The Spanish call it “the acorn tree on legs” and apparently the current King of Spain gets through 100 Sanchez Romero Carvajal iberico hams at £1500 a leg a year. Yet compared to a penchant for truffles, it’s a relatively inexpensive delicacy – spoils from the latest truffle harvest were retailing for up to £2500 a kilo whilst iberico is around £195 a kilo. Who said credit crunch values weren’t relative? For my money, proper iberico bellota is arguably more deliciously satisfying. There’s something utterly irresistible about its complex nutty fat and silky sheen texture, its long, long umami rich mouth feel almost akin to a good tannin rich pinot noir and the fact its most pleasurably eaten, sliced ultra thin, utterly unadorned, with the fingers.
The people of Sanchez Romero Carvajal, part of the Groupo Osbourne (and yes it is an English name, the first Sir Thomas Osbourn left Devon for Cadiz at the end of the 18c initially in pursuit of a sherry fortune) are, I think rightly, convinced that the UK is ripe to appreciate iberico and have opened the UK’s first 5J Iberico Ham House within Harrod’s Food Hall. It’s easy enough to acquire a taste for the stuff, but it does have a lot of imposters. Often hams are vaguely referred to as pata negra or bellota (which translates as oak tree acorn) and passed off as true iberico, but it’s best to scrutinise the label for certainty and the true iberico hog should veritably glisten with amber fat. Definitive Iberico has two pure breed parents, feeds exclusively on up to 12kg of acorns per day (12 kg acorns translates an extra 1 kilo of meat on the pig) for its last 90 days until it reaches around 18 months of age and roams free across approx 2 hectares of plane oak pastures (dehesa) only in the Jabugo district of Andalusia. Hence, its limited supply. The hams are brined in sea-salt for approximately 21 days and hung in cellars for 24-30 months.
Although, Iberico seems an exceptionally decadent treat, chef José Luis Rodriguez of Michelin starred restaurant Bohio in Toledo who’s created the menu for the Harrod’s Iberico Ham House, explains that it fulfils the Mediterranean paradox ie is low in cholesterol as the fat is concentrated in good omega 3 fatty acids and has only 190 calories in every 100g.
Besides serving the dry cured Iberian ham in its pristine sliced form (from £17.65 a plate, £4.50 for a tapa), perfect with accompanied by a dry fino, Rodriguez
has devised a fine range of dishes incorporating iberico. These include sensational, light croquetas (£13.00) - and on a par with the best I’ve ever experienced at Francis Paniego’s restaurant Echaurren in Ezcaray the Rioja region), and a carpaccio of top side with roasted pine nuts, salad leaves, chorizo, dried apricots and a reduction of honey and soy (£12.50). They also serve Iberico cooked, increasingly popular in Spain and beyond: Sanchez Romero Carvajal supply The Fat Duck, The Dorchester and Cambio de Tercio too. I tasted the sought after presa for the first time, the top side behind the shoulder of the iberico marinated in sweet paprika and served rare with baby, green Almagro aubergines (£15.00). I liked too a refreshing dessert of ewe cheese ice-cream, apple granita and honey.
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Although, Iberico seems an exceptionally decadent treat, chef José Luis Rodriguez of Michelin starred restaurant Bohio in Toledo who’s created the menu for the Harrod’s Iberico Ham House, explains that it fulfils the Mediterranean paradox ie is low in cholesterol as the fat is concentrated in good omega 3 fatty acids and has only 190 calories in every 100g.
Besides serving the dry cured Iberian ham in its pristine sliced form (from £17.65 a plate, £4.50 for a tapa), perfect with accompanied by a dry fino, Rodriguez
has devised a fine range of dishes incorporating iberico. These include sensational, light croquetas (£13.00) - and on a par with the best I’ve ever experienced at Francis Paniego’s restaurant Echaurren in Ezcaray the Rioja region), and a carpaccio of top side with roasted pine nuts, salad leaves, chorizo, dried apricots and a reduction of honey and soy (£12.50). They also serve Iberico cooked, increasingly popular in Spain and beyond: Sanchez Romero Carvajal supply The Fat Duck, The Dorchester and Cambio de Tercio too. I tasted the sought after presa for the first time, the top side behind the shoulder of the iberico marinated in sweet paprika and served rare with baby, green Almagro aubergines (£15.00). I liked too a refreshing dessert of ewe cheese ice-cream, apple granita and honey.
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