181/18 – Gammon Mac and Cheese:
Eric Gephart from Kamado Joe got in touch recently to ask if I would be interested in cooking a Xmas themed dish on my Kamado Joe. Sounded like a great idea and it didn’t take us long to pick our traditional Xmas Eve dish of Ginger Glazed Ham with Smoked Mac and Cheese (or Gammon Mac and Cheese for short!).
I cooked this last Xmas:
The recipe is by Nigella and is in her Christmas cookbook but can also be found online: https://www.nigella.com/recipes/ginger-glazed-ham
The Prep:
I have the new Kamado Joe fire basket in my Big Joe, it’s been in there a while now and has made a massive difference. I will write up a review at some point.
Into the fire basket went a load of Holm Oak from London Log Co. I lit a couple of flamers, covered them with a few big bits of charcoal then shut the lid and left it to heat up.
Two gammon joints from Puddledub Pork. They were about 1.5kg each and cost about £30 total. They were boiled in ginger ale for 45 minutes (bigger joints need longer) the skin was removed and the meat was then covered with a glaze of ginger preserve, English mustard, ground cloves (Steenbergs – £2.60 for 35g) and soft, brown sugar.
The Cook:
Once the Kamado Joe was at 200c it was time to put the food in. The sheer size of the grilling surface in the Big Joe never fails to amaze me. Two gammon joints and a massive dish of mac and cheese fitted in with no issues. You can also run another level below and an extender shelf if required!
The Mac and Cheese recipe was Nigella’s Mac and Cheese De-Luxe which is in the Christmas book but is also online again: http://blueskyandbunting.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/macaroni-cheese-de-luxe.html – Just as a slight tweak we add a bit of ground nutmeg. This one went in the BBQ for 45 minutes as the Gammon was cooking. Oak and Cherry chunks added to the fire to add some smoke.
The Mac and Cheese was coming on well.
After 45 minutes everything was looking fantastic! Great bit of colour on everything and the smells were awesome.
Oh yes!
The colour of the gammon was unreal, I was looking forward to slicing it.
Here is the other gammon joint. 
Time to Eat:
Meat sliced, Mac and Cheese on the plate. 
SUMMARY:
I do love this meal, really simple to cook but tastes so good. A nice one to have on Xmas eve and you have plenty of leftovers to go with your turkey leftovers on Xmas day evening and Boxing day too.
The gammon was very nice, really juicy with a nice hint of smoke to it. The Mac and Cheese was good as always and we ended up going back for seconds of both the gammon and the mac and cheese!
As always, the Kamado Joe was a dream to cook on. Simple to light, easy to get to temperature and it just sat at 200c without me touching it! The Holm Oak from London Log Co is very, very good. Easy to light, minimal smoke on lighting, quick to heat up, burns hot but also burns slowly. Smells great too!
| Cook Difficulty: | 2/5 |
| Cook Duration: | Short: 2/5 |
| Cook Equipment: | Kamado Joe Big Joe |
| Cook Method: | Indirect |
| Charcoal: | London Log Co Holm Oak |
| Smoking Wood: | Oak and Cherry |
| Cook temperature: | 200c |
| Cook time: | 45 minutes |
| Internal temperature: | 70c |
| Notes: | No major changes |
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