, then squeeze the juice in and add the salt. Bring to the boil, then turn the heat down and simmer for an hour and a quarter with a lid on, skimming when need be. Remove from the heat and allow to cool for half an hour in the broth. This will allow the flavours to really penetrate the meat. Discard the vegetables from the broth, but keep the broth for making minestrone-type soups – it will freeze well for use another day.

Preheat the oven to 170°C/325°F/gas 3. Carefully remove the meat to a board and, using a knife, take off the skin. Depending on the breed and quality of the pig, you should have a nice layer of fat. Remove some of the fat as well, to leave you with about 1cm/½ inch. The extra fat can be kept in the freezer for roasting with potatoes another time. Score the fat left on the meat in a criss-cross fashion, and while it’s moist, season it generously with the ground black pepper. Place the meat in a roasting tray and roast for 20 minutes until the fat renders and becomes slightly crispy. Remove from the oven, stir up the marmalade to loosen, then smear and rub it all over the meat with the rosemary. Place back in the oven for about 1 hour and baste frequently until beautifully golden and crisp. Serve as you would a roast dinner or as part of a picnic.


• from Jamie's Dinners