Meadowsweet smoked ham with pickled cherries

Recipe

To pickle the cherries, combine the vinegar, sugar and 150g water in a pan. Gently heat until the sugar has dissolved. Remove from the heat and allow to cool before adding the cherries. Refrigerate overnight to pickle.

To cook the ham, preheat the FORCE or FURNACE grill (with grill plates on both sides) and one gas ring on low (aim for 150-160C/302-320F). Add the pomegranate juice, golden syrup and Sherry vinegar to a pan large enough to hold the gammon and bring to a gentle simmer. Place the gammon into the pan skin side up so that at least half of it is submerged. Cover the pan with greaseproof paper and tin foil, then place the pan on the cold side of the grill. Turn the ham every 30 minutes. After 1.5 hours, an internal temperature of 68C/154F should read when probed. At this time, remove the pan from the grill and allow the ham to rest in the liquid for at least 30 minutes.

To smoke the ham, turn the burner of the grill to full. Put the smoke chips onto a piece of tin foil and place on the hot side of the grill – and heat until they begin to smoke, then return the pan with the ham and juice to the cold side of the grill and smoke for 5 minutes with the lid closed. Adjust the heat as necessary to maintain a gentle flow of smoke from the back of the grill. Add the meadowsweet to the smoke chips and smoke for a further 5 minutes. Remove the ham and allow to cool. Serve with the pickled cherries.

This is a Heston Blumenthal Recipe