Roast gammon

Nothing says quintisential English fare better than a cup of tea and a slice of Victoria sponge, cream tea’s and a good roast dinner. My meat of choice will always be either a shoulder of pork or a gammon joint for one reason and one reason only… the crackling. Nothing makes a roast dinner or a pork sandwich better than a glistening, salty, piece of pork fat capping it off. So below is the supremely easy, most effective way to get the best our of your pork.

What you will need:

1 joint of smoked gammon (fat on) usually around 1.5kg on average
Sea salt
large roasting tin

Heat the oven to 170°C/fan 150°C. Put the gammon in the tin, sprinkle the skin with salt, then pop into the preheated oven to roast for 2½-3 hours until the internal temperature reads 65°C when measured with a digital thermometer (see tips). Be sure to take a reading from the centre of the joint.
Increase the oven temperature to 230°C/fan 210°C. Wrap foil around the baking tray. Return the ham to the oven to cook for a further 20-25 minutes, until the the skin has crackled. You may have to turn the ham to crisp up the parts of the skin not open to the hot air.
When the fat starts to look like real crackling, remove the ham, take off the foil and rest uncovered on a trivet for 30 minutes. Carve the ham in decent slices and serve with whatever you like!