Bayonne ham

[woodburner]

Is this product available in the USA? If not, could someone provide information regarding curing ingredients and procedure.

woodburner

[Wolfert]

I've been told there is jambon de bayonne in America available through D'artagnan. Though I am not sure if it is made in Bayonne, New Jersey or Bayonne France. The one I bought at D'artagnan had a unique delicate flavor. You could substitute Jamon Serrano which has a firmer texture and more intense flavor.

[woodburner]

Paula,

Thank you for the response, I'll be sure to check out both of those avenues you suggested.

For an upcoming double Birthday brunch at my home, I will be serving Gerald Hirigoyen's, Bayonne Ham and Sheep's Milk Cheese Terrine as one of my dishes.

By the way, coincidently, just this morning I used your flower style poached egg technique. My wife and I were very impressed with the results.

Do you actually serve these in flowers? The presentation, on the plate is just so beautiful.

woodburner

[Wolfert]

no, I put it into a slow simmered artichoke bottom and top it with a caper tarragon mayonnaise. Also, I add an egg to each portion of a Tunisian soup along with chickpeas, olives, cumin and bread.

the flower covering is something Arzak did. I think there is a thread on that.

Sounds like your meal is going well.

Edited December 28, 2003 by Wolfert (log)

[wesza]

Is this product available in the USA? If not, could someone provide information regarding curing ingredients and procedure.

woodburner

Woodburner: Check the posts on the "Yunnan Ham" topic.

The French Bayonne Ham is not smoked. It is a a Air Cured Ham quite similar to the Serrano or Acorn fed Hams from Spain or the Parma Prosuitto from Italy.

There is a project being developed during the last several years of producing a comparable quality Air Cured Ham by a dedicated Virginia Cure Master/Farmer as a labor of love. It will probably be available in about 2 years.

All these type of Hams, especially in my opinion the Chinese Yunnan Style are the finest available.

Irwin

[woodburner]

Is this product available in the USA? If not, could someone provide information regarding curing ingredients and procedure.

woodburner

Woodburner: Check the posts on the "Yunnan Ham" topic.

The French Bayonne Ham is not smoked. It is a a Air Cured Ham quite similar to the Serrano or Acorn fed Hams from Spain or the Parma Prosuitto from Italy.

There is a project being developed during the last several years of producing a comparable quality Air Cured Ham by a dedicated Virginia Cure Master/Farmer as a labor of love. It will probably be available in about 2 years.

All these type of Hams, especially in my opinion the Chinese Yunnan Style are the finest available.

Irwin

Irwin,

Once again you provide invaluable advice. It's my understanding that aside from the breed and upbringing of special hogs to produce Bayonne Ham, Adour salt is used for the curing. Also its flavour is very much dependent on the local climate and the effects of the southerly wind or "foehn" which adds the finishing touch...some producers rub the hams with powdered Espelette peppers which gives them a beautiful ochre colour and different flavour.

Given this information, it might be a bit of a stretch for an American producer to duplicate this process.

woodburner

[AmyH]

Woodburner-

We made the Bayonne Ham and Cheese terrine from the Hiragoyen cookbook twice. The first time, I ordered serrano ham from Tienda.com. Alas, the ham was flavorful but too thickly sliced and even though we applied pressure, the dish did not present well -- it tasted great. The second time was for a dinner party (see discussion on the travel/Spain forum (I don't know how to link, sorry). I actually went to Whole Foods and had them slice to the exact specifications 20 odd slices of a slighlty smoky prosciutto that they sell along with an equal number of slices of manchego. It may not be perfectly authentic, but the results were fantastic and we received rave reviews from every diner. Same dinner, we also made the scallop and artichoke bottom saute from his cookbook and duplicated the poached egg flower recipe from Arzak exactly as transcribed on the arzak website, including the plastic wrap poached egg technique. One caveat -- I doubled the number of eggs because we had more diners and foolishly doubled the entire menu -- the result was that I had way too much of all of the acompaniaments that go on the plate along with the poached egg flower. So, keep the recipe as is from the website.

Good luck!

[woodburner]

Woodburner-

We made the Bayonne Ham and Cheese terrine from the Hiragoyen cookbook twice. The first time, I ordered serrano ham from Tienda.com. Alas, the ham was flavorful but too thickly sliced and even though we applied pressure, the dish did not present well -- it tasted great. The second time was for a dinner party (see discussion on the travel/Spain forum (I don't know how to link, sorry). I actually went to Whole Foods and had them slice to the exact specifications 20 odd slices of a slighlty smoky prosciutto that they sell along with an equal number of slices of manchego. It may not be perfectly authentic, but the results were fantastic and we received rave reviews from every diner. Same dinner, we also made the scallop and artichoke bottom saute from his cookbook and duplicated the poached egg flower recipe from Arzak exactly as transcribed on the arzak website, including the plastic wrap poached egg technique. One caveat -- I doubled the number of eggs because we had more diners and foolishly doubled the entire menu -- the result was that I had way too much of all of the acompaniaments that go on the plate along with the poached egg flower. So, keep the recipe as is from the website.

Good luck!

Amy,

Thanks for the update and help. I'll go with prosciutto, as you suggest. The poached egg technique is divine, and most important to set the wrapped purses into iced water as soon as the poaching is complete.

I will do a "dry run" prior to my birthday brunch, to work out any unexpected kinks.

I'm going to start with Nantucket Scallop Chowder for my first course.

woodburner

[wesza]

Woodburner-

We made the Bayonne Ham and Cheese terrine from the Hiragoyen cookbook twice. The first time, I ordered serrano ham from Tienda.com. Alas, the ham was flavorful but too thickly sliced and even though we applied pressure, the dish did not present well -- it tasted great. The second time was for a dinner party (see discussion on the travel/Spain forum (I don't know how to link, sorry). I actually went to Whole Foods and had them slice to the exact specifications 20 odd slices of a slighlty smoky prosciutto that they sell along with an equal number of slices of manchego. It may not be perfectly authentic, but the results were fantastic and we received rave reviews from every diner. Same dinner, we also made the scallop and artichoke bottom saute from his cookbook and duplicated the poached egg flower recipe from Arzak exactly as transcribed on the arzak website, including the plastic wrap poached egg technique. One caveat -- I doubled the number of eggs because we had more diners and foolishly doubled the entire menu -- the result was that I had way too much of all of the acompaniaments that go on the plate along with the poached egg flower. So, keep the recipe as is from the website.

Good luck!

Amy: Fear not ! Just returned from a trip to Trader Joes and i'm happy to let you know that they have available.

"Revilla" Serrano Dry Cooked Ham from Spain. Thinly sliced in 3.5 Oz. Packages at a reasonable price.

Just brought it home and the first package was devoured very quickly by my Grandchildren with a Goat Cheese Brie type of Cheese that i also brought. So i'll have to try it later when it quiets down. They smiled and said "Thumbs Up" that they liked it better then Prousitto or the French Gambon Hams.

Irwin

[jayt90]

There are Bayonne style hams in Quebec. I have found small packages (sliced) in my local Costco (in Ontario); they seem to carry it when they don't have Westphalian, or Prosciutto. In any event, I'll bet one can find a good Bayonne hanging in a charcuterie in Montreal or Quebec City!