Gordon Ramsay’s gammon steaks taste like a Christmas ham without the three-hour joint. Thick steaks glazed in treacle on a smoking griddle, charred pineapple on top, crispy potatoes in a gunpowder spice mix beside them. About 20 minutes.
The recipe is printed in Ramsay in 10 as Treacle-Glazed Gammon Steaks with Grilled Pineapple and Gunpowder Potatoes. His headnote sells the shortcut honestly: the Christmas ham flavour “without the rigmarole of boiling and roasting a joint for hours”.
The knife work decides the crackling. The rind comes off, then scissors snip into the fat at 5mm intervals. Ramsay’s chef’s tip explains why: the cuts let heat penetrate the meat, and the snipped fat crisps into crackling instead of curling the steak off the pan.
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Gordon Ramsay Treacle-Glazed Gammon Steaks
Course: DinnerCuisine: BritishDifficulty: Easy4
servings5
minutes15
minutes635
kcal20 min
Gammon steaks from Ramsay in 10 with charred pineapple and five-pepper gunpowder potatoes. The closest thing to a Christmas ham a Tuesday night allows.
Ingredients
600g (1 lb 5 oz) new potatoes, or leftover cooked potatoes
4 x 200g (7 oz) thick-cut gammon steaks or boneless pork loin chops
2 tbsp olive oil or rapeseed oil, plus extra for frying
4 fresh pineapple fingers or slices
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp treacle or molasses
1 red chilli, deseeded for a milder heat, finely sliced
Squeeze of lime or lemon juice
- For the gunpowder spice mix:
2 tsp black peppercorns
2 tsp pink peppercorns
2 tsp Sichuan peppercorns
2 tsp sea salt
2 tsp mustard seeds
Directions
- Heat everything: Place a griddle or frying pan over a high heat. Fill the kettle and bring to the boil.
- Boil the potatoes: If cooking from scratch, slice the potatoes into 5mm rings and cover with boiling water in a saucepan. Cook over medium-high heat for 6 minutes.
- Crush the spice mix: Put the peppercorns, salt and mustard seeds into a mortar or spice grinder. Crush to a coarse powder.
- Prep the steaks: Remove the rind with a sharp knife, then snip into the fat with scissors at 5mm intervals.
- Griddle the steaks: When the pan is smoking hot, drizzle in a little oil and cook the steaks for 3 minutes.
- Dry the potatoes: Drain them, return to the hot pan and shake until they look dry and fluffy.
- Flip and add pineapple: Turn the steaks, add the pineapple to the pan, and cook for 3 minutes, flipping the pineapple regularly until coloured all over.
- Fry the potatoes: Heat the 2 tablespoons of oil and the butter in a large non-stick pan. When the butter bubbles, add the potatoes and fry until golden and crisp. Stir through the gunpowder spice mix and take off the heat.
- Glaze: Drizzle the treacle over the steaks, turning to coat both sides, then remove the pan from the heat.
- Serve: Plate the steaks with the charred pineapple on top. Scatter over the chilli, squeeze over the lime, and serve with the gunpowder potatoes and a green salad.
Notes
- Ramsay’s speed tip: heat the measuring spoon under hot running water first and the treacle slips straight off, more accurate too. The whole plate is naturally gluten-free.
FAQs
Is this the same as Ramsay’s roast gammon?
No, this is the fast one. The slow-roast gammon joint poaches 2kg in stout for hours, then roasts under a treacle, Dijon and soy glaze, a proper occasion piece serving eight. These steaks take one drizzle of plain treacle and 6 minutes of cooking.
There’s a third version in his books too. Great British Pub Food does gammon steaks with buttered pineapple rings and a fried duck egg on top. Same idea, pub styling.
What is gunpowder spice mix?
Five things crushed coarse: black, pink and Sichuan peppercorns, sea salt and mustard seeds, 2 teaspoons of each. The book says make double, it wakes up roast meats, paneer, halloumi and plain rice.
The Sichuan peppercorns bring the tingle. The same berry stars in the sticky Sichuan chicken, toasted and ground into an orange glaze.
Can I use pork loin chops instead of gammon?
Yes, the book lists them as the direct swap, same weight, same method. One honest difference: gammon is cured, so it brings that salty ham character the treacle plays against. A fresh loin chop cooks the same but tastes of pork, not ham.
If it’s the cured flavour you’re after and the butcher has no gammon steaks, thick-cut bacon chops are the closer cousin.
Do I have to serve the pineapple?
The book’s answer made me laugh: you don’t have to, but “I really recommend it. Just not on pizza.” Three minutes on the griddle chars the sugar and the acidity cuts straight through the salty, treacly meat.
Fruit against rich meat is a Ramsay pattern. The crispy duck à l’orange runs the same logic, orange juice against rich duck breast.
Can I use leftover potatoes?
Yes, the book lists them as an equal option, and they’re faster since the 6-minute boil disappears. Either way, the crisping trick is drying: shake the drained potatoes in the hot pan until they look fluffy, and that roughed-up surface is what goes golden in the butter.
For a different crispy potato entirely, the leek and Gruyère potato rosti grates them into one golden cake.
