Grilled gammon steaks with caramelised black pepper pineapple recipe

By Debbie Major

Serves 4
Ready in an hour (plus soaking, if necessary)
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Rating

This is tasty served with some boiled potatoes tossed in butter and parsley, and some steamed spinach, Swiss chard or watercress.

Grilled gammon steaks with caramelised black pepper pineapple

Ingredients

4 x 150g gammon steaks, cut 1cm thick
1 medium-sized pineapple, weighing about 1kg
175g caster sugar, plus 4 extra heaped tsp
1/2 tsp black peppercorns
25g butter, melted

Method

1. Test if the steaks are salty by frying a small piece in a pan until cooked. If they are salty, cover with plenty of cold water and leave to soak for 1 hour. Drain, dry well and then snip along the rind and fatty edge at intervals to stop the steaks curling up as they cook.
2. Slice off the top and the bottom of the pineapple and then stand it upright on a board. Cut away the skin, trying to take away with it as many of the little black eyes as you can. Hook out those that get left behind with the tip of a small, sharp knife. Then slice into 1cm thick slices and remove the core using an apple corer or a small, plain pastry or biscuit cutter.
3. Slowly bring 500ml cold water and 175g of the sugar to the boil in a medium pan. Add the pineapple and simmer for 5 minutes, until just tender. Carefully lift out with a slotted spoon, drain well on kitchen paper and place on a baking tray. Boil the remaining liquid rapidly until reduced to 250ml. Set aside.
4. Put the peppercorns into a mortar or coffee mug and crush with a pestle or the end of a rolling pin until coarsely ground. Preheat the grill to high.
5. Put the steaks onto the rack of a grill pan and brush both sides with the melted butter. Grill for 3-4 minutes each side until cooked through and the fat is crisp. Remove, cover with foil and leave somewhere warm – leave the grill on.
6. Sprinkle each pineapple slice with a good pinch of crushed black pepper and 1 teaspoon of the remaining caster sugar. Grill for 4-5 minutes, or until nicely browned and caramelised. Remove and drizzle with a little of the reduced pineapple syrup. (Save the rest for a dessert.)
7. To serve, lift the gammon steaks onto warmed plates and top with caramelised pineapple slices and syrup.