Jamon Iberico

[LPShanet]

What I got from Dean and Deluca last night was labeled as Bellota, though. $75/lb. Grub Street verified this with their corporate folks:

"[Grub Street] checked and they do have thirty USDA-approved [bellota] hams, guest residents admitted to our shores by the USDA as a preview of hams to come."

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It may well be bellota that Dean and Deluca has. I was only speaking about the Despana stuff, as I haven't checked out Dean and Deluca's product. One caveat, though: like with many DO (controlled region of origin) products, there are specific rules, and also many attempts to circumvent them by clever labeling. So it's also possible that this is not the real stuff. You'd want to read the label and look for a few other signs to make sure that it said the right magic words:) Either way, as long as it's real Iberico, it's bound to be pretty good. Were they hand slicing?

[kathryn]

Yes, they were handslicing at D&D (rather awkwardly as I had some slices that were just a little too thick). There was a giant ham with the bone in, clearly labelled as Bellota and "new" on display. It's right past the cheeses in the Soho location, Prince & Broadway.

Edited December 11, 2007 by kathryn (log)

[Swicks]

Man i'm drooling at that picture...

Ham futures...GENIUS.

Would there be a reasonable facimile avaliable at a specialty food store, say a whole foods?

[Dryden]

Just got some of the bellota @ dean & deluca. It's better than the stuff at Despana (and cheaper, too!), though probably not sliced as expertly...

The "regular" iberico at Despana has a nuttiness to the fat that is delicious. The bellota tastes like an entire toasted hazelnut forest is hiding in the fat. When they start importing this regularly, I may end up broke eating it... but I'll be really, really happy.

[Greystreet]

:Drool:

[Swicks]

Just got some of the bellota @ dean & deluca.  It's better than the stuff at Despana (and cheaper, too!), though probably not sliced as expertly...

The "regular" iberico at Despana has a nuttiness to the fat that is delicious.  The bellota tastes like an entire toasted hazelnut forest is hiding in the fat.  When they start importing this regularly, I may end up broke eating it...  but I'll be really, really happy.

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Unfortunately I am in Newport Beach (SoCal) so no D&D acess, though there is one coming right near me at Fashion Island in 2009.

[Kent Wang]

Would there be a reasonable facimile avaliable at a specialty food store, say a whole foods?

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I don't think Whole Foods is very serious about charcuterie, if their flagship store in Austin is any indication. They carry only a handful of items that I would ever buy, and those are found at other stores too. When Fermin was available last year, Central Market carried it but Whole Foods did not.

But, I have heard that Whole Foods buying is fairly decentralized by region, so it may just be that the Texas region's charcuterie is poor.

[theabroma]

I was way too far away from my usual source of Italian pork products here in Dallas - Jimmy's - and had to have some proscuitto ... or reasonable facsimile thereof. All I could get to was the WFM in Arlington, TX. They had the domestic product ... and it was ok. Hoping against common sense, I asked if there happened to be even a whiff of an Italian ham lurking about. The charcuteriste crisply informed me that THIS, holding up and waiving what appeared to be a starched and pressed pink shoe shole - a slice of my request - was the ONLY proscuitto WFM offered ... the Italian "stuff", well they just fed those pigs everything, and this pink shoe sole, er slice of proscuitto, was from free-range hogs. Somewhere in the background I heard snickerings in a rustic Italian dialect, as hands snatched figs and ovals of sheer chiffon-like slices of the sunrise and chowed down. I mumbled something about highly controlled, DOC, etc. The chacuteriste's left eyebrow shot up and there was mumbling about whether to call Security. Knowing that I was going to crisp the bejesus out of those shoe soles, I took my package and slunk off. The final indignity? I cost what the San Daniele would have cost me at Jimmy's.

Now, if that's the treatment of what is now a reasonably 'common' artisanal ham, I would counsel great care in selecting anything called jamon iberico.

Somewhere in an oak grove in Spain, a clan of pata negras, mouths crammed with acorns, are snorting.

Theabroma

[docsconz]

With the approval of imports of jamón Ibérico from Spain last week, shipments are arriving at stores. Among them, in New York: Agata & Valentina, where the ham is selling for $71.96 a pound; Grace’s Marketplace, where it is $90 a pound; Dean & DeLuca, which has it for $87 a pound; and Blue Apron Foods in Park Slope, Brooklyn, which has it for $95 a pound. Despaña Foods in SoHo and Jackson Heights, Queens, charges $90 a pound sliced by machine, $99 by hand.

- from Off the Menu in today's NY Times.

[kathryn]

Interesting. Who else has the bellota except for D&D?

I assume what's listed in the NYT are prices for the regular, non-bellota variety.

Edited December 12, 2007 by kathryn (log)

[docsconz]

Interesting. Who else has the bellota except for D&D?

I assume what's listed in the NYT are prices for the regular, non-bellota variety.

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I would make the same assumption, although the article didn't specify.

