Updated July 2026
To cook a gammon joint, simmer it gently in water for 20 minutes per 450g plus 20 minutes, then glaze and roast it for 30 minutes at 190C (170C fan, Gas 5) until the core reaches 75C. A 1.5kg joint takes about an hour and a half in the pan and half an hour in the oven. The gentle simmer keeps it moist; the oven gives you the glaze.
CookeryPork & GammonSunday LunchFeeds a Crowd
A gammon joint is one of the great unfussy centrepieces: cheaper per head than beef or a leg of lamb, generous enough to feed a table and then keep the household in sandwiches for a week. The method below is the one that gives you both tenderness and a proper burnished glaze, with cooking times you can set a timer by. Everything here works on a wet Sunday in January as well as it does on Boxing Day.
The short version
- Time it: simmer 20 minutes per 450g (1lb) plus 20 minutes, then glaze-roast 30 minutes at 190C.
- Best method: boil first, then roast. The simmer cooks it through and keeps it moist; the oven sets a crisp glaze.
- Soaking: most supermarket gammon is mildly cured and needs no soaking. Check the pack.
- Done at: a core temperature of 75C in the centre (cured gammon can stay faintly pink, so trust the probe, not the colour).
- The glaze: score the fat, stud with cloves, and brush on honey, mustard and brown sugar for the last 30 minutes only.
- Rest: 15 minutes loosely under foil before carving.
Gammon cooking-time calculator
Enter the weight of your joint and choose how you are cooking it — boil, boil-then-roast, oven, or slow cooker — and the calculator gives you the cooking time, the heat setting and how many it serves. Tell it what time you are serving and it works backwards into a timetable, then counts the cook down and rolls straight into the rest. Treat it as a guide: a thermometer reading 75C in the centre is the final word.
No calculator showing? It needs JavaScript — the full time-by-weight chart below has every figure, and works everywhere.
Gammon or ham — what is the difference?
Gammon is the cured hind leg of a pig, sold raw, and it must be cooked before you eat it. Ham is the broader term for cured pork leg that is ready to eat — most often this same cut once it has been cooked, though some ham is dry-cured or air-cured rather than simmered and roasted. So a glazed joint on the Christmas table is, strictly, a gammon you have turned into ham in your own kitchen. The two words get used interchangeably, and no harm done, but it is worth knowing that anything labelled “gammon” needs cooking through.
You will also choose between smoked and unsmoked, and between bone-in and boneless. Smoked gives a deeper, saltier, more savoury flavour; unsmoked is milder and takes a sweet glaze more gracefully. Bone-in has the better flavour and makes a handsome centrepiece, but a boneless joint is far easier to carve and to slice thinly for sandwiches. For a first attempt, a boneless unsmoked joint is the forgiving choice.
Do you need to soak a gammon joint first?
Usually not. Most gammon sold in British supermarkets is only lightly cured and needs no soaking at all — soaking a mild joint only washes out flavour. The exception is a traditionally cured joint from a butcher, which can be quite salty; if in doubt, ask your butcher or check the pack — though many packs won’t mention it, so a short soak does no harm if you are unsure.
If yours does need it, sit the joint in a large container, cover with cold water, and leave it in the fridge — covered, on the bottom shelf — for a few hours or overnight, then tip that water away before you cook. This is the step that quietly rescues a joint from being too salty to enjoy, which is the most common complaint about home-cooked gammon and almost always avoidable.
The boil is where tenderness is won; the oven is only there for the glaze.
Handling raw gammon safely
- Wash your hands, and any board, knife or plate that touched the raw joint, before they meet anything else.
- Never carve cooked gammon on a board, or set it back on a plate, that held it raw.
- Keep raw gammon covered on the bottom shelf of the fridge, away from ready-to-eat food.
- Cook to 75C in the centre, and always follow the instructions on your joint.
Food-safety guidance on this page follows the UK Food Standards Agency.
The three ways to cook a gammon joint
There are three honest methods, and the right one depends on how much oven you have and how much shine you want on the finish.
1. Boil then roast — the best of both
This is the method worth learning. You simmer the joint until it is cooked through and tender, then move it to a hot oven for half an hour to set a glaze and crisp the fat. Doing both jobs in one place is harder: a long spell in a dry oven can firm up a lean joint, and a pan of water will never caramelise sugar. Splitting the work is the most reliable route to a joint that is moist inside and glossy outside — though a gentle oven roast (below) also does the job well. Use it for any joint you mean to serve hot, and for a centrepiece.
Flavour the simmering water while you are at it. An onion, a couple of bay leaves and a few black peppercorns are plenty; half a bottle of cider or a can of cola in place of some of the water gives the meat a faint sweetness and makes the cooking liquid worth keeping for soup. Bring it to the boil, skim off the grey foam that rises, then drop it to the gentlest simmer for the cook.
2. Boil only — for cold cuts and a calm kitchen
Simmer the joint for the full time, let it cool in its liquid, and you have a beautiful cold ham for a buffet, a picnic or a week of sandwiches, with no oven needed. Boiled-and-cooled is the traditional way to produce sliceable ham, and it frees the oven for everything else. Skip the glaze, or peel the skin and press a little English mustard over the fat once it is cold.
