How-to with ham

Whether it’s your first or your fourteenth ham, our never-fail tips will have you scoring and carving your leg like a pro.

Removing the rind

Using a small sharp knife, cut through the rind 10cm from the shank end of the leg. Lift rind off in one piece by running your thumb around edge of rind under the skin; pull from the widest edge of the ham up to the shank. Remove the rind completely.

Where to start

Place the ham on a chopping board and steady it with a carving fork. Using a large sharp knife, make a vertical cut toward the bone at the shank end then cut a small wedge of ham and remove it. This will provide you with a greater surface area for carving.

Scoring the fat

Using a large sharp knife, score across the fat at about 1-2cm intervals, following the curve of the ham, and cutting just through the surface of the top fat. Do not cut too deeply or the fat will spread apart during cooking.

How to slice

Carve towards the ham bone, taking long sweeps with the knife to get long slices. The pieces of ham will increase in size as you carve. It is best to carve only as much ham as you need at a time, or the meat will dry out.