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geokills
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Jamón Ibérico / Jamón Serrano
#8052704 - 02/21/08 04:51 PM (15 years, 11 months ago) |
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This stuff is one of my absolute favorite foods. I've spoken of it here often over the years, but for whatever reason have neglected to dedicate a topic to it. Similar to the Italian Proscuitto ham, I prefer this variety, likely because I have Spanish relatives and as a result was exposed to it at a very young age - continuing to enjoy it a few times each year. While good in soups and sandwiches, I find it showcased best thinly sliced and simply placed atop a piece of crusty buttered bread. It is truly a symphony of supremely delicious flavor.

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Can a single flavor represent the essence of a country? If any food could be Spain’s ideal ambassador, Jamón Ibérico de Bellota would doubtless claim that honor. We can think of no product so tied to its history, its land and its traditions. But even more importantly, there is no food in Spain that evokes as much passion as an excellent Ibérico ham.
Ibérico pigs have always been in Spain. These descendants of wild boars have been with the Spanish people since before written history, providing them the means to survive and flourish. Over these thousands of years, through experimentation and luck, the ideal method of preserving pork for later use evolved from a necessity into an art, transforming a piece of salted meat into a symphony of flavors and textures unrivalled anywhere.
The luckiest of these Ibérico pigs spend the last months of their lives in pig heaven. They are released in a carefully maintained oak forest and pastureland called the "Dehesa". There they spend their time foraging and gorging on acorns and grasses. Once they have roughly doubled their weight on this porcine manna, only then can they be labeled "de Bellota" which means "Acorn Fed" in Spanish. The trees in the "Dehesa" have enough acorns for only one pig per acre, meaning these pigs truly must range freely. Getting plenty of exercise allows the rich, acorn flavored fat to integrate with the meat, one of the secrets to the amazing taste of Ibérico de Bellota. And the countryside of Spain benefits as wll - these beautiful, ancient forests and pastures are preserved from development because of the fame of the Ibérico ham!
Once the Ibérico pigs are "sacrificed", the hams, shoulders and sausages are cured using salt, mountain air and time. Within the hams, profound chemical transformations not only preserve the meat, but fundamentally change it. A complex array of volatile flavor compounds is created. Crucially, but only to its full extent occurring in the Bellota hams, the fat is transformed from a normal animal fat into a substance high in oleic acid, the same beneficial fat found in olive oil. So not only is this the most delectable cured ham in the world, it may actually be good for you!
It is important to reiterate that there are two types of Ibérico hams. The delicious Jamón Ibérico is made from a black hoofed pig that lives a traditional farm existence, eating grains and normal pig feed. The resulting ham has an incredibly intense flavor and surpasses any other ham with the exception of its big brother, the "Bellota". The Jamón Ibérico de Bellota, free range and acorn fed, is the ultimate, and that is why it can cost twice as much.
The beautiful landscape of the “Dehesa”, the noble Ibérico swine and their free-range, acorn-munching lifestyle all combine to create the perfect raw material for the ideal ham. Salt and cool mountain air take care of the rest. For the finest Ibérico de Bellota this means two or three years of curing, experiencing the change of the seasons, losing an incredible 40% of their weight as much of the fat drips away.
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[Purchase Jamón Serrano from Tienda.com] [Purchase Jamón Ibérico from Tienda.com]
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Re: Jamón Ibérico / Jamón Serrano [Re: geokills]
#8052840 - 02/21/08 05:23 PM (15 years, 11 months ago) |
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That looks really good, but I've never had it before. Similar to proscuitto, you say? Mmmm-MMM-mmm!
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Re: Jamón Ibérico / Jamón Serrano [Re: geokills]
#8052887 - 02/21/08 05:38 PM (15 years, 11 months ago) |
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I would eat bread with smoked ham quite often from my local Italian Deli. Unfortunately, the owner passed away, so they no longer make their own bread.
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geokills
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Smoked ham is delicious, but Jamon is so damn exquisite it needn't even be smoked! To note (as I had neglected to mention it in the original post), the difference between Jamon Serrano & Jamon Iberico is the pig. Serrano comes from pink pigs, and only the Iberico comes from the special black pigs as noted in the article included above.
If you're serious about this stuff, I'd highly suggest aiming for purchasing leg chunks. I usually buy 1 - 3 of the 2 lb end pieces a year, slicing them by hand when ready to consume. If you don't want to commit to such a piece, you should of course try the pre-sliced version, but it doesn't offer quite the same depth of culinary experience. Probably because it loses some of its moisture, even though it comes vacuum sealed.
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Re: Jamón Ibérico / Jamón Serrano [Re: geokills]
#8052920 - 02/21/08 05:45 PM (15 years, 11 months ago) |
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I would probably do that if I were hosting a party of people who were all willing to eat pork. 
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mayfly
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Re: Jamón Ibérico / Jamón Serrano [Re: geokills]
#8052923 - 02/21/08 05:45 PM (15 years, 11 months ago) |
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Definitely worth a try. Where can you get it from?
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geokills
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What kinda crazy isn't willing to eat pork?!  I'm taken aback... this is no thread for cooked ham! 
mayfly: I have links embedded in both of my previous posts...  Though there are some producers that cure "Serrano" domestically, I'm sorry to say that it just doesn't match the quality of the treats offered through Tienda.com. And of course, if you ever find yourself in Spain, do yourself a huge favor and get some fresh sliced Iberico as a tapa with your Tinto de Verano!
