Appears in
Oxford Companion to Food

By Alan Davidson

Published 2014

  • About

gammon an English term used in the bacon industry and by butchers, originally meant the hindquarters of a pig or swine, but in the course of time came to apply only to cured meat, still from the hindquarters and usually the upper part of the leg. It is sold uncooked, to provide gammon steaks or rashers, both of which are moderately thick, not like rashers of bacon.

Gammon is, essentially, the same part of the pig as ham. However, whereas in England ham (except for some imported specialities) is sold after being both cured and cooked, gammon has only been cured.