OMG! This could be serious!

2013 ??? Oh dear, I AM going away now.

The date should have read Dec 13. Sorry,

Phoenix, having nothing else to do , I looked for a reference to your Gammon ode. I found a posting, under Anne, mentioned and dated Tues, 17 Dec , 17-17-37. This was requested after the post of the previous year??? Would this be right(ish). I now have to go and put my gammon in the slow cooker, ready for son descending tomorrow lunchtime. Wish me luck in getting it in.

Now its my turn, I went to the Farm Shop to collect pre-ordered gammon, sausages etc etc. Shop assistant did say You've got a big gammon joint here', but alarm bells didn't ring. DH carried the bag out to the car so it was only when I got home and lifted out of the bag that I looked at the size.

It weighs 5kgs. I usually order 3kgs or 5lbs. I suspect it was a question of my untidy writing being misread. Like Phoenix I do not have a big enough saucepan but I have decided to cut it in half and put half into the freezer for a Sunday joint for later in January when we have visitors.

DD has stated that she is willing to come to my aid and take the 'spare' joint home with her after Christmas, I think it is called 'cupboard love'!

I have just bought one, it's in the fridge whilst I think about it


It'll never fit in the slow cooker nor in my largest pan so it will have to be the oven.

Mine just fits in the pressure cooker so I'll be soaking it tonight and doing the works tomorrow.

All the baking is done and in the freezer so......nearly there.

Haven't picked mine up yet, so am hoping it fits in jam pan. I always boil it for half the allotted time and then roast it for the rest.

BTW, if anyone can find out when I first posted the "Cursing the Gammon" thing, I would appreciate it!

I know it was revived last Christmas, but can't for the life of me find it's first outing.

Nelliemoser I still eat tongue but it's not something you find much where I live. If I spot some sliced tongue in my local butchers I always buy a pack and eat it all myself!

Diggingdoris: I haven't tried cooking in orange juice and water but I do use orange marmalade to glaze my gammon. Absolutely delicious.

13lb? shock Your slow cooker must be larger than mine!

It's a really old one - 20+ years - from Argos. It's much deeper than the ones you get theses days

Buy a bigger slow cooker! Or do what Crafting said - don't let the flippin' thing win!
Seriously, as long as it not the size of half a pig, if it only just peeps over the top, you could put some tinfoil tightly over the top of the gammon - a sort of substitute lid. Then as it shrinks keep bashing it you may be able to get the slow cooker lid on. You might get a bit of overflow of whatever you're using as liquid (I use cider), but that has worked for me when I've got a bit over enthusiastic.
Don't forget to let us know what you do decide! Merry Christmas

In answer to the question - No, we don't. Offal used to be popular but I never eat it now.

My dad used to make that Nelliemoser, and something he called brawn which I think he chopped and set in jelly in a cake tin. Was it called brawn?

In the days before I was a vegetarian and "mad cow disease" I used to cook ox tongue and press it. I did mine in the pressure cooker. It worked very well.
Does anyone eat tongue anymore?

Well Iam64 there will be 6 here on Christmas Eve and we are definitely having an Indian take away! I was about to suggest this to you and then I got to the end of your post...........Two great minds, eh?

best of luck with the gammon phoenix. We have family staying on Christmas Eve and my dilemma is whether to have our usual Christmas Eve evening of eating jacket spuds with slices a ham and a vegetable/coleslaw or similar. Easy to do but - will our young and food loving visitors eat the lot, leaving us nothing to snack on over the following days. Do we have a take away from the very excellent Indian restaurant down the road?

I think it will just about be alright if I keep an eye on it and top it up every so often.

I definitely do NOT want another slow cooker for Christmas, I'm worried enough about what he migh have bought as it is!

We went a bit bonkers with the gammon this year, too, and it is a big beast. I will braise it in the oven in a large foil turkey tray, surrounded by chopped veg. Half of it will, I hope, go home with my SiL on Boxing Day, otherwise we will still be eating it next Christmas! Why on earth do we do these things?

I always pressure cook it, the pressure cooker is plenty big enough and the and the glaze finished in the oven for 20 mins or so.

Can’t have one, husband is on a low salt diet so just buy a couple of slices for myself

13lb?

Your slow cooker must be larger than mine!

Do remember to turn on the slow cooker. Two Christmases ago we had a guest. We enjoyed the starter and main course, went to get the pudding out of the slow cooker where it had been steaming all morning I hadn't turned it on. A blast in the oven seemed to work! Tasted fine.

Your DH might buy you a bigger slow cooker this year if you moan enough.

How big is it?

Last year I cut my 6kg (13lb) gammon in half and stuffed it into the slow cooker. I could not get the lid on but made a snug lid with kitchen foil and it worked really well.

I have also invested in a 10 litre pan from IKEA in case it doesn't fit this year