Quote:
I remember we used to take walks out on the coast, commonly starting around 10pm! We'd take a seat in some side street stand, often on the waterfront, gettin' served some pinchitos (tasty marinated beef skewers cooked over an open flame), washing 'em down with a splash of tinto de verano 
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Re: Jamón Ibérico / Jamón Serrano [Re: geokills]
#8052961 - 02/21/08 05:55 PM (15 years, 11 months ago) |
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Ah, obviously I fail at reading.
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Re: Jamón Ibérico / Jamón Serrano [Re: geokills]
#8053005 - 02/21/08 06:06 PM (15 years, 11 months ago) |
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correct me if i'm wrong, but isn't the difference between prosciutto and serrano ham due to prosciutto being salt-cured, while serrano is just dry-cured?
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geokills
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Re: Jamón Ibérico / Jamón Serrano [Re: LiquidSmoke]
#8053150 - 02/21/08 06:33 PM (15 years, 11 months ago) |
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Incorrect.
Quote:
There is nothing more Spanish than jamón serrano. This country ham is a national treasure shared in Spain by all walks of life. Cured for at least a year, it has a much deeper flavor firmer texture than its closest relateive, Italian prosciutto. Serve as a 'Tapa' with cheese and olives, or in your favorite Spanish recipe.
What's all this Ham thing about?
Jamon Serrano country ham is a source of great pride among Spaniards. From time immemorial in the mountains of Spain, they have rolled fresh hams in sea salt and hung them from their rafters to cure. A year to eighteen months later the jamones are ready to mount on special stands that are designed so that anyone can stop by, carve a few paper-thin slices, and enjoy an impromptu snack – perhaps with some manchego cheese.
It is unlike the smoked and salty Virginia country hams, which have to be soaked and cooked. And it is even significantly different from Italian prosciutto, which is cured for a few months with a coating of lard. The Spanish jamón serrano has distinctly more flavor, and significantly less salt than country ham and less fat than prosciutto.
Jamón serrano is more than a delicacy in Spain; it is a normal part of every family’s life. Every tapas bar and neighborhood café has their own hams. During the Holiday Season there are literally hundreds of them hanging from the rafters of major food stores for the holiday shoppers.
What is the appeal? Jamon Serrano is a flavorful, natural ham, cured in the country air. This extended curing transforms the ham, imparting a deep flavor and aroma. This lengthy curing also means it is much less fatty and has a firmer bite than Italian prosciutto. You can serve it sliced paper-thin with cheese and olives, or use it to flavor your favorite Spanish recipes.
The secret to jamon lies in its curing, recreating the effect of traditional techniques. This tradition is kept alive in rural areas where in early winter, family and friends gather to slaughter their livestock in preparation for winter months. The hams are placed in sea salt for a brief period of time – approximately one day per kilo – and then they are strung up. They are allowed to experience the changes of temperature as the seasons progress. The right time to eat them is when an experienced ham-master inserts a long splinter of cow bone and whiffs the jamón, like a connoisseur of wine who sniffs the cork.
Source: Jamon Serrano - The Basics
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Re: Jamón Ibérico / Jamón Serrano [Re: geokills]
#8053162 - 02/21/08 06:35 PM (15 years, 11 months ago) |
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Geo, on the topic of ham ... Nothing beats cooked ham with a generous basting of brown sugar and cloves. Pineapple optional.
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chunder
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Re: Jamón Ibérico / Jamón Serrano [Re: geokills]
#8053530 - 02/21/08 07:40 PM (15 years, 11 months ago) |
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Amazing thread. I've been enlightened, I will seek this ham!
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geokills
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Re: Jamón Ibérico / Jamón Serrano [Re: geokills]
#8082623 - 02/28/08 06:03 PM (15 years, 10 months ago) |
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Continuing to enjoy this wonderful comestible, I do hope some of you afford yourselves the opportunity to experience this little piece of heaven. 

I call this one Serrano Sashimi - a beautiful portrait of this delectable delight!
You may also want to consider some Spanish Lomo or Chorizo, all from the pig.
Lomo is a dry cured pork loin, lower in fat than Serrano ham and also milder in flavor. It is often served sandwiched on a soft toasted bun with alioli (which could be equated to a delicious garlic mayonnaise) to add moisture to the otherwise dry pork loin.
Spanish Chorizo is worlds apart from the Mexican chorizo we are used to here in the United States. It is akin to a hard salami and it is absolutely delicious, but also quite high in fat. The flavor is considerably potent, so persons accustomed to milder taste may want to pass on this one. Excellent lightly heated or raw, on crackers, with eggs, in salads, or plain straight up!
From left to right, you'll witness the beloved Jamon Serrano, Lomo, and Chorizo. 
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Re: Jamón Ibérico / Jamón Serrano [Re: geokills]
#8082647 - 02/28/08 06:07 PM (15 years, 10 months ago) |
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That last one would look good on a french roll!
