Pork ham

It usually means meat from a pig’s hind leg, but the name can refer to fresh pork or to cured, cooked ham. Check whether the cut is sold raw or ready to eat before preparing it.

Roast it uncovered at 220 °C for 20 minutes, then lower the oven to 160 °C and cook until the centre reaches 70 °C. Rest it for at least 15 minutes before carving so the juices settle.

Add a little stock or water, cover and cook on low until the thickest part reaches 70 °C; a large joint can take several hours. Rest it before slicing, and don’t use a slow cooker for a cured ham unless the product instructions say it is suitable.

Fresh pork ham looks and cooks like an uncured leg joint; cured ham has been salted or brined and may be smoked, cooked or ready to eat. The product description and preparation instructions make the distinction clearer than colour alone.

Pork ham commonly refers to the hind-leg cut, while pork leg can mean the same joint sold fresh rather than cured. Lean pork leg has 136 kcal and 20.5 g protein per 100 g; pork ham has 126 kcal and 25 g protein per 100 g.

Roast pork ham works well with roast potatoes, apple sauce and vegetables such as carrots or cabbage. Leftover cooked ham is useful in pea soup, sandwiches, omelettes and pasta bakes.

Keep raw pork ham covered on the bottom shelf of the fridge and use it by its use-by date, or freeze it while fresh. Refrigerate cooked leftovers promptly in a sealed container and use within two days.

A little pink colour does not reliably show whether pork is safe to eat. For a fresh joint, check the thickest part with a food thermometer and cook it to 70 °C, then rest it for at least two minutes.