It is so incredibly easy to fall into the habit of getting one of those perfectly cylindrical gammon joints from a supermarket; They come without fat, smoked and unsmoked and generally so much cheaper than the alternatives.

However, in doing so, you are missing out on some exceptional cuts of meat. I’m all about going for the cheaper option where it makes sense with things like non-branded pasta or drinking squash for instance. Sometimes meat does vary in quality and not just in the sense of organic or free-range or grass-fed etc but in terms of the results you get after cooking it and the overall satisfaction that comes with texture and flavour.

So when I went to the butchers recently I spotted that they had gammon steaks on offer but I also seen them having a couple of different types of gammon joints. They had some slightly bigger ones that were different cuts but they also had something that I had honestly never heard of before called a slipper joint. The name made me chuckle as it made me think of the cosy things you put on your feet in winter. This was the smallest one that they had and came in at just over £11 but as you can see when cooked it provided so many portions of meat.

The thing that I enjoy about something like this is that getting it from the butchers it isn’t anywhere near as salty, and of course comes unsmoked too, but also every bite is melt in the mouth fantastic. It obviously has that layer of fat across the top that when seasoned up well and after being uncovered after a while of initial cooking crisped up into a light crunch brilliantly but there isn’t any other fat running through the meat itself.

After scoring the top fat and already having my oven preheated to 180c (355f) I went for seasoning mine with salt, pepper and paprika and drizzled some oil across it. This size piece takes around two hours to cook but I checked mine nearer to one hour and 45 minutes and was satisfied it was cooked enough to take it out and let it rest.

Storage And Eating Tips

If you wont be serving all of this up at once, because you’re trying to bulk cook or simply don’t have a table full of people to cook for, fear not this stores amazingly in the fridge. I usually let mine cool completely and then carve it all up and store it that way. I put mine into an air-tight container but if you intend to finish it the next day you could just wrap it tightly in some foil as well.

You don’t even have to be eating it that day. If you want to give yourself something for sandwiches for lunch or have some with some potatoes and vegetables for lunches over a number of days this works perfectly. Of course so does chicken but it’s good to mix things up sometimes. This is a fantastic option for doing some Sunday meal prep or makes it feel that bit more worth going to so much effort if you can have such a versatile item for leftovers.

As well as simple sandwiches and just popping it with potatoes and vegetables you can be incredibly creative with ways to use it; Pies, mac and cheese, with pasta, in soup, as a hash (instead of corned beef) or even chopping it thinly in place of bacon in a carbonara.

What’s the one cut of meat you like getting most from a butchers or if you could go to a butchers, if you don’t have one near you, what would be the first change you’d make?