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Re: Jamón Ibérico / Jamón Serrano [Re: geokills]
#8082848 - 02/28/08 06:47 PM (15 years, 10 months ago) |
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When I was in Spain my friends and I saw this chain called like, the house of ham, or the castle of ham, I forget the name as I was drunk most of the time. Anyways we used to get sandwiches in there, and at some point I bought some of their most expensive ham. Shit was literally like 150 a kilo, I only got like 6-10 dollars worth of it. Some absurdly strong ham. We also went to a nicer looking non franchise ham store. Got 10 dollars of their finest ham there, I think it was more expensive. I ate it all immediately as it didnt look like very much, then spent the next hour trying not to throw up. Nice ham in the morning on an empty hungover stomach was a poor idea. Delicious though
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Re: Jamón Ibérico / Jamón Serrano [Re: TheCow]
#8082940 - 02/28/08 07:05 PM (15 years, 10 months ago) |
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Quote:
TheCow said: When I was in Spain my friends and I saw this chain called like, the house of ham, or the castle of ham, I forget the name as I was drunk most of the time.
Just a shot in the dark, but are you thinking of "Museo de Jamon"?
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Re: Jamón Ibérico / Jamón Serrano [Re: LiquidSmoke]
#8083003 - 02/28/08 07:19 PM (15 years, 10 months ago) |
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haha yea. It was all over Madrid. I don't remember seeing it in Barcelona, but it might have existed there also
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Re: Jamón Ibérico / Jamón Serrano [Re: TheCow]
#8084969 - 02/29/08 05:13 AM (15 years, 10 months ago) |
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its prosciutto right ? lovely
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geokills
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Re: Jamón Ibérico / Jamón Serrano [Re: ohmatic]
#8085507 - 02/29/08 10:14 AM (15 years, 10 months ago) |
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Brother, did you even read this thread or just look at the pictures?  While I've no lack of love for Italian prosciutto, this is Spanish serrano!
Definitely similar, but definitely not the same. 
Anyone else have regional dry cured meat favorites that they enjoy? Would love to find some new ones to try, so please share if you do.
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Re: Jamón Ibérico / Jamón Serrano [Re: geokills]
#8085522 - 02/29/08 10:15 AM (15 years, 10 months ago) |
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I would mention bacon, but then you could give me the if I did that, so I won't mention it.
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geokills
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Nothing wrong with bacon, but any specific style of bacon in particular? Something off the beaten path, not the mass produced pork bellies we see in every supermarket?
I want something especially unique, nurtured by a culture over tens if not hundreds or even thousands of years! Perhaps to be considered less of a simple food item, leaning more towards the realm of a coveted work of art.

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Re: Jamón Ibérico / Jamón Serrano [Re: geokills]
#8085543 - 02/29/08 10:24 AM (15 years, 10 months ago) |
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While we're on the subject, what exactly is Canadian bacon? Last time I tried it, it closely resembled ham.
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geokills
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The definition of Canadian Bacon varies depending on where in the world you are. Unlike what us yanks consider bacon, true Canadian Bacon from Canada is not smoked or precooked. Since the meat is lean, it won't crisp up in its own fat while it is being cooked and therefore should be served in thicker slices than Yankee bacon, and only heated to a soft and juicy stage of cooking rather than crisped. In its flavor, appearance, and texture, Canadian Bacon is closer to ham than it is to bacon.
Around the start of the 19th century, US style "Canadian" bacon was made with yellow peas that were ground up into a meal that the back bacon was rolled in to ensure improved curing and shelf life. Canadian Bacon that is cut from lean pork loins, pickle-cured, and rolled in the yellow pea meal, is often called Peameal Bacon. Many US style "Canadian" bacons are cured with salt, sugar to add sweetness, and are smoked. This is the type often found on pizza.
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Re: Jamón Ibérico / Jamón Serrano [Re: geokills]
#8246988 - 04/06/08 03:05 PM (15 years, 9 months ago) |
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Ahh OK - that clears it up. Still tasty, though.
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danknugz81
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applewood smoked bacon. mmmmm
serrano/iberico is great shit. the fat just melts in your mouth. i love proscuitto san danielle/de parma the most, the spanish relative is a close second.
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Nibin
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Re: Jamón Ibérico / Jamón Serrano [Re: geokills]
#8251999 - 04/07/08 06:39 PM (15 years, 9 months ago) |
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Spanish cured meats that one should try:
Jamón Serrano/Iberico. Melón con Jamón is a summertime favourite
Chorizo/Salchichón: Similar principle. Both are sausage shaped and have different ratios of fat/lean meat and of spices. Salchichón is similar to salami. Can also be made with wild boar or venison (very very good)
Cecina. It is a leg of beef treated in the same way you would treat jamón. I prefer it over jamón .
Lomo Embuchado: Pork fillet treated as jamón.
Mojama: Cured tuna fillet.
There are countless others, like sobrasada, fuet, longaniza...
The good thing I have is that as I live in Spain I can get it all at local supermarkets.
Ever try Jamón Iberico de Bellota geokills? It's a special ham that comes from Iberic pigs fed exclusively on acorns. It is expensive, starting at around 60 euros a kilo but is out of this world.
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Re: Jamón Ibérico / Jamón Serrano [Re: Nibin]
#8252023 - 04/07/08 06:45 PM (15 years, 9 months ago) |
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chorizo and eggs is the unofficial south texas breakfast. that and carne guisada tacos. i grew up eating that shit. no wonder i was so fat when i was a kid.
