Serrano ham

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Serrano ham

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aammaguiar

Posts: 20
Joined: Aug. 25 2004
From: Detroit, USA

Serrano ham

For all you afficionados of Spanish ham here's something for you.
I'm in Detroit, USA. I went to buy some prosciuto - runs around $12 to $25 a pound at my local grocer. Next to these hams there was a "serrano ham", very black, and guess what it ran! $172 a pound. I didn't buy any, but am just wondering what makes it worth that much. Can't be what they feed the pigs, unless it's caviar!
Anyone?

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Apr. 3 2009 10:10:30

Güiro

Posts: 158
Joined: Aug. 22 2008
From: Colorado

RE: Serrano ham (in reply to aammaguiar)

They feed them acorn diets.

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Apr. 3 2009 11:34:40

Ron.M

Posts: 7051
Joined: Jul. 7 2003
From: Scotland

RE: Serrano ham (in reply to Güiro)

Yeah,
I sort of remember hearing a radio programme about that.

The pigs aren't "factory farmed" as our own "value" Supermarket stuff, but are a sort of wild breed that (while still in captivity) are allowed to roam free in the forest and live mainly on a diet of acorns.

Modern farm managers would laugh at the inefficiency of the whole setup, which seems very rurally based and non-technological.

I once asked my local butcher why his beef and general stuff was so good (and expensive) compared to the Supermarkets.
Was it breed or what?
He said that the best steak was Aberdeen Angus Cross, which is the best with regards to meat/fat content and better than pure Aberdeen Angus, but that basically wasn't the problem.
He said it was all about the amount of time spent in labour and the "hanging" of the meat.

Supermarkets want a quick return so the meat is on sale a couple of days after slaughter, so that the water content is still very high (some even artificially inject more) so the cost per kilo seems good, but you are paying for a lot of water.
But the traditional Butcher allows his stock to hang and mature for several weeks, losing much weight in water evaporation, but concentrating flavour.

cheers,

Ron

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Apr. 3 2009 12:17:02

edguerin

Posts: 1589
Joined: Dec. 24 2007
From: Siegburg, Alemania

RE: Serrano ham (in reply to aammaguiar)

"Jamon serrano" just means "Mountain ham", so that alone isn't necessarily a sign of real quality.
Basically there are two types of superior jamon:
Jamon serrano de Trevelez (from Trevelez near Granada) usually from normal domestic pigs.
and
Jamon iberico (de Bellota), aka "de pata negra" from the Estremadura from semi-wild pigs (a special breed; they're almost black in colour, hence the name). They're fed at least 70% acorns.

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Apr. 3 2009 23:12:32

Anders Eliasson

Posts: 5780
Joined: Oct. 18 2006

RE: Serrano ham (in reply to aammaguiar)

quote:

Jamon iberico (de Bellota), aka "de pata negra" from the Estremadura from semi-wild pigs (a special breed; they're almost black in colour, hence the name). They're fed at least 70% acorns.

hey hey, Ed.. The most famous Jamón Serrano ibérico is from Huelva...... From Jabuco in the Sierra de Huelva.

These pigs which a black have a wonderfull life. They live in the rolling hills with a lot of space underneath Spanish Oak trees (Encina). I visit them a couple of times every year. I like pigs. They are very curious animals.
I will be visiting them this easter.

Ham from here is very expensive. Depending on the quality, how you buy it, if its a whole ham or slices, who you know and where you buy.
In a supermarket here, slices easily costs some 100,-€ a kilo.
Its a very nice Ham but its way to expensive, so I only eat very little.

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Apr. 4 2009 0:27:53

edguerin

Posts: 1589
Joined: Dec. 24 2007
From: Siegburg, Alemania

RE: Serrano ham (in reply to aammaguiar)

sorry, sorry, sorry, grovel, grovel...

of course, you're right JABUGO is it!

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Apr. 4 2009 7:32:41

aammaguiar

Posts: 20
Joined: Aug. 25 2004
From: Detroit, USA

RE: Serrano ham (in reply to aammaguiar)

Thanks for all the replies, folks. I'm sure the ham is very good. And that it costs a lot more to produce it - with the pigs roaming, the land, to hang the ham etc.
But $172/pound versus $24/pound? I doubt it tastes 6 times better! But I'm not a wine afficionado either!!!

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Apr. 4 2009 9:43:27

Anders Eliasson

Posts: 5780
Joined: Oct. 18 2006

RE: Serrano ham (in reply to aammaguiar)

quote:

But $172/pound versus $24/pound? I doubt it tastes 6 times better! But I'm not a wine afficionado either!!!

Well, money and price is a very strange thing. Is a 6000,-€ guitar 10 times better than a 600,-€ guitar and is a Mercedes 5 times better than a Hyundai?

Special things cost money.

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Apr. 4 2009 13:13:30

a_arnold

Posts: 558
Joined: Jul. 30 2006

RE: Serrano ham (in reply to aammaguiar)

quote:

I doubt it tastes 6 times better!

