Campervan Cooking – Christmas Gammon with Potato Rosti, Glazed Carrots and Baby Marrow

We’re camped on the South Coast of KZN still enjoying the last of the good weather. Now I realise why there are so many Vaalie swallows along the coast. The caravan parks and camp sites are full of old folks escaping the bitter Highveld winter and basking in the balmy warmth of the coast. Every year at about this time, we get together and celebrate “Christmas in July”, making the most of the colder weather and also taking the opportunity to experience eating a festive meal with roaring log fires and frost on the window panes(well there isn’t much frost in Cape Town, just sounded good). It was a chance to cook up one of our all time favorite roasts, gammon, although I would normally do this on a Weber, the Cadac Safari Chef would have to do. Tina decided to make potato rosti and grazed veggies to accompany the gammon, good choice. Although I’ve used Hot English Mustard to coat the gammon, try experimenting with different types until you find your favorite.

The Gammon

Ingredients

A suitable size gammon(in our case 1.1KG). Plan on about 200g of meat per person and make sure you add extra as everyone will be back for seconds.
Hot English Mustard(or whatever you prefer) – enough to lightly coat the gammon.
Brown sugar.

Method

Start by cooking the gammon over a low heat for 30 minutes. This will warm up the fat layer and make it easier to cut away the skin. Once the skin has been removed, coat the gammon in the mustard making sure you cover the whole surface liberally. Sprinkle on the sugar ensure a generous coating. Place the gammon back on the heat and cook according to weight. I normally use a simple formula when cooking on a Weber – 20 minutes per 500g plus 20 minutes. In the case of the Cadac Safari Chef, I used 30 minutes per 500g plus 30 minutes which resulted in a perfectly cooked gammon, still juicy and succulent. I often baste the gammon with either beer or Coke when cooking a roast of 4-5 KG, repeating every hour. This helps to prevent the meat from drying out around the outside, especially if it’s on the bone.

Serve either hot of cold. You’ll have everyone queuing for more.

Please leave your comments and let us know if you has as much fun watching this demo as we had making it.