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LiquidSmoke
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Re: Jamón Ibérico / Jamón Serrano [Re: danknugz81]
#8252142 - 04/07/08 07:07 PM (15 years, 9 months ago) |
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Quote:
danknugz81 said: chorizo and eggs is the unofficial south texas breakfast. that and carne guisada tacos. i grew up eating that shit. no wonder i was so fat when i was a kid.
i enjoy sauteeing chorizo and eggs as well, sometimes i'll make an omelet with some selected peppers,
after trying alot of varieties of salchich/lomo/iberico, etc etc, i've realized i still love the spiciness of a fresh raw chorizo the best.
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Re: Jamón Ibérico / Jamón Serrano [Re: LiquidSmoke]
#8252154 - 04/07/08 07:10 PM (15 years, 9 months ago) |
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Scrambles eggs with ham and sausage kicks ass.
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Nibin
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Chorizo and eggs is a typical after party meal in the centre/north of Spain also.
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Re: Jamón Ibérico / Jamón Serrano [Re: Nibin]
#8252425 - 04/07/08 07:52 PM (15 years, 9 months ago) |
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Nibin, I have tried a 5-acorn rated Jamón Iberico de Bellota many years ago on the Costa del Sol (Málaga to be precise). That experience gave birth to my slightly unhealthy obsession with this totally awesome cured pork product! 
I would love to try some Mojama and Cecina. I don't recall having tasted either. A salt cured beef would be a welcome contrast to all this pork I've been eating! 
On that note, for anyone interested, Tienda has an overstock special on the 1.5 lb end pieces of Jamón Serrano that was sent out to their email list just this morning. ...I have two end pieces and a log of chorizo on the way! 
$20 + $11 shipping to California. If you pick up a second one, the shipping is only about $1 - 2 more.
LiquidSmoke's brother recently returned from a trip to Spain and brought a sampling from the Museo de Jamón chain. Needless to say, these didn't last long...
A lone slice o' lomo:

Here you'll find (in the foreground from left to right), the Museo's Salchichón, Chorizo, Lomo, & Serrano. In the background, you can scarcely see my link of chorizo, lomo, and Serrano end piece (Tienda imports):
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Re: Jamón Ibérico / Jamón Serrano [Re: geokills]
#8252477 - 04/07/08 07:59 PM (15 years, 9 months ago) |
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I want the content of that last picture on my table along with this one:
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champ
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Re: Jamón Ibérico / Jamón Serrano [Re: geokills]
#8252625 - 04/07/08 08:19 PM (15 years, 9 months ago) |
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I just tried Lomo recently...so good! I had it plain, on bread with tallegio and then with some lemon olive oil drizzled on it. I love jamon serrano but the Iberico is really expensive these days, like $100 a pound!
Have you tried Speck? It's an Italian smoked prosciutto. Very special and salty tasting.
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geokills
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Re: Jamón Ibérico / Jamón Serrano [Re: champ]
#8254887 - 04/08/08 10:23 AM (15 years, 9 months ago) |
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I could definitely go for a Speck of deliciousness!  Never tried it before though...  Will keep an eye out! 
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LiquidSmoke
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Re: Jamón Ibérico / Jamón Serrano [Re: geokills]
#8259918 - 04/09/08 01:32 PM (15 years, 9 months ago) |
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ho man
theres a place in the city that cuts it all super thin
i was getting high last night and just eating thing slivers of cured meat. it was awsome.
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danknugz81
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Re: Jamón Ibérico / Jamón Serrano [Re: LiquidSmoke]
#8269539 - 04/11/08 01:53 PM (15 years, 9 months ago) |
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Quote:
LiquidSmoke said:


ho man
theres a place in the city that cuts it all super thin
i was getting high last night and just eating thing slivers of cured meat. it was awsome.
lol you too? this thread got me craving some proscuitto so i went to my local upscale market and picked up some proscuitto san danielle (1/2#.) they just recently got the jamon iberico in and since they let everyone sample, i tried a piece of their's.. very tasty, salty, with a buttery fat content. too bad its $50/lb
this stuff i tasted probably isnt as high quality as the stuff in spain though. i only had iberico one other time when i was working in fine dining, and i remembered that iberico tasting a little better to me. i think they paid a bit more than $50/# for theirs though.
my dinner last night was a couple of bowl hits and a half pound of proscuitto san danielle. oh, the gluttony.
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geokills
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Re: Jamón Ibérico / Jamón Serrano [Re: geokills]
#13006892 - 08/05/10 11:44 AM (13 years, 5 months ago) |
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Well m'lady and I recently had the pleasure to happen upon a nifty restaurant supply store called Surfas in Culver City, California. Totally by accident, as we were on our way to the beach for some exercise but got stuck in traffic and she was craving coffee, so we ditched the 10 West and headed southwest on Washington Blvd since I knew Culver City has a lot of upscale eateries and shops where we'd be likely to find some good coffee. Low and behold we happen upon Surfas and do a little digging.
Turns out they have a charcuterie counter where I immediately scoped out a whole leg of cured ham. Upon closer inspection, it was the mother meat that I explained in the original post of this thread, Jamón Ibérico! Upon first learning of the price (a whopping $135.25/lb!), I walked away and continued to browse the rest of the store... but ultimately, I gave into my desire to taste this buttery pleasure and bought two slices, totaling over $16!

