Spiced Ginger and Apricot Ham

Good Pair Days (Roos Michels) -
  • 4-5kg smoked ham on the bone
  • 2 litre bottle of ginger beer
  • 6 allspice berries
  • 6 black peppercorns
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 35-40 cloves
  • 1 jar of apricot jam
  • 1 tsp ground ginger
  • In a large pan, place your ham along with the ginger beer, the allspice, peppercorns, bay leaves and six of your cloves. Top up the pan with water in order to cover the ham completely, stick the lid or some foil on the top, and simmer gently for 2.5 hours. You’ll need to keep adding water while it’s cooking to keep it at a similar level.
  • While this is going on, pre-heat your oven to 200C. Once the ham has cooled enough to touch, remove it from the pan, pat it dry and use a sharp knife to pare away the rind, leaving a layer of fat all over the meat. Use the knife to etch a diamond pattern into the fat, and stud the whole thing with your cloves.
  • Put your ham into a roasting tin. Mix together the apricot jam with the ground ginger, and brush the mixture all over the meat. Roast for a full hour at 200C until it’s golden all over, and serve either hot or cold - it’s gorgeous both ways!
3 hrs 30 mins
10-12 serving