Those acorns went straight to his legs.

April 8, 2014 6:51 PM

This video is an eight minute tutorial on how to carve an Iberian ham. You might feel the need to pause it for a drink and a plate of jamon at your nearest tapas.
posted by ardgedee (33 comments total)

Take a hint; don't watch when you are hungry!
posted by Anitanola at 7:04 PM on April 8, 2014 [3 favorites]

I paid $25 for a plate of jamon y queso on la gran via in Madrid, and while I am fairly sure I over paid, it was still fucking delicious.
posted by empath at 7:12 PM on April 8, 2014 [2 favorites]

There are few things in life so wonderful as an afternoon spent enjoying a nice fino and some good jamon iberico with a side of almonds and manchego.

Seriously, jamon iberico is one of the wonders of the world. Such a delicious treat.
posted by tgrundke at 7:13 PM on April 8, 2014 [2 favorites]

$25 for a plate of jamon y queso on la gran via

Yes and yes!
posted by jsavimbi at 7:19 PM on April 8, 2014

I remember seeing a whole segment on jamon iberico in the Bourdain Feran Adria docu and it looked amazing. I've had it here but I suspect it's just not the same.
posted by kmz at 7:21 PM on April 8, 2014

I used to do this professionally, though it was in the days before Iberico was legal in the U.S. so we were slicing other bone-in hams (proscuitto di parma, jamon serrano, and a virginia country ham). It is a very zen, very doing-without-doing sort of task.

That fat, man. You have to trim the yellow-colored outer fat as it is rancid. You'd get a rash from it on your inner arms when holding or moving or working with the hams, but the inner fat is clean and amazing.
posted by gauche at 7:25 PM on April 8, 2014 [6 favorites]

"... it is extremely important, in order to obtain optimum organoleptic sensations!" WANT!
posted by shoesfullofdust at 7:34 PM on April 8, 2014 [1 favorite]

I was in Barcelona this fall and the big department stores were all selling whole bone-in jamon iberico. I guess it's a Christmas thing in Spain. They were running about $300-400 USD each depending on the brand, which when you think about the price per pound, to say nothing of the price in the US, really isn't that bad at all. They came in velvet outer bags, like a giant bottle of Crown Royal, with a cloven hoof sticking out of the top.

In the end I didn't buy one, because I was too afraid of Customs confiscating it when I came back into the US. I needn't have worried, because I breezed right through (I could have had anything in there), and now I am filled with regret and not delicious jamon. Sigh.
posted by Kadin2048 at 7:58 PM on April 8, 2014 [6 favorites]

They came in velvet outer bags, like a giant bottle of Crown Royal, with a cloven hoof sticking out of the top.

[Repeated for sheer poetry.]
posted by Atom Eyes at 8:01 PM on April 8, 2014 [14 favorites]

When I lived in Spain I used to buy 200 gms of aged Iberico every Saturday in the market, hand cut. Some Iberico runs to Euro 150 / kg. The tastes and aftertastes differ. Its definitely worth indulging and trying a few. All aged jamons have a date stamp and some brands become known for their vintage years rather like fine wines. I'll be back there in a month. Something to look forward to.
posted by adamvasco at 8:06 PM on April 8, 2014

It's 9 at night and no deli open for hundreds of miles. I feel like crying. That video was beautiful.
posted by arcticseal at 8:22 PM on April 8, 2014 [2 favorites]

Anybody else hear the translator extolling "the purity of the race" at the end there? She means of the hogs, right?
posted by Kylio at 8:51 PM on April 8, 2014 [2 favorites]

Iberico pork really is something else. Tastes like nothing else I've ever had. They pigs are fed a diet of (exclusively?) acorns, which gives the pork its distinctive flavor.
posted by zardoz at 8:54 PM on April 8, 2014 [2 favorites]

I heard it too, it did give me a moment's pause.
posted by arcticseal at 8:55 PM on April 8, 2014

They sell this stuff at Trader Joes, and I tried it out recently. I thought it was pretty yummy, but I haven't had the chance to compare it to any other jamon iberco. Can anyone who has tried both Trader Joes and "authentic" share their thoughts about it?
posted by oceanjesse at 9:05 PM on April 8, 2014

If I didn't have beef spare ribs going as I write this, I would be having pangs.

Surely there's a german word for the realisation that you want—but don't have—a plate of cured meat in front of you.
posted by flippant at 9:07 PM on April 8, 2014 [3 favorites]

flippant: "Surely there's a german word for the realisation that you want—but don't have—a plate of cured meat in front of you."