Let me tell you, as someone who hardly thinks twice about paying $10+ for a decent brew at an entertainment event or a bottle of wine for home... the $16 I laid out for these two slices of ham was well worth it! Granted, I couldn't afford to do this all the time, but damn - my mouth is watering just thinking about what a wonderful experience it was to eat this ham on top of a buttered crusty lightly toasted baguette smeared with a freshly picked garden vine ripened heirloom tomato!
Just get a load of its glistening fat. Nearly translucent, this ham literally has a tendency to melt in your mouth! 

Paired especially well with these Zebra Green tomatoes sliced some 3 - 4mm thick:

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Re: Jamón Ibérico / Jamón Serrano [Re: geokills]
#13007025 - 08/05/10 12:10 PM (13 years, 5 months ago) |
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I've been somewhat of a vegetarian for a little over a year now.
But I don't think I would be able to pass up Jamon Serrano were it offered to me. I've had some in the past, especially when I went to Spain. And god damn its so good. It's like a buttery, slippery, savory, 100 times better than bacon ham.
So delicious. I thank the pigs for it.
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Re: Jamón Ibérico / Jamón Serrano [Re: geokills]
#13011005 - 08/06/10 06:53 AM (13 years, 5 months ago) |
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Nice to see someone else who apprciates this delicacy to the point of obsession such as myself. I for one don't even mess around with serrano as I find it pedestrian (sorry) even the best serrano cannot compare to Cinco Jotas Iberico Bellota (which will be exported to the US starting next year!!!)
Iberico Bellota ham (there is just regular iberico) is nothing like prosciutto or any other dry cured ham in terms of flavor. Bellota hams must age for a minimum of 2 years with higher end hams going upwards of 5!
You can buy Fermin Iberico Bellota at Wegmans, and everytime I do the clerk behind the counter always, always asks: "The $120 a pound ham?
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Re: Jamón Ibérico / Jamón Serrano [Re: soochi]
#13028227 - 08/09/10 06:21 PM (13 years, 5 months ago) |
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indeed, jomón is an amazing thing.
i think i should start buying some... it´s redicules that i don´t although i get to eat the good stuff when out with my girlfriends parents.
her mom gets it in small cubes, and i can´t stop eating it until it´s finished. you can spend two three minuets enjoying each piece, chewing and savoring the experience
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Re: Jamón Ibérico / Jamón Serrano [Re: Simisu]
#13074720 - 08/19/10 04:34 PM (13 years, 5 months ago) |
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pata negra is amazing. i travelled through adalucia and this stuff would just melt in your mouth. the fat was the best bit, tasted of acorns. we visited the ham centre of the world, the highest inhabited town in europe, a place called Trevélez. It was just a town of ham shops 
Bresaola, or just a carpaccio of beef with lemon juice is good for cow lovers.
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Re: Jamón Ibérico / Jamón Serrano [Re: soochi] 1
#13152859 - 09/05/10 09:29 PM (13 years, 4 months ago) |
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Quote:
soochi said: Nice to see someone else who apprciates this delicacy to the point of obsession such as myself. I for one don't even mess around with serrano as I find it pedestrian (sorry) even the best serrano cannot compare to Cinco Jotas Iberico Bellota (which will be exported to the US starting next year!!!)
Iberico Bellota ham (there is just regular iberico) is nothing like prosciutto or any other dry cured ham in terms of flavor. Bellota hams must age for a minimum of 2 years with higher end hams going upwards of 5!
You can buy Fermin Iberico Bellota at Wegmans, and everytime I do the clerk behind the counter always, always asks: "The $120 a pound ham?
As a person lucky enough to have been brought up in Spain I though it might be helpful to go into detail a bit on the different vocabulary surrounding the different kinds of Jamón in Spain (not particularly for the above poster, just in general for anyone that is interested)
First of all, it is important that while the word Jamón does just mean "ham" in Spanish, when the word is used on its own it nearly always mean the salted and air cured variety.
For example, if you wanted a ham sandwich in Spain and asked for a bocadillo de jamón chances are, especially the further south you go, that it will be with this kind of ham. If you wanted a boiled ham sandwich you would have to ask for "jamón dulce" or "jamón de york".
Jamón can be divided into two big groups: Jamón Serrano and Jamón Ibérico, depending on whether the pig was a white pig (of any breed or mix of breed as you would find in most commercial farms worldwide) or a cerdo ibérico (iberico pig) which is a special, protected breed of pigs. Ibérico ham can ONLY be made from pigs that are have at least one pure bred parent while Serrano ham can come from pure white or in the case of some of the better hams from smaller producers, a cross of white and black pig in various proportions. There is also a denomination called Ibérico puro which implies the pig was a pure bred, 100% and certified black Ibérico pig.
The reason pure bred iberico pigs are not used to make all hams, despite the fact that the end product is better, is that these pigs are smaller and need a lot more food to fatten up, making the production of hams more expensive, so a certain amount of mixing is allowed but only up to point. A white pig will always outperform the black by a big margin, so to stop naughty farmers from labeling a 1% black 99% white pig as Iberico, this rule was created.
