I love
ham. Country, Honey Glazed, Prosciutto,
Smoked, Spanish Jamon, French Bayonne,
Prosciutto Cotto, I will devour all of it.
I came to Spain knowing that I love Serrano Ham, and that there is an
amazing, and amazingly expensive ham made from pigs that eat acorns. Enter La Boqueria market in Barcelona,
Spain.
Beautiful
whole ham legs engulfed me as I walked in, putting me into a trance. Any way you look there is ham hanging, being
sliced on beautiful ¨Jamoneras¨ the convenient spanish ham leg holder found in
most spanish households. Throwing in a
ridiculouly porky aroma and severe jetlag, the need to eat ham grew by the
second. Laura and I showed great
restraint and headed deeper in the market anticipating a better deal. We found a vendor carving from 4 different
glistening ham legs ranging from $35 to $120 a pound. Can we get a free sample?
We ask the
Jamon carver about the different types, mention that we both cook for a living,
and are greeted with samples of each.
Let´s go over some Spanish porkabulary.
Jamon = Ham
Paleta =
Shoulder, cured using the same process as the ham but aged for less time since
it is thinner and smaller.
Iberico =
Black pig or Pata Negra, the ideal breed for making cured pork.
Serrano =
White pig, your standard breed aged up to 24 months and similar to Italian
prosciutto.
Bellota =
Acorn fed, eating up to 15 pounds a day, in special living conditions called
the dehesa
Dehesa
= An area abundant with holm oak trees,
acorns, herbs and enough room for 1 acre of land PER PIG.
Jabugo = A
special mountain region in Andalusia where some say the best jamon iberico de
bellota is made.
You now know
more than we did when we walked into La Boqueria. We tasted Jamon Serrano, Jamon Iberico,
Jamon Iberico de Bellota, and Paleta Iberico de Bellota. The list is
arranged from cheapest to most expensive.
The serrano has a good flavor we found similar to prosciutto. The next step to jamon iberico (black pig
ham) was striking. The texture is more
tender, the flavor stronger. Finally we
tried the pinnacle, the bellotas, acorn fed pork living a life with more space
and care than most humans experience.
The difference again was clear, this meat literally melts on your
tongue. There is an indescribably power
to the flavor, heightened by a nutty sweetness from the acorns. Important to note is that the Paleta
(shoulder) is almost half the price of the Jamon (ham) and a relatively great
value. There was a difference in the
depth of flavor, but both products are a revelation. We settled on the Jamon Iberico de Bellota
and bought 100 grams (just under 4 ounces) for around $20.
Jamon
Iberico de Bellota is cured anywhere from three to five years depending on the
climate where it is aged. The ideal
environment is a temperate, cool climate with dry days and humid nights. Jabugo, in the southwest of Spain fits this
perfectly. The longer the process takes,
the better. The process consists of
salting and stacking the hams (one day
per kg of weight)in a cool place, rinsing the salt off and hanging dry for two
months. The meat is then left at room
temperature for 4 to 6 months starting in the beginning of spring. As the weather gets hotter, the fat in the
meat begins to sweat and melt off. The
meat is then aged for 3 to 5 years total at around 65 degrees F and 70%
relative humidity. As the meat ages a
shocking event occurs.
The fat in
Jamon Iberico de Bellota converts to oleic acid, which is the same type of fat
found in olive oil. You read correctly,
the delicous acorn laden fat in the pork not only melts in your mouth but is
nutritionally equivalent to olive oil.
Alright fine but what about calories?
100 grams or 4 ounces of the most delicious meat I have ever eaten has
190 calories. Hmmm, should I eat 22
Wheat Thins or Jamon Iberico for my afternoon snack?
Ok, I´ll
admit their is some price disparity.
Maybe you can´t have jamon iberico de bellota everday. To have a 8 pound Paleta shipped to your
house in the US you will pay around $700, where you would only pay $200 in
Europe. Huh? Thanks to the US government there is a 100%
import tax placed Spanish Ham, and the hooves traditionally left on to verify
authenticity must be removed. Your 4 oz.
Taste just went from $20 to $40 before shipping. The average person who can buy this product
in the US might not notice the difference but to those of us who measure wealth
not by money but by the quality and variety of pork products consumed this is
tragic. To bite the bullet and order
directly from Spain try http://www.tienda.com/jamon/jamon_iberico.html.
There are
some producers in the US taking curing ham to the next level. In Virginia, there is a ham called
¨Surryano¨ where the pigs are finished on peanuts, hickory smoked, and aged for
approximately 2 years. A 16 # leg will
run you $163 before shipping or about $10 per pound. http://www.edwardsvaham.com/berkshire.cfm. Another option is Olli
Salumeria, also in Virginia. They make
an impressive array of cured meats, including one made from the Mangalitsa pig,
which is a descendant of the black footed Spanish breed. http://www.ollisalumeria.com/product/mangalitsa-prosciutto/. Otherwise if
you come across it at a special restaurant do not let the price fool you, it´s worth it.
