Slow Cooker gammon or bacon has to be the easiest way to cook these joints. And it produces the most tender, succulent gammon I’ve ever made. It’s almost not a recipe – bung a few things in the pot, turn it on and go to work (or play).

Slow Cooker Gammon

This page may have some affiliate links. For more information see the Disclosure Page.

Slow cooker gammon may not look glamorous, but add mashed potato and broad beans, a fried egg and chips, or macaroni cheese and you have one of the tastiest meals I can think of. And, if you choose a big enough joint there is enough left for sandwiches, salads or to eat cold with any of the above accompaniments for a second day. It’s always worth buying a bigger joint in my book.

The only thing that makes a gammon joint better than this is to roast it for 30 minutes after it’s cooked for about half the time. When I cook a large piece of gammon at Christmas, I either do that or just roast it. Roast meat has a denser texture than just boiling it (in the slow cooker or not), but for every day this slow cooker gammon is brilliant because it takes very little effort and it’s very forgiving of an extra hour or two if you’re running late.

The texture that you get is dependent on the joint that you buy. Strictly speaking, gammon is from the hind leg and is usually less fatty. Middle gammon will give you the best shape of joint for slicing but it’s also the most expensive. If you want a really large joint, you need gammon. You really want the meat to be dry-cured, which gives a closer texture. Some cheaper types of bacon that are wet-cured may have up to 10% brine injected without declaring it on the contents – so beware!

I’ve used ginger ale for my cooking liquid. I tend to keep a litre bottle in, for just such an occasion. If I’ve only got cans, I would use 2 or 3 and make up the difference with hot water. You could use 250ml apple juice and top up with hot water, or use cider. Either way, a bouquet garni – or just peppercorns, cloves and a bay leaf are all the extra flavour that’s needed.

I often forget about my slow cooker for months. Partly because it’s not in sight, but also because I associate it with cold weather food and then forget altogether. The two things I always make in the slow cooker are chicken or turkey stock and mulled wine, so at least it gets a few outings a year.

More Slow Cooker Recipes

I decided to have a month of slow cooker/ crockpot recipes, and these will all be One-Step recipes, i.e. put everything in and let it cook. These are perfect for starting off in the morning and leaving all day. Another time I’ll look at recipes where you brown the ingredients first, but for me, those are weekend recipes when I have more time for prep.

The easiest recipe of all though, is this Slow Cooker Gammon, so give it a go for a hot meal one day and cold ham another.

Helpful Tools

Slow Cooker – see 5 Points to consider when buying a Slow Cooker

My slow cooker is quite old now and has a ceramic dish that isn’t dishwasher-proof. I suppose that makes it a Crock-Pot. It also has rather a large footprint, so I thought I’d look at modern pots to see what’s on offer. Unfortunately, I was paralysed into inaction by the enormous choice available. When I first bought one, all I had to do was decide the make and size. I went for the upmarket model that had an AUTO function, which starts off on HIGH and then switches to LOW. I cook almost everything on that. There isn’t a timer, but that didn’t ever bother me as things don’t really overcook on the lower heat setting.

Nowadays slow cookers have a whole host of options such as a timer, a KEEP WARM setting – sometimes that’s automatic, sometimes not. Some inner dish can go on the hob for browning, some controls are digital. The list goes on. So I decided to borrow my daughter’s crock-pot, which has digital controls and a timer and a glass lid to see how that went. The net result is 5 Points to consider when buying a Slow Cooker.

Slow Cooker Liner – not essential, but keeps the cooker clean.

Slow Cooker Gammon

Author: Everyday Cooks
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 8 hours
Total Time: 8 hours 10 minutes
Yield: 4-8 servings 1x

Print Recipe

Description

You will need:

Slow cooker (or crock-pot)

Scale

Ingredients

1–2kg gammon or bacon joint
1 litre ginger ale
1 bouquet garni
- 12 peppercorns,
- 1 bay leaf,
- 3 cloves

Instructions

Put the gammon joint and bouquet garni or herbs and spices in the slow cooker
Heat the ginger ale in the microwave for about 4 minutes
- You want it to be hottish, definitely not boiling
- You can use 500ml ginger ale and 500ml boiling water
Pour the ginger ale over the gammon
Put the lid on and cook on LOW for 8-10 hours

Notes

Everyday Cooks tips:

Gammon and bacon joints:

Dry-cured gammon/bacon has a closer texture
Wet-cured gammon/bacon is cheaper but may contain up to 10% injected brine without declaring it (in the UK and EU)
Gammon is from the hind leg, bacon comes from anywhere else.
A bigger joint, e.g. 2kg will give you enough for at least 2 days meals – one hot and one cold – with extra for sandwiches etc

Serve with:

Fried egg and chips
Mashed potato and broad beans
Macaroni cheese

Variations:

Use cider instead of ginger ale OR
Use 250ml apple juice and 750ml hot water.

Category: Dinner
Method: Slow Cooker
Cuisine: British

Keywords: easy, crockpot, slow cooker, ham

Slow Cooker Gammon