I hope this is the right place to put a query re cooking? Apologies if it isn't and feel free to move it. Hoping someone can come up with an idea re a dreadfully salty bit of Gammon I cooked last night. Usually I boil my Gammon and not roast it in the oven but this piece had only a thin piece of fat on it so I thought it might be nice/a change to roast it a la the instructions on the packaging. Well it was a change alright. Gawd it's salty, I roasted the piece as instructed for 3 hours (large bit of Gammon). It looked very nice when I took off the silver foil and it sliced beautifully. Then we came to eat it. Hellish. None of us could eat it as it was so incredibly salty and I like salty food but not like this. Obviously the meat is now cooked through. It's currently in the fridge. Could I simmer it in a big pan of water for say an hour in the hope some of the salt washes out? Add Potates to the water as they are good at attracting salt evidently? Any other suggestions? If there is nothing that can be done I think my only course of action would be to take it back to the shop and ask for my money back as it is inedible IMO as is. I could I suppose cut chunks off, soak in water for a while and then add them to some kind of sauce with NO salt added and see if that makes the meat edible. Any advice appreciated. In all my years of cooking (not my favourite occupation but necessary evil I suppose) i have never tasted such salty Gammon.
I was going to suggest boil it with potatoes as a chef friend of mine said potatoes draw out salt, but you've already mentioned that. The only other thing I can think of is to smash it up and use it in soup. Then where you'd normally add salt to bring out the flavour of the other ingredients, especially if using barley or broth mix, just don't add the salt. Let the excess salt from the salt bring out the flavours instead.
Not a bad idea @clueless1 thanks. I'll freeze the remains and add bits of it to my winter routine of making Lentil soup. Lentil soup always tastes best if I have used a Ham bone for making the stock. Talking of Lentil soup, just a tip for those who don't already know it (discovered a year or so ago many of my friends didn't). The taste of the red lentils is much much better/stronger if you fry them before you add the stock. Fry then in butter or veg oil until they change colour but keep stirring otherwise they can easily stick and change colour far too much to black!!!!. Burnt Lentils are NOT what are required, not that I've ever done that.
In Alabama it was/is quite common to give a ham hock as a Christmas present. As they are typically salty, we always soaked them in ginger ale which we found better than soda. http://www.justapinch.com/groups/discuss/3733/a-fix-for-ham-that-is-too-salty/ Hope this helps 'save the bacon'.
Thank you so much @Victoria. I followed your link and read the comments by loads of people who had used the method or versions of. I have a fairly elderly large bottle of Lemonade in the cupboard that was doing not a lot. It is now being used as a "bath" for the salty Gammon and in the fridge to soak until tomorrow. it works and we can eat at least some of the Gammon cold with a salad tomorrow for supper. If it doesn't I'm on strike in the kitchen and ordering a carry out!
You just need to soak the joint overnight in water, change the water before retiring for the night though.
