Ham, egg and chips

Method

1. Put the gammon, onion, carrot, celery, bay, peppercorns and juniper berries in a large saucepan, then cover with cold water. Put over a low heat and bring to a simmer. Skim off any scum that rises to the surface.
2. Once simmering, turn the heat down as low as it can go. Cook for 2 hours (or 1 hour 30 minutes if cooking 2 smaller pieces of gammon). The lower and slower you cook the ham, the juicier it’ll be. Once cooked, turn off the heat and leave the ham to sit in the water for 30 minutes, then lift it out and leave to cool completely before putting it in the fridge overnight. Reserve a cup of the liquid and save the rest for soup or risottos.
3. To prepare the chips, peel the potatoes and cut them into roughly 1cm batons. Keep them in a large pan of cold salted water while you work to stop them going brown. Once they’re all in the pan, put over a high heat and bring to the boil. Once boiling, set a timer for 4 minutes. Once the time is up, use a slotted spoon to lift the chips out of the water and arrange them on a couple of racks to dry and cool completely.
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4. Heat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan/gas 6. Pour the vegetable oil into 2-3 large roasting trays, then put the trays in the oven for 10 minutes until shimmering hot. Carefully lay the cooled chips into the hot trays of oil, taking care not to overcrowd them, then season well with salt. Put the trays back into the hot oven and cook for 20-25 minutes, turn them over, then return for another 20 minutes. After this time remove any chips that are cooked and perfectly golden on all sides to a rack; leave any that aren’t quite there yet to finish for another few minutes. Leave the chips to cool, spread out over trays. You’ll reheat them before serving.
5. Turn the heat up to 220°C/200°C fan/gas 7. Put the golden syrup, molasses and mustard in a saucepan with a splash of the reserved stock, then warm through, stirring until combined – this is your glaze. Cut off any string tied around the gammon, then slice off the rubbery skin, leaving a decent amount of fat behind. Score the fat of the gammon however you wish, then line a tray with foil, put a rack in it and put the meat on the rack.
6. Pour about 5cm hot water into the tray, cover the gammon with foil and cook for 20 minutes. Remove the foil on top, discard the water in the bottom of the tray, then liberally brush the glaze all over the top of the gammon (you probably won’t need it all). Return to the oven uncovered for another 15 minutes, then baste with more glaze and any juices in the bottom of the tray. Return for another 10-15 minutes, repeat the basting, then return to the oven until the gammon is a deep golden brown. Leave to rest while you reheat the chips and fry the eggs.
7. To reheat the chips, turn the oven down to 170°C/150°C fan/gas 3½ and return them to their trays. Put the trays in the oven for 10 minutes or so.
8. I am not a big believer in some of the methods for frying lots of eggs – unfortunately I think you should just embrace the fact that you have to fry them to order. Put 2 large non-stick frying pans over a medium heat. Crack the eggs into ramekins to make it easier to add them all at the same time, if you like.
9. Divide the butter between the pans with a drizzle of oil. Once sizzling, add 3 eggs to each pan. Let them sizzle and fry, basting them as much as you can. They may go brown and crisp – that’s great! Once cooked, season with salt and pepper.
10. Carve the ham into 2cm slices and divide among plates. Pile on the chips and an egg per person, then let your guests add their favourite sauces and condiments.