3. Oven only — when the hob is full
You can roast a gammon from raw without boiling. Sit it on a trivet of vegetables, cover loosely with foil to keep it moist, and roast at 180C (160C fan, Gas 4) for 30 minutes per 450g plus 30 minutes in total, opening the foil for the last 30 minutes of that time to glaze; a thermometer reading 75C in the centre, not the clock, is the real test. It works, and saves washing a big pan, but the result is a touch firmer and less evenly seasoned than the boiled-then-roasted version. For a hands-off joint, the slow cooker (covered below) does a gentler job.
Gammon cooking times by weight
Weigh the joint first, without its packaging, and work from that. The rule for simmering is 20 minutes per 450g (1lb) plus 20 minutes at a gentle simmer, after which a hot joint gets its 30-minute glaze-roast. The chart and table below do the arithmetic for the common joint sizes so you do not have to. Always follow the use-by, storage and cooking instructions on your own joint: they take priority over any general timing, because gammon varies by cure, thickness and whether it is on the bone.
| Joint weight | Serves | Simmer time | Then glaze-roast | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 kg | 4–6 | 1 hr 5 min | 30 min at 190C | about 1 hr 35 min |
| 1.5 kg | 6–8 | 1 hr 30 min | 30 min at 190C | about 2 hr |
| 2 kg | 8–10 | 1 hr 50 min | 30 min at 190C | about 2 hr 20 min |
| 2.5 kg | 10–14 | 2 hr 10 min | 30 min at 190C | about 2 hr 40 min |
| 3 kg | 14–18 | 2 hr 35 min | 30 min at 190C | about 3 hr 5 min |
Allow 150–200g of cooked gammon per person for a main course, less if it is one of several dishes on a buffet. Times are for boneless joints; a bone-in joint can take a little longer, so lean on the thermometer rather than the clock.
How to tell when gammon is cooked
Gammon is cooked when the centre of the joint reaches 75C. That is the simple target the supermarkets and most recipe writers use, and it is the one to aim for at home. Strictly, the Food Standards Agency’s safe rule for pork is a core temperature of 70C held for two minutes — or an equivalent combination, such as 75C for 30 seconds. Taking the joint to 75C therefore clears that safe line comfortably, in a single easy-to-read number. A small digital probe pushed into the thickest part, not touching bone, is the only reliable way to be sure, and it costs a few pounds.
You will see lower figures online — some American sources quote 63C, and a few British recipes 68C — but the safe domestic target in the UK is 75C, and a gammon is forgiving enough that it will not dry out at that temperature. If you have no probe, the meat should be piping hot right through and a skewer slides into the centre with no resistance. Because gammon is cured, it can stay pink even when fully cooked, so colour is not a reliable test. This is general guidance; cook to the temperature on your joint’s packaging where it differs.
The glaze — score, stud and shine
The glaze is where a plain joint becomes a centrepiece. Once the gammon is cooked through, lift it from the pan, let it cool for a few minutes, then peel away the skin with a small sharp knife, leaving a good even layer of fat behind. Score that fat into a diamond pattern, cutting into the fat but not down into the meat, and press a clove into the point of each diamond.
A reliable honey-mustard glaze
Whisk together 4 tbsp runny honey, 2 tbsp wholegrain or English mustard and 3 tbsp soft dark brown sugar. Brush it generously over the scored fat and roast, uncovered, for 30 minutes at 190C (170C fan, Gas 5), brushing on any glaze that slides into the tin once or twice as it cooks.
Alcohol-free maple glaze: swap the honey for 4 tbsp maple syrup and add the finely grated zest of an orange. No cider, sherry or rum needed — this gives every bit as glossy a finish, which matters if you would rather not cook with alcohol.
Whatever glaze you use, keep it for the final 30 minutes only. Glazes are mostly sugar, and sugar put on early will burn and turn bitter long before the joint is ready.
Honey-Glazed Gammon Joint
Serves 6–8 · Hands-on about 20 minutes · Total about 2 hours 15 minutes (plus soaking, if needed)
Ingredients
- 1.5kg boneless unsmoked gammon joint
- 1 onion, halved
- 2 bay leaves
- 8 black peppercorns
- about 20–30 whole cloves, for studding
- 4 tbsp runny honey (or maple syrup)
- 2 tbsp wholegrain mustard
- 3 tbsp soft dark brown sugar
Method
- If the pack tells you to soak, do so for a few hours; otherwise skip this step.
- Sit the gammon in a large pan with the onion, bay and peppercorns. Cover with cold water, bring to the boil, then skim off any foam.
- Lower to a gentle simmer and cook for 1 hour 30 minutes (20 minutes per 450g plus 20 minutes), keeping it at a bare simmer, not a rolling boil.
- Heat the oven to 190C (170C fan, Gas 5). Lift out the joint, reserving the liquid for soup or stock, and let it cool for a few minutes.
- Peel off the skin, score the fat into diamonds and stud with cloves. Whisk the honey, mustard and sugar and brush over the fat.