[rmillman]

It is my understanding that the bellota will not be available until july next year and that the current iberico are pigs that were only partly feed acorns:

http://www.tienda.com/jamon/jamon_iberico.html

Even at this, I wonder if what Fermin will send will be "grand reserve" with extra year of aging or just the standard (still knocks my socks off) bellota.

[mukki]

Lucky me that I'm in NY this week. I went into D&D today for a preview and will get a 1/4 lb to take home (along with my Russ & Daughters smoked salmon, Di Palo ricotta, Kee's chocolates, and more ).

[kathryn]

It is my understanding that the bellota will not be available until july next year and that the current iberico are pigs that were only partly feed acorns:

http://www.tienda.com/jamon/jamon_iberico.html

Even at this, I wonder if what Fermin will send will be "grand reserve" with extra year of aging or just the standard (still knocks my socks off) bellota.

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That's what I heard too.

So either:

1. D&D is lying on their signage

2. D&D is being mislead that it's bellota by their supplier

3. D&D somehow got bellota

[Greystreet]

Anyone willing to overnight me couple of ounces?

[ahr]

After a lifetime of Parma, Serrano, Bayonne, and Boar’s Head, I found my first taste of Ibérico, pata negra—putatively bellota, courtesy of D&D—a bit disappointing. Hand-sliced from a relatively fresh leg, one about 5% down, the meat itself was sweet enough, but the surrounding fat melted with neither the expected rapidity nor delicacy, and the first few slices, consumed last, left a rancid greasiness on the tongue and palate that lingers still, hours later.

I assume that this is not typical, but be warned. Had I invested in more than a quarter of a pound, I might have marched back and complained.

[BryanZ]

The melt characteristics are not nearly as luxurious as, say, Wagyu or foie gras, but as the fat melts slowly you get more of the rich nuttiness. And compared to other hams, I think this fat is much more subtle and silky in texture.

[dagordon]

The only reason I haven't preordered a whole Iberico bellota ham from Tienda is that there's no evidence so far that the Fermin product comes anywhere close to the best Iberico bellota, say Joselito or Sanchez Romero Carvajal 5J. If D&D's product truly is the bellota, then it's starting to look like I made the right choice. There's simply no way that anyone with all of his faculties fully-functioning could find a high-quality bellota ham to leave a 'rancid greasiness'.

[ahr]

The melt characteristics are not nearly as luxurious as, say, Wagyu or foie gras, but as the fat melts slowly you get more of the rich nuttiness.  And compared to other hams, I think this fat is much more subtle and silky in texture.

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My reference is other uncooked hams, and I'm afraid that this was greasy, not silky. How about the rancidity of the first few slices? Should that be part of the package? My guess is that my portion was cut from a newly prepared leg that wasn't properly trimmed.

To be fair, I just forwarded my original post to D&D via their web site. I shall report back any response.

[kathryn]

How much did D&D have left?

Gothamist reports that Despana is out but about to get more (it is literally going through customs at the airport).

http://gothamist.com/2007/12/14/expensive_ham_u.php

[bobg01]

d&d had some yesterday as of 4pm.

[Vinotas]

Brought back a few weeks ago from Madrid, just something to tide us over before our dinner of 28-day dry-aged boneless sirloin, potato-garlic gratin and sauteed Bok Choy.

Cheers!

[chefboy24]

got a quarter pound from dean and deluca on saturday

up front they actually had a sign that said "jamon iberico"......but then they had another leg in the back still in plastic wrap that said "bellota." so i asked and the guy who was cutting about the sign that said bellota and he told me it was a mistake and threw out that shelf-talker.

long story short, he had bone in and boneless. i got a 1/4 pound sliced pretty damn close to the bone, although his hand slicing was a little bit sloppy.

basically, this ham is freaking delicious. i paired it with some tocai friulano, but my white wasn't nearly big enough to match.

it's got a finish. a long one. and it took me and my boyfriend a while to finish the 1/4 pound. you don't gobble it up. its hanging out on your tongue like 2 minutes later, even if you're drinking wine.

well worth it. i mean its 2.5x the price of good jamon serrano or proscuitto di parma/san danielle. is it 2.5x better? Of course not, but it is better. Definitely recommend that you all try it.

Edited December 18, 2007 by chefboy24 (log)

[kathryn]

At least they're throwing out the signs that say "bellota" now. Now I'm curious about the boneless one as I've been told that is the machine-sliced.

Thanks for the update.

Can't wait to try REAL bellota next year.

[dagordon]

Despana now has iberico bellota paletilla (shoulder); apparently the curing process is the same as for the bellota jamon, only shorter. It's phenomenal. I actually don't think it has quite the intensity of flavor of the Fermin iberico jamon; there isn't such an intense cheesy funk. But the texture and appearance are spot-on for bellota jamon. It glistens to a far greater extent than the regular jamon, the fat melts much more readily at room temp, and it's more tender. $120/lb.