Weltanschauung
posted by Sphinx at 9:20 PM on April 8, 2014 [3 favorites]

trader joe's version - the bitter ashes of a martyred heretic in your mouth

jamon iberico pata negra - the alpha and the omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last
posted by poffin boffin at 10:01 PM on April 8, 2014 [6 favorites]

Oh, oh, oh, so delightful!

I was recently in Mexico for a week, courtesy of the company my husband works for. The first night, we had a company awards dinner, and the highlight of the cocktail hour prior was the fella carving paper thin slices of jamon iberico on demand.

Not only was it a sight to behold, it was a mouthful of joy.

Imagine my surprise and delight when I discovered the next morning at breakfast that I could have MORE, carved right in front of me. And so I did, every morning for a week. I made fun of my husband every day, too, because he chose American style breakfast with bacon, while I stuffed myself with jamon iberico, fresh seafood, and mangoes.
posted by MissySedai at 10:05 PM on April 8, 2014 [6 favorites]

Weltanschaung?

Vantenwurst
posted by notyou at 10:51 PM on April 8, 2014 [1 favorite]

They sell this stuff at Trader Joes, and I tried it out recently. I thought it was pretty yummy, but I haven't had the chance to compare it to any other jamon iberco. Can anyone who has tried both Trader Joes and "authentic" share their thoughts about it?

It's kind of okay. But no, not the same thing.
posted by empath at 11:14 PM on April 8, 2014

I miss ibérico like nothing else from Spain. Also, it doesn't have to be jamón. The chorizo from Guijuelo, for instance, is made from ibérico pork and has the same aromas in the fats, plus pimentón. Yum!
posted by kandinski at 12:18 AM on April 9, 2014

I was in Barcelona this fall and the big department stores were all selling whole bone-in jamon iberico. I guess it's a Christmas thing in Spain.

Yes, you buy a leg and it lasts all Christmas season. You put it in a jamón stand in the kitchen (pretty much like this picture), cut away the yellow fat on top, cover it with a slightly damp cloth so it doesn't dry, and whenever you feel peckish you cut one or two slices.

Most of us buy a leg of regular jamón serrano, though. They're about 60€ last time I looked, I think.

Anybody else hear the translator extolling "the purity of the race" at the end there? She means of the hogs, right?

Yep. It's not ibérico if it's not from a pig that is 75% Black Iberian or more. There are several denominaciones de origen for ham. Most of them are for ibérico, but Jamón de Teruel is made from other breeds.

I miss ibérico like nothing else from Spain. Also, it doesn't have to be jamón. The chorizo from Guijuelo, for instance, is made from ibérico pork and has the same aromas in the fats, plus pimentón. Yum!

Try the lomo (cured pork loin), too :3
posted by sukeban at 1:07 AM on April 9, 2014 [2 favorites]

"Surely there's a german word for the realisation that you want—but don't have—a plate of cured meat in front of you."

Nice one.

I'd venture "Schinkensuchtschmerz" - corrections from native speakers gern gesehen.
posted by illongruci at 2:54 AM on April 9, 2014 [1 favorite]

We were just on vacation in Spain and I sure did love the ham. Good slice of bread with a thin wafer of ham is just heavenly.

I was depressed when I ordered a sandwich with "jamon de York" and it turned out to just be boring boiled baked ham. Also there's a sad tendency there to think ham + bread is a good combination, no matter the quality of the ham or bread.
posted by smackfu at 6:13 AM on April 9, 2014

I live in Madrid and I am going to put on my shoes right this minute and go downstairs and splurge on 100g of jamón at the butchers, and all you suckers can just ENVY ME. Haters a la izquierda.
posted by lollymccatburglar at 6:36 AM on April 9, 2014 [8 favorites]

There are several denominaciones de origen for ham

I now want a pedigree pig. I promise not to eat it.
posted by arcticseal at 7:40 AM on April 9, 2014

Was in Tenerife over Christmas. Bought some end-of-ham Serrano offcuts at the supermarket 'cos they were really cheap. Leathery doesn't begin to describe it, this stuff has to be paper thin. (I cut it up finely and added it to soups, pizza and baked beans - divine!).
posted by epo at 8:08 AM on April 9, 2014

Can you get this video anywhere with subtitles instead of that annoying voice-over?
posted by brokkr at 8:28 AM on April 9, 2014

Dunno, but you've got the undubbed version here.
posted by sukeban at 8:57 AM on April 9, 2014

This place is in my neighborhood. Yes...worth every penny.
posted by kjs3 at 8:58 AM on April 9, 2014

So where can I go to pick up some decent iberico. Whole Foods?
posted by naju at 2:45 PM on April 9, 2014

If you live in Southern California, you can go to La Espanola in Harbor City.

At $95 a pound, a whole one (14-20 pounds) will set you back a month's rent.
posted by notyou at 3:06 PM on April 9, 2014