Festive food hacks: 7 ways to reinvent your leftover Christmas gammon for more delicious meals

Let’s face it, Christmas leftovers are top-tier. We’ve all stuffed ourselves at Christmas lunch and eyed what was left in the serving platters, thinking about what there is to snack on later. Sometimes “later” is at 1 AM after you’ve been watching too many Christmas movies or just need a midnight snack.

Gammon is an obvious favourite for many of us. The salty, chewiness of the meat is divine, the potential flavour combinations are endless, and a Christmas gammon sandwich just hits different.

Plus, if you do have a lot of leftovers and still need to feed the family during the holidays, you probably want to mix it up a little so it’s not just the same old gammon you had on Christmas Day.

By the way, do you know why South Africans eat gammon at Christmas? It’s from learned traditions from European settlers, among other reasons. Interesting, right?

If you’d like to freeze some of those leftovers for a few days, here’s a guide to freezing and defrosting festive food.

So here are a few ideas on how to jazz up those leftovers, whether they were frozen or not, so the merriment won’t stop.

Gammon and cheddar omelette

Keen on a little festive brekkie on Boxing Day? The lovely smokey, salty meat pairs so well with the melted cheddar cheese and some tomato chilli jam inside the omelette. Even if you mess up the omelette and have to make scrambled eggs instead, it’s still going to be so yummy. Make a few of these for family breakfast and watch how much everyone enjoys it.

Gammon and caramelised onion quiche

This cute quiche is a lovely way to prepare leftover gammon. It’s light and fluffy and can be eaten for brunch, lunch or even served if guests arrive (hopefully after they’ve called). It only takes 30 minutes to prepare and another 30 minutes to make, plus you won’t need to run out to the shops again as you’ll be using pantry staples to make this dish. It’s what your granny used to call “cheap and cheerful”.

Gammon buns with a cranberry and apple slaw

These little buns are a delightful way to turn your gammon from meh to amazing. Anytime you mix pork with sweet, tangy flavours, it’s always a hit! So this delicious slaw with cranberries and apples is the perfect accompaniment. Add some mature cheddar and a drizzle of barbecue sauce and you’ve got a massive hit.

If you really want to be doing the most, you can make your own buns too.

Gammon, Cheddar and croissant bake

If you’re not keen on making lots of effort but want something yummy anyway, we’ve got a solve for you. This gammon, cheddar and croissant bake is super easy and takes all of five minutes to prepare and 30 minutes to bake! Just layer all your ingredients in a baking dish, add cheese, add egg mixture and onion marmalade and you’re ready to go. So simple and so delightful.

Gammon club sandwich

Is that one aunt or your least favourite cousin coming for tea? The one that’s really hard to please? Well, you’ll knock her socks off with this one! Toast your bread and then spread some yummy mayo on each slice. Then layer your chicken, gherkins and lettuce, add a slice of toast, then top with gammon lettuce and tomato and your last slice of toast. Add little skewers or toothpicks to secure them and make them look like they came from the fancy deli down the road. Your guests will be talking about it for ages.

Gammon and grilled peach salad

A nice, light meal that screams summer and is absolutely mouth-wateringly good. The peaches are aromatic and flavourful after being seared, then when added together with the toasted pecan nuts and mint, it’s basically a party for your tastebuds.

Gammon and pineapple sweet chilli kebabs

You can never go wrong with adding pineapple to a gammon/pork dish. The flavours work so well together. These little skewers are a delightful treat and great as a snack at a braai where you can grill them on the coals instead of in the oven and serve them to your guests immediately. But, we also won’t blame you for keeping these to yourself.

Need some more festive recipe ideas?

If you’re entertaining guests at your next braai, here are 6 different marinades for lamb.

These fresh summer recipes for festive entertaining includes falafels, an avo and berry salad and rustic chakalaka.

Try this rooibos BBQ rub or make your own tzatziki for some braai condiments this festive season too.

Have a delicious festive season!