There is also a political/marketing reason. To maintain the exclusivity of the iberico product (of prepared iberico products such as ham or chorizo, this does not apply to fresh meat) there are also strict guidelines to the diet an iberico pig must follow. So you could not feed an iberico breed pig exclusively on pellet feed and then sell the ham as iberico. So as farmers would not gain the market advantages of an iberico labled product on a pig fed with cheap feed even if it is of the correct breed they don't bother and stick with white pig breeds for cheaper products. For fresh meat this rule does not apply as strictly.
Okay, so back to jamón:
Jamón Serrano: These hams come from white pigs which can be fed on whatever the farmer wants for its whole lifetime (as long as it is legal). It is classified only on the amount of time spent air curing once it has been made. The longer the curing the better the product but the more expensive, as there is more labour involved and storing the ham for longer times is more expensive. The legally accepted categories are: Bodega: 9 to 12 month curing Reserva: 12 to 15 month curing Gran Reserva: Over 15 month curing. and should be clearly indicated on the label around the "ankle". Jamón Serrano is the cheaper of the two kinds of ham by far and can be quite good. The only real trick to selecting a good Jamón Serrano is by trying them. Stay away from the bodega hams as even thinly sliced they are quite chewy and don't have that unique melt-in-your-mouth property. But with a bit of luck you can find some extremely acceptable Reserva hams and some amazing Gran Reserva hams but the results vary greatly from brand to brand so you really have to try before you buy. Jamón IbéricoAs mentioned Jamón Ibérico comes from a specific breed of pig. It also must follow a strict diet in which the only allowed ingredients are: feed based on cereals and/or pulses, grass and acorns. All pigs are reared on feed until they reach adult size and are then fattened on different kinds of feed until slaughtering time. Classification of the product is as follows depending on how they were fattened: de Cebo: Pig kept indoors and fed exclusively on feed. de Cebo de Campo: Pig kept outdoors in a field but penned in and fed by the farmer on feed plus grass it might eat up outside. A sort of "free range" pig. de Recebo: Pigs allowed to really roam free unpenned in the wild feeding on acorns and whatever else it finds. The pig is bulked up at the end of its foraging time by a short period of being fed feed by the farmer. de Bellota: Once pigs are set to roam free and forage, feeding exclusively on acorns and whatever they find, they are never fed again by the farmer, not even to fatten them up before killing. These are the ONLY universal certified quality marking that exist on Jamón ibérico. They don't bother with setting a curing time certification as the product is expensive enough that producers make sure they cure the product long enough to do it justice. While all Iberico hams are good, you will probably find better Gran Reserva Serrano Hams than many Iberico de cebo hams and at a cheaper price. Anything that is either Jamón Iberico de recebo or de bellota is going to be of excellent quality and pricey. All the other names associated with jamón are marketing mumbo-jumbo at best and an attempt to outright con you at worst. For example: Pata negra (black hoof): Because many iberico pigs have black hooves many people thing that if the label says pata negra it is iberico ham. But not all iberico pigs have black hooves and some white pigs do, so unless it says IBERICO on the label it is NOT iberico even if the ham as a black hoof or the label says pata negra on it. 5J: This is in fact a specific, very well known, brand of ham by Sánchez Romero Carvajal. The full name of the ham is "Jamón Ibérico Puro de Bellota 5J" and yes, it is an outstanding ham but it is the fact that it is an acorn fed, 100% pure bred pig(Jamón Ibérico Puro de Bellota) that makes it so good, not the 5Js which mean nothing. If you see a product just labeled 5J or even 4 or 3 Js without it saying if it is Iberico and how it was fed then this ham is trying to take advantage that many people thing that the J's are equivalent to a star rating or similar, when in fact it is just a registered trademark. There are many other terms as these used in the world of Jamón which can be equally misleading. The only exception to this rule are de Denominaciones de Origen or D.O.s. A D.O. is a certification that indicates that this product has been made in a specific area and following a specific, traditional method. There are many D.O.s of Jamón and while the fact that a ham has no D.O. does not mean it will be less good than one that has, a D.O. assures a minimum level of quality (and more expense, being a member of a D.O. is not free). The rules vary from D.O. to D.O. and can be more or less strict. They cover many different aspects such as minimum time of curing, amount of salt, appearance, etc. There are also D.O.s for Jamón Serrano. But even so, the golden rule to know if it is the real deal to check the label on the ankle. It should say either Jamón Serrano (followed by bodega, reserva or gran reserva) or Jamón Ibérico (followed by de cebo, de cebo de campo, de recebo or de bellota). I hope this was informative and didn't bore you all too much.
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Re: Jamón Ibérico / Jamón Serrano [Re: Nibin]
#13154620 - 09/06/10 10:58 AM (13 years, 4 months ago) |
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Thank you Nibin! That was TOTALLY awesome!! 
And "pedestrian" or not, I'll happily gobble up any dry cured Spanish ham (even the shitty ones if it's all I can find - though I won't be as quick to boast about it ).
Here's a shot of my current block, which only has a few ounces left at this point. 

Planning to kill it today as an appetizer / tapa prior to our Labor Day BBQ with my lovely lady, grandma and an Estonian friend who is visiting for a few weeks.
Here's how I like to serve it if I'm feelin' fancy... with genuine home grown heirloom tomatoes and creamy mozzarella or mascarpone and avocado.
 Note that even though this is "only" serrano, the fat is definitely glistening and melty!
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Re: Jamón Ibérico / Jamón Serrano [Re: geokills]
#13154750 - 09/06/10 11:27 AM (13 years, 4 months ago) |
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i am drooling looking at that picture.
