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serving Iberico ham

KennethT

By KennethT
in Cooking

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KennethT

KennethT

Posted
Posted

I was thinking about serving a little Iberico ham for a friend's birthday coming up in a few days... what's the best way to serve it?

I know that Robuchon does it on grilled bread with a fine dice of tomato and microbasil... but I don't think that that's traditional...

Is it more traditional to grill the bread slices, then rub a tomato over the surface?

Any other ideas?

Joe Blowe

Joe Blowe

Posted
Posted

Serve it on its own. By itself. Solo.

You may have some accompaniments, if you wish :biggrin:

So we finish the eighteenth and he's gonna stiff me. And I say, "Hey, Lama, hey, how about a little something, you know, for the effort, you know." And he says, "Oh, uh, there won't be any money. But when you die, on your deathbed, you will receive total consciousness."

So I got that goin' for me, which is nice.

Dave Hatfield

Dave Hatfield

Posted
Posted
Serve it on its own.  By itself.  Solo.

You may have some accompaniments, if you wish :biggrin:

Totally agree. Why mess with a great taste.

You can if you wish serve some picados with the ham. Really good olives for instance.

Little shrimp fried in olive oil & garlic. Cherry tomatoes cut in half & drizzled with sherry vinegar & salt.

These come to mind as things I've been served in Spain with the ham.

Lucky friend.

AKA Yank,
http://www.frenchfoodfocus.com/

http://forums.egullet.org/topic/104472-egfoodblog-dave-hatfield/

http://forums.egullet.org/topic/143664-eg-foodblog-dave-hatfield-la-france-profonde/

http://forums.egullet.org/topic/145926-eg-foodblog-dave-hatfield-a-food-adventure/

ermintrude

ermintrude

Posted
Posted

Keep it simple.

Great bread (toasted if you like) always works

Perhaps on the side some cornichons (In vinegar rather than brine), good tomatoes etc. For me things more acidic than salty work as it cuts through the fat - but the fat taste is so good it's the sides are there for a change to refresh the palate.

Or go retro and serve with slices of Mellon - again on the side.

Time flies like an arrow, fruit flies like a banana.

annachan

annachan

Posted
Posted

I love it on its own. I want to taste the wonderful flavor. I think if I have to have something with it, just some good quality bread will do.

budrichard

budrichard

Posted
Posted

A selection of palate enhancers is in order. A good crusty bread, a good aged Manchego, marintated roasted red peppers, some Goya canned seafood items(very reasonable). a good Spanish Rioja, and a Cava will go well with your Iberico.

When our Pata Negra arrived last year, I served all the above and more and everyone said it was the best party they had ever been to.-Dick

ermintrude

ermintrude

Posted
Posted (edited)

Trust me, I forgot the cheese, doh.

And the alcohol, "Bang head on wall"

It will be the ham next !

Edited by ermintrude (log)

Time flies like an arrow, fruit flies like a banana.

GMM

GMM

Posted
Posted

One of the best ways to eat the ham or "jamon" is to grill some bread, rub some garlic and some tomato and sprinkle with olive oil. Serve the ham over the grilled bread. Fantastic and traditional

  • 9 years later...
ElsieD

ElsieD

Posted
Posted

I bought some of this and plan on serving it Thursday night.  Most of the suggestions on this thread and what I have read elsewhere include bread, which I don't want to serve as I will be serving other stuff and the bread would be overkill in the amount of food served.  Someone else suggested tomatoes.  The only worthwhile tomatoes worth getting right now are Kumatos, both regular and cherry size.  How does one serve this ham with tomatoes?  Also, would cantelope work with this, assuming I can find it.  Any other suggestions?  A cracker of some sort?  Wrapped around some cheese?  I've never had this so hard no idea what it's like.  Any suggestions are welcome.

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KennethT

KennethT

Posted
  • Topic Starter
Posted

The traditional way to serve this is with "pan con tomate" - which is a Spanish bread slightly toasted, then rubbed with a cut clove of garlic, and then rubbed with a cut tomato.  The bread should be tender but crisp on the outside - I've never really found an equivalent in the US - but some kind of baguette with relatively tender crust would do.  Personally, I find that the jamon iberico de bellota is best enjoyed by itself at room temp.  Put a slice in your mouth and let it kind of melt while it rolls around...