- Roast uncovered for 30 minutes until deep gold, brushing with more glaze once or twice. Check the centre reads 75C.
- Rest, loosely tented in foil, for 15 minutes before carving across the grain.
Contains: mustard — and check your gammon and mustard labels for other allergens.
Can you cook gammon in a slow cooker?
Yes, and it is the gentlest, most hands-off method of all. Sit the joint in the slow cooker, half-cover it with water, cider or cola, and cook on low for about 6–7 hours until tender, then glaze and crisp it in a hot oven for 20–30 minutes if you want a shine. It is the route to take when the hob and oven are needed for everything else, or when you are out for the day. A boneless joint that fits your pot is the only requirement; a 1.5kg joint suits most domestic slow cookers.
For the full slow-cooker method, with cola, cider and apple-juice options, a timing table by weight and a make-ahead plan, see our dedicated guide to slow cooker gammon.
A joint that feeds a crowd without costing one
This is the quiet argument for gammon. A 2kg joint serves eight to ten as a main and, at the price of a supermarket own-brand joint, works out at well under a pound a head — a fraction of the cost of beef for the same table. Buy a slightly larger joint than you need and the leftovers are not an afterthought but half the point: cool, cover and refrigerate it within 1–2 hours, in a fridge at 5C or below; eat it cold, or freeze it, within two days (frozen, it keeps about a month, sliced and wrapped). Reheat only once, until piping hot throughout, and do not rely on smell or appearance to judge whether it is safe.
What to do with the leftovers
- Sandwiches — thick-cut ham, good bread, English mustard or a spoon of piccalilli.
- Ham, egg and chips — the honest midweek supper that uses up the offcuts.
- Ham and leek pie, or a carbonara — chopped ham earns its place in both.
- Pea and ham soup — made with the cooking liquid you saved — strain it, cool it quickly and chill it. It is very salty, so taste before adding any salt.
Resting and carving
Rest the joint for 15 minutes under a loose tent of foil before you carve. The meat keeps cooking a little from its own heat and the juices settle back into it, so a rested joint carves into neat, moist slices rather than weeping onto the board. Hold it steady with a fork and carve across the grain in even slices; a long, sharp knife does the work, a blunt one shreds it. Serve the boil-then-roast version hot, with the rest of a proper Sunday lunch around it.
Gammon is happy alongside the usual roast-day company. Our best potatoes for roasting and a tray of tall, crisp Yorkshire puddings turn it into a full Sunday lunch, and if you are cooking for a crowd it sits comfortably next to a weekend roast lamb on a big-table day. Parsley sauce, buttered greens, and a sharp piccalilli or a spoon of mustard are the classic partners.
Gammon questions, answered
How long do you cook a gammon joint?
Simmer it for 20 minutes per 450g (1lb) plus 20 minutes, then glaze and roast for 30 minutes at 190C. A 1kg joint takes about 1 hour 35 minutes in total, a 1.5kg joint about 2 hours, and a 2kg joint about 2 hours 20 minutes.
How long do you boil a 1kg gammon joint?
About 1 hour 5 minutes at a gentle simmer (20 minutes per 450g plus 20 minutes). If you are then roasting it to glaze, give it 30 minutes more in a hot oven.
Do you have to soak a gammon joint before cooking?
Usually not. Most supermarket gammon is mildly cured and needs no soaking; soaking a mild joint only removes flavour. A traditionally cured joint from a butcher may need a few hours in cold water — check the pack or ask.
Should you boil or roast a gammon joint?
Boil then roast for the best result. Simmering cooks it through and keeps it moist; a final 30 minutes in a hot oven sets the glaze and crisps the fat. Boiling alone is ideal for cold ham and sandwiches.
What temperature should gammon be cooked to?
To a core temperature of 75C. That clears the Food Standards Agency’s safe line for pork — 70C held for two minutes — with a comfortable margin. Cured gammon can stay faintly pink even when fully cooked, so check with a digital probe in the thickest part, away from any bone, rather than by colour.
How much gammon do I need per person?
Allow 150–200g of cooked gammon per person for a main course, or less on a buffet. A 2kg joint comfortably serves eight to ten, with leftovers.
Can you cook gammon from frozen?
No — defrost it fully in the fridge first (in a rimmed dish on the bottom shelf so it cannot drip), which can take a day or more for a large joint, then cook within 24 hours. Check the label, as manufacturer instructions take priority. Cooking from frozen risks the centre not reaching a safe temperature.
Why is my gammon too salty?
It was a heavily cured joint that needed soaking. Soak future joints for a few hours in cold water in the fridge before cooking, and avoid adding salt to anything made with the cooking liquid.
How long does a bone-in gammon joint take?
A little longer than boneless, because the bone slows the heat, so lean on the thermometer rather than the clock and allow an extra 15 to 20 minutes, checking that the centre still reaches 75C.
Do you take the rind off gammon?
Yes, but only after cooking. Simmer or roast with the rind on to protect the fat, then peel it away while the joint is still warm, leaving a good layer of fat behind to score and glaze.
Written by Linda Garrould · Updated 19 July 2026 · Food safety checked against FSA guidance
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