The Perfect Christmas Ham
At Gamekeepers, you'll find the best Christmas ham in Melbourne and Victoria.
Choose from our Ravens Creek Free-Range Berkshire Ham or our Marque Pork Boneless Ham, both triple-smoked over Victorian Mountain Ash and available in whole or half sizes.
Whether you’re serving a grand centrepiece or a smaller feast, we have the perfect ham for your table.
Watch step-by-step as we score, glaze, and baste a beautiful Ravens Creek Free-Range Berkshire Ham for Christmas. Our signature yet simple glaze delivers a glossy, flavour-packed finished every time. One year, we deviated from this recipe and our kids are still talking about it for all the wrong reasons!
INGREDIENTS
- Ravens Creek Free Range Berkshire Whole Ham (approx. 7kg)
- 800ml orange juice (pulp free)
- 300g brown sugar
- 2 tbsp yellow mustard seeds
- Cloves
- Water when needed
COOKING YOUR GAMEKEEPERS HAM
- Prepare the ham: Remove from fridge 3 hrs prior to cooking or leave out overnight. Using a sharp knife, cut around the shank and lift the skin off in one piece. Score the fat in a diamond pattern (about 5mm deep) and stud each diamond with a clove. Not only is it decorative, but it also creates beautiful pockets of crusty glaze in the corners of each diamond. Line a large roasting pan with baking paper. Cover the hock with aluminium foil to prevent it from burning.
- Making the glaze: In a saucepan, combine orange juice, brown sugar, and mustard seeds. Stir over medium heat until sugar dissolves, then bring to boil. Remove from the heat and pour the glaze evenly over the ham.
- Roast & Baste: Preheat oven to 160°C. Place the ham on the lowest shelf in the oven and roast, basting every 20 mins with the glaze from the pan until golden and sticky. If using a meat thermometer, aim for a core temperature of around 38°C. The ham will take approximately 2hr 30mins to cook. If the glaze in the pan gets too thick, just add a little water to the glaze to loosen it.
- Serving: Remove the ham from the oven and allow to rest. Pour remaining glaze into a jug to serve alongside your delicious ham.
- Storing your ham: Dip your ham bag in a solution of 2 cups cold water and 1 tbsp vinegar. Wring out the bag and place ham inside. Rinse and re-dip in a fresh solution every 3 days to keep the bag moist. Make sure you wash the bag before use. We recommend using a new bag for every new ham.
GAMEKEEPERS MEAT & RAVENS CREEK PORK
Leaving the bone in, is very old-school ham, and done for good reason. Any butcher will tell you they are not only more attractive, they are hands down, more flavourful. We take great pride in the 3 stage smoking process, which cooks the meat at a very low temperature over the Victoria Mountain Ash Wood chips because it really does deliver such a unique eating experience.
Locally sourced Berkshire pork from Ravens Creek Farm, located in Moriac (only 22km west from Geelong). Ravens Creek Farm raise true free range purebred Berkshire pigs - it's what they pride themselves on. They farm without cages or fixed sheds and the farm is completely chemical free. Berkshire pork is prized for its juiciness, flavour and tenderness and you will taste the superior difference.
Our master butchers further enhance this premium pork with a unique three-stage smoking process using Victorian Mountain Ash wood chips, delivering an unparalleled flavour profile. Each ham is crafted from a single pork leg, with no tumbling, emulsifiers, or extenders. The starting weight matches the final product, ensuring exceptional quality in every ham.
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This is an inspirational guide only; recipe details and cooking information are a freestyle cooking process and are not to be taken as exact. Finished results may vary, if looking for a detailed cooking guide we recommend searching for more options on Google.
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