Rescuing a slow cooked gammon - stock error.
Discussion
Problem - stock has a very strong clove flavour and too salty. Had planned to make pea and ham soup using the stock as a base...but this isn't going to happen now. Joint is cooked but the stock has left strong clove flavours to it.
I haven't cooked a gammon joint before to-day, but thought it was time I did. Read up via google various options of how to cook it. Decided on using the slowcooker 1 hour on high then 4 on low as I was going out midday.
It was an unsmoked gammon and I presoaked it in cold water for a few hours to be rid of the salt. Laid a small bed of Bramley apple slices in the slow cooker, added a handful of cloves, couple of bayleaves and a few peppercorns. Covered the bottom with boiling water to the midway level of the apple slices...and then left it to cook.
Reason why I did this was because so many recipes suggest studding the ham with cloves, and I've seen the TV progs where they seem to be plastered all over the gammon. I don't have an aversion to cloves I usually mix them with Bramley apples to make an apple pie or crumble and they're delicious.
I can't quite see where I went wrong - hopefully someone else will be able to tell me...and possibly how to lessen the stock effect
I haven't cooked a gammon joint before to-day, but thought it was time I did. Read up via google various options of how to cook it. Decided on using the slowcooker 1 hour on high then 4 on low as I was going out midday.
It was an unsmoked gammon and I presoaked it in cold water for a few hours to be rid of the salt. Laid a small bed of Bramley apple slices in the slow cooker, added a handful of cloves, couple of bayleaves and a few peppercorns. Covered the bottom with boiling water to the midway level of the apple slices...and then left it to cook.
Reason why I did this was because so many recipes suggest studding the ham with cloves, and I've seen the TV progs where they seem to be plastered all over the gammon. I don't have an aversion to cloves I usually mix them with Bramley apples to make an apple pie or crumble and they're delicious.
I can't quite see where I went wrong - hopefully someone else will be able to tell me...and possibly how to lessen the stock effect
The only way to nullify the effect of the cloves will be to dilute the stock further. best option is probably chicken stock but I suspect you will need quite a high ratio of chicken to ham to make it palatable. Cloves are very, very strong when used is cooking as you have discovered. When you see a ham studded with cloves these have been added after the ham is cooked and only get added to the fat before it is glazed.
21TonyK said:
. When you see a ham studded with cloves these have been added after the ham is cooked and only get added to the fat before it is glazed.
...and that is where I went wrong 
The ham and clove stock isn't recoverable at all - the cooked ham will have to go with a strong cheese sauce to make sure it's not wasted.
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