cooking a whole ham to have with sandwiches, rather than buying slices

[Kablooger]

of course this has occurred to me at the end of the holidays! Its SO much nicer and cheaper. I think I will do one a week till they go back

Does anyone else always do this?

[eurochick]

We do. Much nicer than the vast majority of bought ham.

[Kablooger]

what all the time? WOW

although, it aint exactly hard

[BL00CowWonders]

Ditto beef or chicken to have cold in sandwiches. Always tastes better

[RemusLupinsBiggestGroupie]

Somebody was telling me the other day that they do it in the slowcooker, then use for sarnies.

I'm veggie so don't like touching/cooking meat much - would this be easy to do? And how long would the ham, once cooked, keep in the fridge?

[HalfATankini]

Do you roast it or boil it? We get through a staggering amount of ham and I've never thought of doing my own.

Any advice welcome

[Kablooger]

roast. I got it on special offer ( hmm ) at Tesco. FInest, I think.
shoved it in the oven
took it out. ate too much crackling. Scraped fat off. turned up side down.
YUM

[Onesleeptillwembley]

I boil then roast. And use the leftovers either in sandwiches or with cheesy pasta. But wouldn't you be fed up having ham sandwiches all the time. That sounds awful.

[NanooCov]

We boil then roast too. But I feel slightly aggrieved - have never thought of buying one purely to use for sandwich filling but now I have, I can't stop thinking what a rip off ready sliced ham is!!

[Kablooger]

thats ALL we eat for lunch all holiday
to the chagrin of the kids

[CatKisser]

LIDL do a decent cooked ham for about £3 that's really tasty and does me a whole week's worth of baguettes. Will never buy sliced ham again!

[Bramshott]

I've tried this, but struggled to get the slices thin enough to make it cost effective...

[Kablooger]

is it flabby though cats?
I like it dry ish.

[Kablooger]

bramshott - sharp carving knife

[CatKisser]

No it's really not, I wasn't expecting much but it's very good actually. I prefer it drier too. The joints aren't huge but for that price....

[JellyBabiesSaveLives]

You can freeze packs of slices of home-cooked ham too

[kentishgirl]

We do this a lot and freeze in individual portions.

We also have a whacking thick slice hot for dinner on the day we cook it (mmmmmmmmmmm), with egg and chips.

[LePetitPont]

My husband does this - in the slow cooker with ginger ale and chilli flakes overnight, then lovely ham for a salad then sandwiches for the week. He even freezes a batch of sandwiches. Super efficient!

It isn't the same as water thin / sandwich ham, more a pulled pork texture. But mighty tasty.

[RemusLupinsBiggestGroupie]

Please could somebody take me step by step through how you do it in the slowcooker? Starting from what to buy, right up to how you store it? Am a bit scared of meat!

[SoonToBeSix]

How long who'll the ham keep in the fridge/ freezer after cooking?

[SoonToBeSix]

Sorry will.

[kentishgirl]

REmus

Buy a gammon joint. Soak overnight in cold water, changing the water a couple of times (don't get up at 2am or anything, just change when you go to bed, and when you get up). Into slow cooker with an inch or so of water, add any flavourings you fancy, cook on low for about 7-8 hours depending on size of joint.

Let it sit in fridge overnight before you slice it, it's much easier then.

[Kablooger]

oh I didnt soak it, we just bunged in the roasting tin and roasted

[Purpleflamingos]

We roast in honey . Always have cold meat in the fridge for quick toasties/sandwiches/picnics. Their other choice of fillings are marmite or jam so meat is healthier .

[Kablooger]

Six - I would say a week.

[LeapingOverTheWall]

Remus - or boil in a big pan of water for 1.5-2 hours. You can bring it to the boil, then change the water if you like (reduces the saltiness). You can also get away with the cheaper ham "pieces" (bits of ham shoved together into a joint shape) which will be in the same section as the gammon joints, and is often in the 3 for £10 meat deals. Gammon is nicer, but pricier.

Slow cooker - add a canful of full fat coke, or enough to come an inch up the side of the piece of gammon, and leave on high for 7-8 hours. Turn it over a couple of times if you like. I've also done it with soy sauce and honey which needed a lot of turning over (but only 4-5 hours cooking, though that might have been a smaller piece of meat), but did the most amazing chinese shredded ham.