Konted's Make My Day 2: Jamon Iberico: Most Expensive Ham

Jamon Iberico: Most Expensive Ham

The cold wind of January was blowing that night at Tierra Pura. In fact, it was one of the coldest for the current year. We had just finished our dinner. Bob was re-arranging the table as Nelson was smoking a filter-tipped cigarette. I was watching Rouel as he began unwrapping a cut meat. With a sharp knife, he was slicing the meat thinly. It was called jamon iberico de bellota.

Thinly sliced Jamon Iberico de Bellota

Jamon Iberico de Bellota with special cheese

Jamon Iberico de Bellota is the most expensive ham in the whole world. And the most delicious ham. The fat has a creamy texture that melts in your mouth. With a little bit of saltiness, it is smooth as smooth can be. The meat is taken from black pigs that feed on barley, maize and acorns. Acorns are fruit nuts of oak trees. These black pigs are called pata negra or Iberian pigs. Jamon Iberico is Spain's pride.

Black Iberian pigs feeding on acorns. (Rosengarten pic)

Acorn refers to the fruit of an oak tree. (Guardian)

Acorns are round nuts. Black pigs feed on these nuts. (google)

Jamon Iberico is classified into three grades: Bellota which is the costliest as it is cured for 36 months. Next is the Jamon Iberico de Recebo which feeds on grain and acorn. The last one is the Cebo which is solely fed with grain. It is cured for 24 months. One can buy this at a much lower price. Jamon Iberico has a distinguishing feature. The pig's nail is black. A kilo of Jamon Iberico can cost $135. A whole leg can go as high as $4,000.

Jamon Iberico is called Pata Negra (wiki)

Jamon Iberico tastes good with American bread. (google)

The 1- liter Black Label was down to one fourth. The clock was striking 1 a.m. Rouel was still slicing more Jamon Iberico. He was emphasizing that it had to be thinly sliced to savor the good taste. This time, he added special cheese from Europe. The exchanges continued. Looking again at the clock, it was already 2 in the morning. We had been there for almost 7 hours, yet no one was asking permission to leave. Bob concocted his special soup for the night: Oyster Soup. Rouel took out from the cabinet another bottle of Glenlivet whiskey. Who says these guys are aging? Who says these guys are past their prime? Tell it to the judge.