Serrano/Iberian Ham (whole)?
Discussion
As this is THE place for foodie info, can any cured meat knowledgable chap take a look at this and give me a sound opinion?
http://www.spanishselectwines.co.uk/12-cured-ham-p...
It seems qyite cheap compared to a lot of places, especially as it includes a holder and in some cases, a knife too.
Other links more than welcome!
http://www.spanishselectwines.co.uk/12-cured-ham-p...
It seems qyite cheap compared to a lot of places, especially as it includes a holder and in some cases, a knife too.
Other links more than welcome!
Vs
http://www.brindisa.com/store/hams-and-ham-sets/
Curing time is a factor. At the cheaper end it will only be about 10 months.
http://www.brindisa.com/store/hams-and-ham-sets/
Curing time is a factor. At the cheaper end it will only be about 10 months.
My favorite food in the world, and something I buy a lot of!
Depends what you want- huge difference between serrano ( which comes from white hoof) and jamon iberico pata negra ( which comes from black hoof)
Black hoof has 3 grades, de cebo (grain fed), de recebo (grain/acorn mix ), and de bellota (fully acorn fed). De Bellota is the best and most expensive.
Brindisa is one of the best places to get it in the UK- they do all four types- I routinely buy all four at once (4x 100g - not 4 whole hams!). Selfridges also do a superb one (maldonado).
Expect to pay £22-24/100g for the finest de bellota, and £5-7/100g for serrano.
I use serrano in my croquetas, but find it a little too dry for eating much by itself.
With the cheaper iberico, curing time differences will be a major factor, as will the overall quality and region. It will still be ok, just nowhere near as good as the higher end stuff. Proper de bellota should be cured for 36 months but you can get stuff that has been cured for 48.
In all honesty, unless you know how to carve this I wouldn't bother with a whole ham, especially a top of the range one. There is a skill to doing it properly, it requires a quality knife, correct storage, and you may end up wasting a lot of it.
Depends what you want- huge difference between serrano ( which comes from white hoof) and jamon iberico pata negra ( which comes from black hoof)
Black hoof has 3 grades, de cebo (grain fed), de recebo (grain/acorn mix ), and de bellota (fully acorn fed). De Bellota is the best and most expensive.
Brindisa is one of the best places to get it in the UK- they do all four types- I routinely buy all four at once (4x 100g - not 4 whole hams!). Selfridges also do a superb one (maldonado).
Expect to pay £22-24/100g for the finest de bellota, and £5-7/100g for serrano.
I use serrano in my croquetas, but find it a little too dry for eating much by itself.
With the cheaper iberico, curing time differences will be a major factor, as will the overall quality and region. It will still be ok, just nowhere near as good as the higher end stuff. Proper de bellota should be cured for 36 months but you can get stuff that has been cured for 48.
In all honesty, unless you know how to carve this I wouldn't bother with a whole ham, especially a top of the range one. There is a skill to doing it properly, it requires a quality knife, correct storage, and you may end up wasting a lot of it.
Edited by GCH on Friday 2nd November 11:03
We visited some family who were living North of Barcelona, the local Lidl had Cava & cider for something daft like 1 euro per bottle and hams from 40 to 120 euros, we had a bloody marvellous few drunken days and bought a cheap one back for christmas (just in case it was confiscated by customs) It was lovely, I'd imagine an aged corn fed beast would taste even better!
GCH said:
My favorite food in the world, and something I buy a lot of!
Depends what you want- huge difference between serrano ( which comes from white hoof) and jamon iberico pata negra ( which comes from black hoof)
Black hoof has 3 grades, de cebo (grain fed), de recebo (grain/acorn mix ), and de bellota (fully acorn fed). De Bellota is the best and most expensive.
Brindisa is one of the best places to get it in the UK- they do all four types- I routinely buy all four at once (4x 100g - not 4 whole hams!). Selfridges also do a superb one (maldonado).
Expect to pay £22-24/100g for the finest de bellota, and £5-7/100g for serrano.
I use serrano in my croquetas, but find it a little too dry for eating much by itself.