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Re: Jamón Ibérico / Jamón Serrano [Re: Nibin]
#13154982 - 09/06/10 12:37 PM (13 years, 4 months ago) |
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Damn that was a great post. Im going to go on a mission to locate some ham in this city (DC)
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Nibin
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Re: Jamón Ibérico / Jamón Serrano [Re: geokills] 1
#13155791 - 09/06/10 03:57 PM (13 years, 4 months ago) |
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I'll tell you what, geokills. I have eaten extremely expensive hams of over 300€ a kg which must be about 175$ per pound. That is price in Spain, god knows how much they would charge in the U.S.
And to be honest with you, for many things I actually prefer a good quality, honest, serrano ham or a less expensive iberico. I admit, the top quality iberico de bellota is incredible, but it really is a kind of ham that should not be mixed with much, at most a good bread rubbed with tomato and a drizzle of olive oil maybe a bit of cured cheese on the side and a glass of good wine.
A good serrano ham, on the other hand, lends itself better to be used as a cooking ingredient or to be combined with other ingredients as it is not as expensive and as delicate in flavour. For example I would never dream of using top grade ham with melon, but a good ham, sliced thinly over slices of cold, ripe, sweet melon is a great summer dish.
Also, over here it is common to get trimmings at the Deli of even the less expensive bellotas or mostly recebo hams. A great recipe:
-A couple of handfuls of diced iberico trimmings (or good serrano). They should be diced as you would small lardons of bacon, say the thickness of a pencil and 3/4 to 1 inch long. - Fresh Artichokes - Dry sherry (or dry white wine if you don't have sherry)
Fry the trimmings in a very hot flat wide pan with a good drizzle of olive oil for a few seconds (just so it starts to turn slightly golden and the fat melts releasing the flavour)
Add the artichokes trimmed and cut into eights. 3-4 big artichokes will do a ration and depending on how much ham you want you can certainly do 4 people on the two handfuls of hamm trimmings. Add salt and a good amount of freshly ground black pepper. Stir the artichokes about until the outside begins to caramelize. You want to see a few black bits but not too many.
Pour in a good couple of glugs of the wine or sherry. You want the whole bottom of the pan covered to a depth of a couple of millimeters with liquid. Give a quick stir to deglaze the pan and cover with a perforated lid or leave the lid on a slant.
Walk away and forget about it, leaving it on a medium to high heat. You want to be hearing a constant loud sizzling noise. It takes longer than you think to cook. The artichokes should be cooked (start checking after ten minutes) until meltingly tender and then uncover the pan to let most of the remainding liquid evaporates. You want them to be moist and glazed in the thickened ham tasting juices but not have a load of liquid in the pan.
Serve as a generous tapa or a side dish .
You can also use french runner beans (i.e. the round ones, not the flat ones). A couple of handfuls tipped and tailed per person. Start cooking as above but when it gets to the point of adding the wine add only a glug to deglaze the pan and stir until it dries up and coats the beans. They should be slightly crunchy but cooked (as the italians call it, al dente), not soft like the artichokes.
Hope you try and enjoy.
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Re: Jamón Ibérico / Jamón Serrano [Re: Nibin]
#13155905 - 09/06/10 04:21 PM (13 years, 4 months ago) |
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the beef in spain is amazing too, i remember having the best steak of my life in northern spain just with a deep fried chilis on the side. their sidra up north is better than any other cider i have drunk as well.
i had some very dark ham they called pata negra (which you have pointed out is just a marketing name), cut quite thick. the texture was almost like raw meat with a very thick layer of fat on top which just melted into your mouth with the flavour of acorns right through it. just eating it on its own with some wine seemed the best way. I want to go back...
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Re: Jamón Ibérico / Jamón Serrano [Re: XDS]
#13156037 - 09/06/10 04:39 PM (13 years, 4 months ago) |
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Yeah, the beef up in Asturias/Navarra/Basque country is incredible. And the cider as you say, is good.
It is at its best from January to April/May when the Cider houses open and serve the new cider. They all also serve great food and in some you can still bring your own meat to be cooked on the big fire.
A great experience but you have to get to know a few locals to discover the places as many of the best are in the middle of a field somewhere or in tiny streets in town.
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Re: Jamón Ibérico / Jamón Serrano [Re: Nibin]
#13284721 - 10/03/10 03:20 PM (13 years, 3 months ago) |
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Did anyone try the recipe in the end?
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geokills
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Re: Jamón Ibérico / Jamón Serrano [Re: Nibin]
#13287878 - 10/04/10 08:19 AM (13 years, 3 months ago) |
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Not yet, though I surely will once I have re-stocked this delectable ham!
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geokills
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Re: Jamón Ibérico / Jamón Serrano [Re: geokills]
#17846185 - 02/22/13 08:36 AM (10 years, 11 months ago) |
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Just wanted to bump this thread with some fresh food porn...

Seriously, if you have yet to try this stuff, and you like salty savory, seek it out and get on it! 
For shame, I still need to try Nibin's recipe, and I'm once again out of jamon!
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Re: Jamón Ibérico / Jamón Serrano [Re: geokills]
#17846198 - 02/22/13 08:39 AM (10 years, 11 months ago) |
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Avacados and bacon?