  • Like 4
Anna N

Anna N

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, ElsieD said:

  Any suggestions are welcome.

 In my opinion it needs nothing except perhaps a genuflexion. 🙂

  • Like 4
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  • Haha 5

Anna Nielsen aka "Anna N"

...I just let people know about something I made for supper that they might enjoy, too. That's all it is. (Nigel Slater)

"Cooking is about doing the best with what you have . . . and succeeding." John Thorne

Our 2012 (Kerry Beal and me) Blog

My 2004 eG Blog

Anna N

Anna N

Posted
Posted
2 minutes ago, KennethT said:

Put a slice in your mouth and let it kind of melt while it rolls around...

Ha ha.  I think we were both thinking the same thing at the same time!

  • Like 3

Anna Nielsen aka "Anna N"

...I just let people know about something I made for supper that they might enjoy, too. That's all it is. (Nigel Slater)

"Cooking is about doing the best with what you have . . . and succeeding." John Thorne

Our 2012 (Kerry Beal and me) Blog

My 2004 eG Blog

kayb

kayb

Posted
Posted

Olives, somewhere on the table. Manchego. Melon if you can get it that tastes decent this time of year. Bosc pears work well.

 

We had it with pickled elderberries at the Catbird Seat. That was astounding.

 

  • Like 3

Don't ask. Eat it.

www.kayatthekeyboard.wordpress.com

jmacnaughtan

jmacnaughtan

Posted
Posted

A cold beer and lots of paper napkins for greasy fingers, face, hair, furniture, etc.

 

Also, let it get to room temperature before you try and remove any slices from the pack.  Straight from the fridge, it's a solid block.

 

IMO, pan con tomate isn't enhanced by the ham, so keep it for breakfast the next morning.

  • Like 3
KennethT

KennethT

Posted
  • Topic Starter
Posted
5 minutes ago, weinoo said:

I'd only serve it with lomo, salchichón, and chorizo; all Iberico of course.

 

Like this, at Gandarias in San Sebastian last month...

 

IMG_4871.thumb.JPG.4c713b9c76b9516c73ce7bc07fee5102.JPG

Holy crap is that drool worthy.... I love how it glistens!

  • Like 1
KennethT

KennethT

Posted
  • Topic Starter
Posted
47 minutes ago, weinoo said:

Not even touched up by me - but I sure ate a lot of that platter! Thank god we also ate a lot of fish.

In theory, the de bellota is "healthy" for you - they claim that the fat is very high in Omega-3 fatty acids - so much that they say it is equivalent to eating salmon!  Or at least that's what I keep telling myself...

  • Haha 1
kayb

kayb

Posted
Posted

A thing I have discovered of late that's good with charcuterie and cheese is preserved walnuts. I think I may on my way to becoming addicted.

 

Don't ask. Eat it.

www.kayatthekeyboard.wordpress.com

ElsieD

ElsieD

Posted
Posted

I ended up taking it out of the fridge well ahead of time and then rolling each slice up.  That's how it was served.  Pretty tasty stuff, I thought there was some sweetness to it.

  • Like 2
Martin Fisher

Martin Fisher

Posted
Posted

Wow!

I miss Spain!

I love it—and, of course, the food! :)

~Martin :)

I just don't want to look back and think "I could have eaten that."

Unsupervised, rebellious, radical agrarian experimenter, minimalist penny-pincher, and adventurous cook. Crotchety, cantankerous, terse curmudgeon, non-conformist, and contrarian who questions everything!

The best thing about a vegetable garden is all the meat you can hunt and trap out of it!

 

  • 2 months later...
KennethT

KennethT

Posted
  • Topic Starter
Posted

My wife recently came back from a work trip to Bordeaux, connecting through Madrid. She brought me a present...

20190329_194129.thumb.jpg.61468e4df4ff7e1e241e187446d47251.jpg

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