Jamón Serrano - Iberian gold explained

It takes 3 to 5 years to produce jamón de bellota (acorn ham) but there are three vital factors in the production of the world’s finest ham, say the Spanish: patience, patience and patience.

In the ritualistic world of jamón Ibérico de bellota the slaughter is known as ‘el sacrificio’.

This is not surprising considering that, in parts of rural Spain, the production of the world’s finest ham has been elevated almost to a religion.

Extremadura’s cold, dry winters were ideal also for curing the pigs’ legs which became known as jamón serrano (mountain ham), jamón Ibérico (Iberian ham) and jamón de bellota (pronounced ‘beyota’ and meaning acorn ham).

These days serrano describes ham from white pigs. Iberico is the finer ham that comes from any black Iberian pig. Jamón de bellota, the guaranteed 5-star product, only comes from certified Iberian pigs (at least 75% pure-bred) that are fed almost entirely on acorns.

In Spain there are actually four Denominación de Origen boards in different regions, ensuring that anyone who purchases a bellota ham that is marked with their serial-number gets what has been called the Champagne of hams. The rigorous quality-control checks continue right from the rearing of the breed-certified piglets through the transportation and ‘sacrifice’ to the curing process.

Each pig eats more than 10 kilos of acorns per day and during the season they should put on about 800 grams of weight every day if they are going to make the grade as certified jamón de bellota.

The acorn season is called la montañera and Iberian pig farmers might recall particularly rich montañeras in the same enthusiastic tones that vineyard owners celebrate the finest vintages. While it varies from year to year, the acorn season tends to stretch from October to December with the nuts remaining edible on the ground for up to two months. The pigs will increase their bodyweight by almost 50% during this period and will be ‘sacrificed’ just at the point when they are saturated with acorns.

The pigs must be allowed to forage in a state that is as close as possible to their wild habitat so that the acorn oil works its way right through the meat. This oak-dominated landscape, which once covered most of the Iberian peninsula, is known as dehesa. Apart from being crucial for the production of bellota ham, dehesa is also a perfect habitat for wildlife. Wild boar forage side-by-side with the Iberian pigs and deer graze alongside fighting bulls. Foxes, wild cats and lynx hunt through the undergrowth while vultures and storks ride the thermals.

"Without dehesa there’s no jamón de bellota,” producers of the best ham will tell you. “We could fast-forward with force-fed pigs and artificial chilling rooms but the end product will never live up to the quality of the traditional methods.”

The process has been fine-tuned through the generations and, while there are some labour-saving technological advances it still takes anything from 3 to 5 years to produce the finest bellota ham. First the hams are salted at a rate of around one day per kilo. The highland climate means that hams need less salting than in other parts of Spain. After the salt is washed off the hams are hung in naturally ventilated drying rooms (with windows protected only by fly-screens) for 6 months to a year. During the final stage the ham is stored in underground cellars where the flavour concentrates for another couple of years.

The word jamón relates only to the hind leg, the best of which can fetch a price of over 1000 euros. Some connoisseurs, however, prefer the slightly stronger-tasting meat of the front leg (la paleta) which can represent a bargain at about a third cheaper. In the old days of extended families many households would permanently keep a ham in the pantry but now ham is more often sold pre-sliced and vacuum-packed.

Even if not sliced straight off the leg, ham should be served wafer-thin and at room temperature. If you must take it straight from the fridge then the trick is to put it on a warmed plate so that the oil starts to glisten (a plate that has been warmed by the hot tap, and then dried, is ideal). For ‘garnish’, just add a hunk of fresh bread and a glass of wine. It’s too delicious to need anything else!

The subtle, sweet-tangy, melt-in-the-mouth flavour plays on the tongue like fine wine. While there are countless chefs who prepare wonderful dishes based on lower class (serrano and Ibérico) ham, it would be considered almost sacrilegious for a Spanish chef to cook with prime jamón de bellota.

After all, the Spanish will tell you, a product that takes three to five years to perfect needs no further improvement.