Does anyone on North America know about gammon and how long to sous vide it?
I’ve googled recipes and it ranges from 5 hrs at 65C to 12 hrs at 60 C
Please help.
Gammon is essentially raw ham. Do you have a full leg or part? Time will depend on what cut you have.
Thank you for the reply.
It is a boneless smoked gammon. 3.2kg. So it’s part of a leg.
In sous vide cooking thickness is the important thing rather than weight.
We had a post about cooking gammon not long ago which might help you. Here
Elcycad, that’s a challenging hunk of meat for a SV cook. We don’t usually recommend SV cooking meat thicker than 70mm. If it’s thicker being smoked might grant you some latitude.
You’re looking for Community help, not guesswork, so why don’t you disclose your expected outcome or the meat’s thickness? Do you want it cooked to fall-apart status or be able to slice it? The higher recipe temperature will approach the former if you cook it longer. Cooking at 60C could leave a little pink colour in the centre but it will be very tender. Will that pink bother you or your guests?
Is this cut anything like german eisbein? I have had it on several occasions cooked all day with sauerkraut but done in a crock pot.
I’m hoping SV will provide me with a tender, juicy gammon that’s easily sliced.
It’s an oval shape probably about 25cm longitudinally and about 13cm in the lateral dimension. ( roughly size and shape of a football).
After SV I will place it in the oven to crisp up.
I’m not comfortable with it being pink in the centre for pork. Lamb / beef , yes, but certainly not pork.
I’m leaning towards 65* C for about 6-7hrs, …any thoughts?
It’s an expensive piece of meat and I don’t want to mess it up especially since my method of boiling it for 20/mins per pound is a tried and trusted method and my family might roll their eyes up at me for wanting to try this SV machine.
Although, if I don’t use it and keep using my tried and trusted methods, then what did I but this machine for…?
Elcycad, there’s something to be said for your tried and true technique and that’s flavour and relaxed family members. Although i wouldn’t boil it, just gently simmer with aromatic vegetables and herbs for a delicious result.
Consistency in your cooking is an admirable culinary trait, particularly with family favourites. You bought your Anova for smaller pieces of tougher meat. That’s its most significant benefit.
Since you want juicy don’t cook at any higher temperature than 65C.
62C will be juicier without the pink. I’d lean towards a few more hours, up to about 12, to ensure you achieve thorough heat diffusion and resulting tenderness.
What are you going to crisp, fat or meat?
Take care you don’t undo what you achieve in your SV cook.
Aahhh…now we’re getting closer to something to what I want to achieve. 
That’s true, I certainly don’t want to undo what the SV has achieved. I want to crisp up the fat and allow the glacé to “stick”
Also, the idea of starting the SV process 12 hrs prior to crispiing up the fat is great in terms of stress free( provided it turns out well…lol). Also, I can time it to perfection to when it reaches the table on Christmas Day.
I cook gammon quite often. I would soak the gammon for 24 hours to reduce the salt. Then vacuum seal it and cook for 24hrs @ 65C. I usually cook a 1Kg leg for 8 hours. Remove from SV and cut off skin leaving some fat then hot oven (220C Fan) for 15-20 mins.
Consider some aromatics for the cook, ginger ale or honey. I like a to heat redcurrant jelly and smoked paprika as a baste for the oven cook.
Is the gammon that you cook smoked as well? De-boned?
Gammon is cured, so it’s going to be pink anyway no matter what temperature you choose. But I wish people would get out of the mindset that pork must be cooked to deathly white. That is a remnant from the deep past.
It won’t be white from over cooking but I’m cautious re: tapeworm
Not unless it’s wild/feral.
At Christmas this is exactly what I would cook. Remember it hard to overcook. You need to leave it cooking to ensure the whole joint reaches 65c. This is more to do with the thickness of the joint than the weight.
65C is not required.
Thank you everyone for the input. I dont feel confident about sous vide gammon so I will revert to my trusted old school method instead.
Confidence in your cooking is important.
I frequently recommend starting with small items to gain confidence in SV cooking.
And keep a journal of your experimentation.
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Ill be SV a small 1.4KG smoked gammon joint tomorrow for christmas dinner (to go along with the turkey) not done one before so hoping it turns out fine, i plan to SV it for 6ish hours at 65C.