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geokills
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Good god man, it pains me to even think about equating such a lovingly curated and carefully aged pork product as the jamon herein explained, with an often mass produced and mistreated food product (delicious though it may be) such as bacon. Both the production as well as the flavor and texture profiles are very different.
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Re: Jamón Ibérico / Jamón Serrano [Re: geokills]
#17846282 - 02/22/13 09:04 AM (10 years, 11 months ago) |
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Re: Jamón Ibérico / Jamón Serrano [Re: geokills] 1
#17847671 - 02/22/13 02:50 PM (10 years, 11 months ago) |
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Quote:
geokills said: I'm once again out of jamon! 
my neighbor is raising pigs in the woods, loads of acorns in the diet, he handed me a 30lb ham that I'm currently curing and drying in the same manner
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geokills
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Re: Jamón Ibérico / Jamón Serrano [Re: Prisoner#1]
#17854041 - 02/23/13 06:37 PM (10 years, 11 months ago) |
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That is awesome Pris, how long is the age? 
Take some pictures and post your method when you're all done!
And if you'd be willing to spare a sample...
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Re: Jamón Ibérico / Jamón Serrano [Re: geokills] 1
#17854382 - 02/23/13 07:41 PM (10 years, 11 months ago) |
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@ $135.25lb.. Do they really need to add the extra .25?
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Re: Jamón Ibérico / Jamón Serrano [Re: geokills]
#17857541 - 02/24/13 12:19 PM (10 years, 10 months ago) |
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Quote:
geokills said: That is awesome Pris, how long is the age? 
Take some pictures and post your method when you're all done!
And if you'd be willing to spare a sample... 
so far I'm about 2 months in after 10 days of brining and smoked it for a week at about 150F just to get some flavor, I'm in the drying process now
there may or may not be pics of the finished product, I have about 4 memory cards for my camera and I'm yet to locate any of them
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geokills
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Re: Jamón Ibérico / Jamón Serrano [Re: geokills] 2
#28170507 - 02/03/23 09:17 AM (11 months, 18 days ago) |
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How about a li'l 15 year old thread pump? ¡Qué bueno! 
Big ups to Nibin's post above just oozing with juicy ham detail. 
Little late on the update here, been very busy gorging myself with pork. Nevertheless, wanted to drop in here to talk about scoring a whole serrano leg at Costco, which carries them seasonally starting in December by Noel, imported from Spain and fully salt cured (no nitrates/nitrites), minimum 14 lbs (this one pictured below is 17 lbs - I knew it was a good one when I picked up the box by the handle and it broke), including a stand and knife, for a ridiculous $99!
I've gone back in January in years prior when they had overstock, and scored the whole shabang for a ludicrously cheap $25. Even Costco's full price is a steal though, as you'd be hard pressed to find a leg like this for less than $300 elsewhere in the States. Costco also occasionally carries 3oz sheets of sliced iberico de bellota that they offer for around $15, which is a hell of a good deal as the best price I've found elsewhere is ~$120/lb.
I also saw this year, for the first time, a cured iberico lomo (loin piece). Didn't buy it as I already had one at home, but I'll be keepin' my eye out for the restock. 
Tienda.com still has some very good Spanish products if you can't find them locally, and if you get on their email list, you can routinely score 20% discounts (although they make you pay 2 day shipping on all perishables, which ends up at like $50+ for shipping alone).
Now... on with the pork porn!



Always groovy on a fresh crunchy outside/chewy inside baguette... Here's how I like it:
- Slice and grill the baguette with butter and/or olive oil into a crostini
- Scrape a garlic clove against the bread which gets some epic spicy garlic flavor on there
- Scrape a tomato against the bread to add a little acid and flavor juice
- Lay on the thinly sliced jamon and stuff face to ecstasy!
*Optional, smash some avocado on the bread too.. but honestly, just bread, butter and jamon is epic. The other arrangements are great too, but bread, butter, jamon... it's all any man should need in this life. 



A nice red wine on the side never hurts!
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Re: Jamón Ibérico / Jamón Serrano [Re: geokills]
#28172962 - 02/05/23 03:38 AM (11 months, 17 days ago) |
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wow, i can't imagine a whole Pata de Jamon so cheep!
Living in barcelona i get to eat jamon pretty regularly although i rarely buy any, and when i do it's like the trimmings they pack to make use of the whole thing... it's actually what i like the best as previously mentioned in this thread.
This past Christmas was the first time i got to cut into a whole pata de jamon... my roomates boyfriend got gifted one at work and we cut some for christmas eve... but we didn't have a propper knife or the contraption that's used to fix it to place so you can cut it. it was a whole messy affair lol. being the perfectionist that i am it made me very unhappy to do it that way, but i got to eat some tasty bits and have a story to tell so 
actually just the other day i bought a pack of these trimmings as a treat but i forgot it at work, i hope i closed it good enough so it doesn't oxidise too much...
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halo
Tripper


Registered: 11/01/07
Posts: 1,169
Last seen: 2 months, 8 days
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Re: Jamón Ibérico / Jamón Serrano [Re: Simisu]
#28214910 - 03/04/23 08:29 PM (10 months, 20 days ago) |
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wow, $99 for 14lbs at costco? shit I might have to get a membership finally
-------------------- All drugs should be legal
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