With the cheaper iberico, curing time differences will be a major factor, as will the overall quality and region. It will still be ok, just nowhere near as good as the higher end stuff. Proper de bellota should be cured for 36 months but you can get stuff that has been cured for 48.
In all honesty, unless you know how to carve this I wouldn't bother with a whole ham, especially a top of the range one. There is a skill to doing it properly, it requires a quality knife, correct storage, and you may end up wasting a lot of it.
£24 for 100g of ham?Depends what you want- huge difference between serrano ( which comes from white hoof) and jamon iberico pata negra ( which comes from black hoof)
Black hoof has 3 grades, de cebo (grain fed), de recebo (grain/acorn mix ), and de bellota (fully acorn fed). De Bellota is the best and most expensive.
Brindisa is one of the best places to get it in the UK- they do all four types- I routinely buy all four at once (4x 100g - not 4 whole hams!). Selfridges also do a superb one (maldonado).
Expect to pay £22-24/100g for the finest de bellota, and £5-7/100g for serrano.
I use serrano in my croquetas, but find it a little too dry for eating much by itself.
With the cheaper iberico, curing time differences will be a major factor, as will the overall quality and region. It will still be ok, just nowhere near as good as the higher end stuff. Proper de bellota should be cured for 36 months but you can get stuff that has been cured for 48.
In all honesty, unless you know how to carve this I wouldn't bother with a whole ham, especially a top of the range one. There is a skill to doing it properly, it requires a quality knife, correct storage, and you may end up wasting a lot of it.
Edited by GCH on Friday 2nd November 11:03
I love, and will spend on good food, but that sounds utterly mental to me.
Noger said:
Vs
http://www.brindisa.com/store/hams-and-ham-sets/
Curing time is a factor. At the cheaper end it will only be about 10 months.
I am a massive fan of Brindisa. I need to get back down to London some time to eat there. The acorn fed Iberico is the most amazing thing I've ever tasted.http://www.brindisa.com/store/hams-and-ham-sets/
Curing time is a factor. At the cheaper end it will only be about 10 months.
The cheap ones are fine for what they are. I normally bring back a cheap pata negra for about 100 euro.
If you really get into it you will only buy hams from pigs slaughtered certain weeks of the year so you know their diet etc etc I have Spanish family like that who do spend a fortune on the best hams they can get. There is a difference but I couldn't justify the cost over a mid-priced one.
If you really get into it you will only buy hams from pigs slaughtered certain weeks of the year so you know their diet etc etc I have Spanish family like that who do spend a fortune on the best hams they can get. There is a difference but I couldn't justify the cost over a mid-priced one.
http://www.harrods.com/product/the-opulence/harrod...
Contains the £1500 5 year aged Iberico ham, can be also be purchased at ~£20/100g
Contains the £1500 5 year aged Iberico ham, can be also be purchased at ~£20/100g
I recently bought a Pate Negra Bellota shoulder cured for 24 months. Excuse any spelling.
It was a waste of money, but to be honest it was a gamble.
It was a groupon type buy and it was something like £60 delivered from Spain and I did all my homework etc. Pata Negra, the best. Iberico, better than serrano. Acorn fed, the best. Cured 24 months, excellent.
The price also included a stand and a knife.
What meat I did get off was incredible, tender, tasty and sumptuous. But once the main bit was gone it was a different story.
A lot of the meat was simply too tough to cut, even with a proper chef's knife.
The rancid fat that must be cut away was more or less part of the edible ham, so I had to slice a lot of meat away because the meat was too tough to cut near the outer part.
I emailed the seller, and have heard nothing back so I assume they knew the quality was poor.
The firm was San Jamon, in case anyone Googles it.
I would buy another but I think I would pay the extra for a leg and I would rather pay for a serrano 10 month with good reviews than risk a supposedly good one with no reviews.
It was a waste of money, but to be honest it was a gamble.
It was a groupon type buy and it was something like £60 delivered from Spain and I did all my homework etc. Pata Negra, the best. Iberico, better than serrano. Acorn fed, the best. Cured 24 months, excellent.
The price also included a stand and a knife.
What meat I did get off was incredible, tender, tasty and sumptuous. But once the main bit was gone it was a different story.