No, not 6 times, bu it is as different from US supermarket ham as beef is from turkey. And better tasting than either. Very interesting taste (you can taste the acorns) , and well worth the experiment. The serrano I tried had been air-cured for a year, and was uncooked, a bit like like prosciuto crudo but more tender. I don't think it is worth the $ if you want sandwich meat, but then a fine wine isn't worth the money if you are merely thirsty. Try it for the experience. I'd recommend a sherry with it. Just tasting it can make you speculate about hat cheese would go best.

I think Anders is right, Ashok. Your thinking may be too linear. When you buy the very best of anything, you enter into a game of exponentially diminishing returns. You pay a lot more than 10% extra for that extra 10% of real value.

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Apr. 4 2009 14:53:34

kovachian

Posts: 506
Joined: Jan. 30 2008
From: Americanistan

RE: Serrano ham (in reply to aammaguiar)

Such is the realm of high-end luxury goods; to the proletariat, paying $172 for ham is a lame joke - to the aristocrat, paying $172 for ham is essentially what makes the product "worth it". They wouldn't want the $30 ham, simply because it costs only $30.

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Apr. 4 2009 16:01:18

edguerin

Posts: 1589
Joined: Dec. 24 2007
From: Siegburg, Alemania

RE: Serrano ham (in reply to a_arnold)

quote:

"Flamenco is so marvelously simple and direct that a trained classical musician would require many years of highly disciplined formal study to fail to understand it."

Nice text.
Where's it from?

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Apr. 4 2009 23:07:16

edguerin

Posts: 1589
Joined: Dec. 24 2007
From: Siegburg, Alemania

RE: Serrano ham (in reply to aammaguiar)

Here in Europe I can have excellent Jabugo Jamon Serrano de pata negra sent to me for about US$ 41.- per pound.
So I guess import-taxes, overheads, greed etc are the real reason for such a high price

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Apr. 4 2009 23:19:30

Pimientito

Posts: 2481
Joined: Jul. 30 2007
From: Marbella

RE: Serrano ham (in reply to edguerin)

quote:

I doubt it tastes 6 times better! But I'm not a wine afficionado either!!!

Thats not quite right, it depends enormously on the quality. I used to think Jamon was just Jamon. Its actually almost as complicated as buying wine. Anders gave a simplified version.

The jamon is a cured pigs leg. Essentially the meat is raw but because it is encased in salt , fat and wax no air or insects can get to the meat. The flesh starts to soften by anaerobic breakdown of the protein and this is what makes it edible. The longe the leg is allowed to hang, the softer the meat gets.

The front leg is known as the paletilla and contains less meat than the hind leg which is the pata. The bone in each leg wieghs roughly a kilo so when you buy a 4 kilo paletilla you only get 3 kilos of meat. An 8 kilo pata contains 7 kilos of meat. If you buy sliced jamon the price reflects the price of the meat without the bone so its considerably more expensive.

A serrano Jamon is an air dried ham that is aired for at least 9 months. The lowest grade would be a 9 month old leg from a domestic pig. Here the trotter is pink. The meat is a pale red with white fat and bit stringy and costs around 9 euros a kilo. The jamon can be left to hang for 2 or 3 years and then it becomes a reserva or gran reserva. The meat becomes much softer and tastier and sells for around 17 euros a kilo.

A jamon iberico is another type of pig and can be feed with ordinary pig food or acorns instead and this then becomes much more expensive. The fat becomes very yellow and the flesh a deeper red. The trotter of the pig is black which is why it is called pata negra. Again this can be graded according to age of hanging. Normally this will sell for 40 to 70 euros a kilo depending on the quality.
The jabuga jamon that you are getting at 41 euros a pound will be this grade.

The jabugo can be raised organically as Anders said with wild pigs eating only acorns from piglets. The meat can be hung for 3 or 4 years and a really good Jamon can cost up to 1000 euros. It is the champagne of ham. Its not about being a snob as its much more expensive to produce.

The difference is enormous. It isn't just a bit better....its like another food altogether. I have only tried it a couple of times and it is definately worth the expense and effort. A cheap jamon is a bit tough and stringy with a slightly earthy taste. With the Jabuga pata negra the meat disolves in your mouth and the fat release a rich tase of acorns. It is not something you put in your sandwiches at 100 - 150 euros a kilo.

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Apr. 10 2009 5:31:05

Anders Eliasson

Posts: 5780
Joined: Oct. 18 2006

RE: Serrano ham (in reply to aammaguiar)

I just came home from a couple of days with the Caravan. Portugal and Sierra de Huelva. I should say hello from the black pigs up there. They are doing fine and they look very happy. Everything green and lush. I forgot to take a picture of them.

This I will do next time.

Yes, good quality ham you dont put on anything. You just eat it. With a bit of bread, but not on the bread or inbetween bread. A good Manzanilla or fino not to cold rounds it all of perfectly.

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Apr. 12 2009 23:57:33