Corin Earland, head chef, the Fishes, North Hinksey, Oxfordshire
A gammon joint was a new challenge for Corin Earland, but he enjoyed devising experimental dishes, including slow-cooked green gammon in Guinness with buttered greens and slow-roasted apple, ham and Cheddar soufflé with tomato fondue and ham, and cheddar and mushroom Kiev with wild rocket.
Corin says: "We've had ham hocks on our menu and used gammon on our lunchtime menu express offers, but nothing like this.
"It was challenging to steer away from traditional dishes. I was pleased that some wacky ideas worked. We made eight to 12 portions of each dish and sold everything."
Other dishes devised in the two-week trial included a honey and mustard-glazed ham hock, pea purée and parsley sauce and bacon steak with bubble and squeak, poached eggs and Hollandaise sauce, as well as glazed baked gammon, fat chips and poached eggs.
"We welcomed customers' involvement - they gave us great feedback and enjoyed the variety."
Corin seam-butchered the muscles on the first green gammon leg to increase the options.
"We used the top cap of the leg pave and slow-cooked it in cider. Next time round, we slow-cooked the meat in Guinness, after marinating it in stout with brown sugar. We roasted the apples and took the skin off the ham to make a nice bit of crackling.
"Our ham, Cheddar and mushroom Kievs went down very well - the gammon was rolled and breaded, flash-fried and carved to allow the sauce to ooze on to the plate."
The second leg was braised slowly for three to four hours in cider and orange and the carved ham used as one of the meats on the Fishes' speciality sharing boards.
"We used the same ham in our soufflés - people liked the classic cheese and ham combination done differently.
"It was also good for profit margins - a whole leg cost £60.
"We made 10 paves at £11 each - so it paid for itself to start with."
But the butchering-down process produced one unexpected outcome.
"The quality was perfect, but the further I went into the leg, the more bitty the meat became. It's a struggle to utilise everything to make 10 or 12 portions from each dish. Next time I'll speak to my butcher to make sure I get the cuts I want."
Corin's ham menu
Slow-cooked green gammon in Guinness with buttered greens and slow-roasted apple;
Ham and Cheddar soufflé with tomato fondue;
Ham, Cheddar and mushroom Kiev with wild rocket.
Gammon poached in cider with wholegrain mustard mash, pea and cider broth
Ingredients
Mirepoix
1 onion
2 leeks
1 garlic
4 celery sticks
½ bunch of
parsley
3 sprigs of thyme
4 x 225g/ 8oz gammon steaks,
rind on
100g/3½ oz frozen peas
4 pints dry cider
For the mustard mash
1kg/ 2¼lb Maris Piper potatoes, peeled, cut, boiled and mashed
50g/1 ½oz butter
100ml cream
2tbsp wholegrain
mustard
Method
Roughly cut mirepoix; put with gammon paves in large pan and cover with cider; top up with water if required. Place in pre-heated oven at 120°C and cook for 45 minutes to 1 hour. Allow gammon to cool in stock to prevent from drying out. When cool, remove meat and pass stock; reduce by half. Remove skin from cooled gammon and salt lightly. Bake in hot oven for 10 minutes until crispy. Slice gammon into three pieces; place small knob of butter on top; cover with foil; put back in hot oven and allow 10 minutes to heat. Heat mash, cream, butter and beat until smooth. Add mustard at the end. Reheat stock and add peas at last minute and parsley to finish.
