Christmas in South Africa is guaranteed to be a scorcher and Coca-Cola Beverages Southern Africa (CCBSA) is sure to be a part of many families’ Festive Season celebrations.
Coca-Cola has been part of the South African culture since 1940 when the first bottling plant opened in Port Elizabeth and through the years avid cooks have found innovative ways to incorporate this drink in their cooking.
This year Christmas lunch will have a special tang to it thanks to the Coca-Cola used in the cooking of the gammon. Polokwane Observer tried this recipe and gave it full marks for flavour and versatility.
Ingredients
3 kg gammon
4 litres Coca-Cola
1 onion halved
2 celery stalks cut into pieces
6 peppercorns
Method:
Place the gammon in large pot, cover with water and bring it to the boil. Discard the water, place it back in the pot and cover with the
Coca-Cola. Add the onion, peppercorns and celery. Bring this to the boil and then turn the stove plate to its lowest setting and simmer. A good rule of thumb is to let the meat simmer 20 minutes for every 500 g of gammon.
Preheat the oven to 200 °C or 180 °C if the oven is fan assisted
Glaze:
4 tbs honey
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tbs soy sauce
1 tbs English mustard powder (I used Dijon)
2 tbs brown sugar
Method:
Mix all of the glaze ingredients in a small pot and heat until it comes together in a thick glaze. Remove the gammon from the liquid once it is cooled and peel off the outer skin. Score the fat diagonally to create a diamond shaped pattern. Brush the glaze over the gammon, place in the oven and bake for 20 to 30 minutes, checking it regularly to ensure it doesn’t burn. Baste two to three times with the left-over glaze. Allow to cool and place in a refrigerator to serve chilled with salad on a hot Christmas day. The leftovers, if there are any, are great to use as sandwich filling and as a quick sneaky snack between meals.
Story: MARKI FRANKEN
>>marki.observer@gmail.com
Featured photo: Use Coca-Cola to give this year’s Christmas gammon a unique flavour. (photo internet)
