Andalucia Articles

The Iberian Ham

The Iberian Ham (Jamon Iberico) is a valued culinary treasure; a symbol of history and tradition; which to the rest of the world is one of the richest gourmet delicacies available today.

The Iberian pig is an exemplary case of perfect livestock breeding; bred on a free range farm, it enjoys total freedom and is fed on a diet of completely natural products.

There are two phases in the breeding process; the first, or preparatory, phase begins once the animal has ended its suckling period and begins to eat grasses, seeds, bulbs and grain. This period lasts until it has grown to a weight of between 90 and 110 kilogrammes. After this, in the fattening period, or "montanera" (free range) phase, it starts a diet based on acorns, holm oak and cork oak buds. This fruit is rich in carbohydrates and fats, especially oleic acid, and this explains why Iberian pork products are considered so healthy.

In the fattening stage the pig can increase its weight by over a kilogramme per day thanks to its daily consumption of around 10 kilos of acorns. To follow this diet, however, the animal needs continuous exercise to search out the acorns, and this raises the quality of is meats, making its ham the most succulent.

When the pigs are ready for slaughter they have the week that they were slaughtered branded onto their leg. The legs are cut into the typical "Serrano" or mountain, fashion and then go to the airing chamber.

Next the hams are placed one on top of the other, seperated by layers of salt, to a maximum height of eight hams. They are kept there for aproximatly one day per kilo of weight, at a temperature of between 1º and 5ºC with a humidity level of around 80%-90%.

Post the salting the hams are then washed to remove the remaing salt from the surface, and left for between 35 and 60 days at a temperature between 3º to 6ºC.

In the traditional air-drying process that follows, the hams are air-dried in drying sheds. They are hung up in order to gradually reduce their humidity level. Temperature and ventilation are strictly regulated. The hams remain in these air-drying sheds for six or nine months. They sweat in the summer heat and their fat spreads through the muscle fibres, creating a succulent, aromatic meat.

For the maturing stage the hams are taken down into cellars to continue to mature slowly, this is usually done in autumn. The hams stay in the cellars for between 6 and 18 months, depending on their weight. It is during this stage that the fungi which appears on the outside of the hams begin to facilitate the aroma typical of the Iberian Cured ham. When it leaves the cellar, the ham is tested by means of probe called a Cala, which is stuck deep into the meat, pulled out and smelled.

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Cutting an Iberian Cured Ham

To cut a ham you must first have two essential utensiles, the first a "jamonero" used to maintain the ham in the right position for cutting, and the most important an extremly sharp long thin knife, if the knife is not sharp enough then it will not the ham correctly.

Place the ham in the Jamonero with the hoof pointing downwards. Then you can start to peel the outer layers of fat and skin from the part that you wish to eat from, it is very important not to take the skin of the whole ham as it will dry it out.

The ham should be positioned at an angle and should never be machine cut. A perfect slice of ham is small, thin and should contain a small vein of fat. The ideal temperature for cutting ham is 12ºC.

All parts of the ham can be used, the edge is the tastiest part for cooking with, and the bone is the best part to make a delicious stock for stews of soups.



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