Chef Marcus Bean teams up with DukesHill to create video recipe guide on how to cook and glaze the perfect ham this Christmas
ITV’s This Morning chef Marcus Bean has joined forces with Royal Warrant holder, artisan producer and fine food supplier DukesHill this Christmas with a new video recipe guide to cooking and glazing the perfect ham for the festive season.
Filmed in his home kitchen in Shropshire, Marcus shows you how to prepare, cook and glaze a DukesHill Wiltshire ham with honey and mustard for a delicious taste that’s full of flavour. Scoring and basting the uncooked whole boneless Wiltshire ham with a glaze that uses tangy apple balsamic vinegar are just some of his cooking tips.
Marcus said, “A cooked ham at Christmas makes a great centrepiece for any festive feast. It feeds many and is very versatile. It’s great for a main meal, sandwiches or to have with cheese, and my easy recipe guide gives you all you need to know to produce a delicious cooked ham.
“DukesHill started their ham curing business in an old cow shed in the Shropshire countryside and Shropshire is where I’m based so working with them on this recipe guide is a match made in heaven! They’re committed to producing and sourcing the very best artisanal British food products and as a chef, cooking and enjoying food of such high quality with the very best flavours is what it’s all about.”
DukesHill is renowned for curing hams using traditional artisan methods. What sets their hams apart is their unique curing process which creates an exceptional taste and texture. Unlike other curing processes, DukesHill adds a touch of unrefined brown sugar to their own brine recipe which gives their ham a subtle sweetness and balance alongside the salt, producing a mild, subtly sweet and delicious flavour.
Marcus Bean’s How To Cook and Glaze A Ham guide with DukesHill can be viewed on You Tube and online here.
DukesHill’s hams are available to buy at dukeshill.co.uk. The last date to place your order in time for Christmas is 21st December 2023. Subject to availability.
Follow Marcus on @marcusbeanchef and @bromptoncookeryschool.
How to cook a ham | Chef Marcus Bean
Ingredients:
- Uncooked Whole Boneless Wiltshire Ham (Based on cooking a 5 kilo ham - reduce as required)
- 2 banana shallots cut lengthways
- 2 carrots cut into chunks
- 3 sticks celery roughly chopped
- 2 Star anise
- 1 cinnamon stick
- Tbsp black peppercorns
- 1 head of garlic sliced through
Method:
- Cold water to cover the ham
- Head of garlic sliced in half
- To cook the ham, add the aromatics into the large pan, add the ham then cover with cold water, bring to a boil then simmer the ham until cooked. Around 20 minutes per 450g. The 5-kilo ham I had cooked for about 3 hours. Top up the water during cooking if needed. If you have a large ham like the one I cooked, you could also cut it in half, cook one and freeze the other half for another occasion.
- Once cooked pat dry, then carefully using a sharp knife remove the top layer of skin, reserving the fat on the ham as this adds flavour.
- Score the fat in both directions, to create small diamond shapes.
- Stud the fat with cloves, use a skewer to create the holes, then fill with cloves all over.
How to glaze a ham | Chef Marcus Bean
- 2 tbsp whole-grain mustard
- 200ml runny honey
- 200ml apple balsamic vinegar
- 150g dark brown sugar
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp olive oil
Method:
- Add the glaze ingredients to a saucepan and bring to a boil, mix then take off the heat once combined.
- Slowly pour the hot glaze over the studded ham, keeping some aside for during cooking. Use a brush to get the glaze all over the ham.
- Put the ham in a preheated oven at 160c for 30 minutes, remove and glaze again, cook for another 20 minutes and repeat. Cook for a final 20-30 minutes until coloured and beautifully glazed.
- Remove from the oven and rest for around 20 minutes before carving and serving.
- Cooked ham goes with everything. I love the sauces from DukesHill like Cumberland Sauce, or go classic with roast potatoes, vegetables and gravy.
