SERVES 4
1 medium pineapple
4 thin gammon steaks,
about 150-200g each
few knobs of butter,
plus extra melted
for brushing
a little caster sugar,
to sprinkle
2 tbsp olive oil or
duck fat
4 duck eggs
black pepper
172 GRILLS AND SAUTES
Gammon steak with
pineapple and fried duck egg
Grilled gammon steak and pineapple is a classic pairing,
but our version of this dish includes a duck egg with its
deliciously rich, creamy yolk. Eaten t ogether, it 's our idea of
heaven on a fork.To prepare the pineapple, slice off the top and the bottom and then
stand it upright on a board. Cut away the skin, following the curve of
the fruit, and remove any remaining 'black eyes' with the tip of your
knife. Turn the pineapple on its side and cut into 1cm thick slices.
Remove the core, using an apple corer o r a small pastry cutter. You
need 4 neat slices. (Save the rest for a f ruit salad or eat as a snack.)Preheat the grill to its highest setting. If you Wi remove the rind
from the gammon, leaving a layer offat surroundmg each steak. Snip
the fat with kitchen scissors at 2cm intervals all around, to prevent
the steaks from curling up as they cook. Brush the steaks on both sides
with melted butter and lay them on the grill pan rack. Grill for 3-4
minutes on each side, or until the gammon is cooked through and the
fat is golden brown and crisp. Keep warm.Meanwhile, set two wide frying pans over a medium heat. Melt a few
knobs of butter in one frying pan. Sprinkle the pineapple rings with
caster sugar and fry for 3-4 minutes on each side until golden brown
and caramelized. At the same time, heat the olive oil or duck fat in the
other pan, carefully crack in the duck eggs and fry until the whites are
set but the yolks are still runny in the middle. (You may need to cook
them in two batches if your pan is not large enough.)Put a gammon steak on each warm plate and top with a pineapple
ring and a fried duck egg. Grind some black pepper over the eggs and
serve immediately.