A lot of the meat was simply too tough to cut, even with a proper chef's knife.
The rancid fat that must be cut away was more or less part of the edible ham, so I had to slice a lot of meat away because the meat was too tough to cut near the outer part.
I emailed the seller, and have heard nothing back so I assume they knew the quality was poor.
The firm was San Jamon, in case anyone Googles it.
I would buy another but I think I would pay the extra for a leg and I would rather pay for a serrano 10 month with good reviews than risk a supposedly good one with no reviews.
dazco said:
I recently bought a Pate Negra Bellota shoulder cured for 24 months. Excuse any spelling.
It was a waste of money, but to be honest it was a gamble.
It was a groupon type buy and it was something like £60 delivered from Spain and I did all my homework etc. Pata Negra, the best. Iberico, better than serrano. Acorn fed, the best. Cured 24 months, excellent.
The price also included a stand and a knife.
What meat I did get off was incredible, tender, tasty and sumptuous. But once the main bit was gone it was a different story.
A lot of the meat was simply too tough to cut, even with a proper chef's knife.
The rancid fat that must be cut away was more or less part of the edible ham, so I had to slice a lot of meat away because the meat was too tough to cut near the outer part.
I emailed the seller, and have heard nothing back so I assume they knew the quality was poor.
The firm was San Jamon, in case anyone Googles it.
I would buy another but I think I would pay the extra for a leg and I would rather pay for a serrano 10 month with good reviews than risk a supposedly good one with no reviews.
I bought the same from San Jamon - exactly as you say. It was cheap, but equally rubbish. Just now enjoying a much better one from a French supermarket - €80 worthIt was a waste of money, but to be honest it was a gamble.
It was a groupon type buy and it was something like £60 delivered from Spain and I did all my homework etc. Pata Negra, the best. Iberico, better than serrano. Acorn fed, the best. Cured 24 months, excellent.
The price also included a stand and a knife.
What meat I did get off was incredible, tender, tasty and sumptuous. But once the main bit was gone it was a different story.
A lot of the meat was simply too tough to cut, even with a proper chef's knife.
The rancid fat that must be cut away was more or less part of the edible ham, so I had to slice a lot of meat away because the meat was too tough to cut near the outer part.
I emailed the seller, and have heard nothing back so I assume they knew the quality was poor.
The firm was San Jamon, in case anyone Googles it.
I would buy another but I think I would pay the extra for a leg and I would rather pay for a serrano 10 month with good reviews than risk a supposedly good one with no reviews.
wijit said:
As this is THE place for foodie info, can any cured meat knowledgable chap take a look at this and give me a sound opinion?
http://www.spanishselectwines.co.uk/12-cured-ham-p...
It seems qyite cheap compared to a lot of places, especially as it includes a holder and in some cases, a knife too.
Other links more than welcome!
So has anyone tried these ones?http://www.spanishselectwines.co.uk/12-cured-ham-p...
It seems qyite cheap compared to a lot of places, especially as it includes a holder and in some cases, a knife too.
Other links more than welcome!
David A said:
wijit said:
As this is THE place for foodie info, can any cured meat knowledgable chap take a look at this and give me a sound opinion?
http://www.spanishselectwines.co.uk/12-cured-ham-p...
It seems qyite cheap compared to a lot of places, especially as it includes a holder and in some cases, a knife too.
Other links more than welcome!
So has anyone tried these ones?http://www.spanishselectwines.co.uk/12-cured-ham-p...
It seems qyite cheap compared to a lot of places, especially as it includes a holder and in some cases, a knife too.
Other links more than welcome!
Well, anyway, the folks ordered me one as a Christmas pressie. Should have been delivered yesterday Thurs 20th but wasn't. They chased it up today as they'd had an email order confirmation and the money taken from the credit card and said the chap they spoke to sounded like an agent rather than a company (But don't know for sure). He had no knowledge of the order. Despite this he refunded the money to their card while on the phone - makes me think he did have knowledge of the order or else why would you issue a refund...
So very peee'd off as was looking forward to this starting off the Crimbo feasting
Anyone recommend a reliable alternative supplier?
Dave
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