Jamón Ibérico Bellota Premium DOP Extremadura 80g

TAST­ING NOTES FROM THE CURATOR

Between the provinces of Cáceres and Bada­joz, cork and ever­green oaks pro­vide a boun­ty of acorns for the large, slen­der-legged Iber­ian pigs local­ly nick­named pata negra. This spe­cial diet and free-range liv­ing result in beau­ti­ful­ly plump hogs — the sin­gle most essen­tial require­ment for the fat­ty, gold­en-hued legs of jamón ibéri­co. In one of the only four regions of Spain with pro­tect­ed des­ig­na­tion of ori­gin sta­tus for this ham, the huge haunch­es are salt­ed and cured for two to four years. The haunch­es lose about half their weight and size, leaned down until the remain­ing fat lay­er can melt in your mouth. Jamón from Extremadu­ra is known for its juicy, well-mar­bled pink to pur­ple-red meat — a ves­sel for a del­i­cate com­bi­na­tion of sweet­ness, salti­ness, and the com­plex earthy fla­vors of the dehe­sas themselves. 

PAIR­INGS

How­ev­er one might describe jamón ibéri­co — sweet and nut­ty, flo­ral and earthy — it stands on a pedestal of its own. Best served at room tem­per­a­ture to prime the fat to melt on your tongue, it must be tak­en in thin, del­i­cate pieces to enjoy the com­plex nuances of its fla­vor. Clas­si­cal­ly served with a crusty slice of bread driz­zled in oil, it pairs well with the acid­i­ty of sliced toma­toes. A pinch of salt seals the deal. To bring out the fruiti­er notes, wrap a sliv­er around a slice of hon­ey­dew mel­on or can­taloupe. Anoth­er bruschet­ta-style option is to pair your jamón-on-toast with a poached or scram­bled egg to start off your day. For wine pair­ings, the earth­i­ness of Rio­ja or Tem­pranil­lo work per­fect­ly — as would a brut Cava, for a bit of bub­ble. If you pre­fer white wines, Chenin Blanc, Pinot Gri­gio, or Albar­iño will pair smooth­ly. For beer drinkers, a light­ly hop­py dark lager also goes down famous­ly with this ham’s fat­ty flavors.

A PORK OF STA­TUS AND POLITICS

In Roman times, ham from the Iber­ian pigs were a favored com­mod­i­ty to ship back to the Empire’s cap­i­tal. When the Moors of North Africa invad­ed Spain around the year 700, they ate the local jamón as an act of polit­i­cal rebel­lion. This ham remained part of the peninsula’s culi­nary cul­ture even when Isabel­la of Castille and Fer­di­nand of Aragon cast out the Moors and unit­ed the regions of Spain. Even Christo­pher Colum­bus, on his trav­els to the Amer­i­c­as, found the ibéri­co ham hardy, excel­lent voy­age fare. And when the com­mu­ni­ty of Jerez de los Caballeros in Extremadu­ra began feed­ing their pigs sole­ly on acorns, the sta­tus of the jamón ibéri­co was sealed. 

Storage Instructions

Store in the fridge.